Half of Wisconsin’s 72 zip codes don’t have a single licensed dentist, according to the Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association; less than 40 percent of children covered by Medicaid received any dental care last year.
Just this week, the Assembly Committee on Health, Aging and Long-term Care held a public hearing on a bill introduced by two Republicans, Sen. Mary Felzkowski of Tomahawk and Rep. Jon Plumer of Lodi, to license dental therapists — trained professionals who could do a lot more than dental hygienists but less than dentists. They could provide basic exams, fill cavities, pull some teeth.