NC is finally attracting more dentists. Would political oversight help or harm the profession? ...Middle East

(Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

If you’ve ever experienced throbbing tooth pain, you’ve felt the urgency to get in to see a dentist quickly. But not too long ago, North Carolina ranked 45th in the nation in the number of dentists. Fewer dentists meant longer wait times for an appointment and sometimes traveling longer distances for care.

Bobby White, executive director of the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners, told legislators last week that the state has now reached the national average in the number of dentists per 100,000 people.

White credited the East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine and UNC-Chapel Hill with helping the state grow its supply of dentists with an emphasis on underserved areas.

“There are currently 35 states in the country that are losing dentists and there are 15 states that are gaining dentists,” said White. “The number one state in gaining dentists is North Carolina. We’re gaining 20.5% over the past few years.”

But as impressive as the numbers are, members of the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee were more concerned about the composition and membership of the Board of Dental Examiners. The board is currently made up of six licensed dentists, one dental licensed hygienist and one consumer representative appointed by the governor. Only the dentists can vote on disciplinary matters.

Senator Amy Galey (R-Alamance) said lawmakers are interested in changing the makeup of the dental board from being elected by dentists to being made up of ten politically appointed members. Four appointments would be made by the governor, four by the General Assembly, and two by the state Labor Commissioner.

“It has been observed that a state agency made up solely of members of the profession which practices it, where there is no appointment power or ability by an entity outside of the ones electing inside that profession, then that is a system design which leads to the board using its power to protect the profession, possibly at the expense of the public,” said Galey.

Rep. Sarah Stevens (R-Surry) said the need for this change stretches back a decade earlier, when a lawsuit between the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners and the Federal Trade Commission went to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court ruled that the dental board’s use of cease-and-desist letters to businesses offering teeth-whitening services without a dental license violated federal antitrust laws.

“What this case was about was the dentists declaring that teeth whitening was a practice of dentistry, and they demanded that all persons stop practicing,” explained Stevens.

Stevens said a similar bill she proposed after the Supreme Court ruling would have addressed the matter, but a senator “hijacked” her bill with a 27-page proposal to create a “board of boards,” sinking the legislation.

Steven says the latest version of the legislation provides independent review by people who are not solely in the practice of dentistry.

White said the Federal Trade Commission was not troubled by the election process of the dental board, but was concerned that the one public member was unable to vote on disciplinary matters.

“They thought that that was a bit of self-dealing,” said White.

Now if there is an unauthorized practice of dentistry, the dental board goes to the North Carolina court system and files for injunctive relief against the non-licensed provider, said White. And more cases of non-licensed dentists have been cropping up thanks to social media, and a willing public looking to save money.

“From what I’m interpreting from your comments, the dental board is coloring within the lines, and because you’re doing that, the need to have official oversight is not necessary?” asked Sen. Tim Moffitt (R-Henderson).

White said the board is staying within the lines in addressing how cases of unauthorized dentistry are investigated.

In 2025, out of 492 complaints against licensed dentists, only two dentists faced license revocation with two more having their license suspended. Sixty-four received letters of warning.

Rep. Jeff Zenger (R-Forsyth) cautioned that while some change may be necessary, the General Assembly did not want to interfere with the new trend of more licensed dentists calling North Carolina home.

“If we’re number one and we mess that up, we own it,” said Zenger. “More competition brings down prices; more competition makes more services available. I just want to make sure that we are really careful in what we’re doing.”

Galey said the proposed legislation would bring the dental board in line with other boards, including the medical board and the pharmacy board.

“Just because we have growth, that doesn’t mean that we couldn’t potentially have more growth if we have a more vigorous dental board, more actively engaged in protecting the public,” Galey said.

“The other side of that is now we bring politics into it, where they’ve operated without politics,” said Zenger.

Members of the oversight committee will revisit the legislation in April and are expected to give it a green light for consideration in the short session.

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