ADEA’s Commitment to Higher Education Excellence for Advancing Oral Health

April 4, 2025 — American higher education is among the best in the world—but there is always the capacity for improvement. Together, we can make it more accessible, affordable, and relevant to the needs of all students. The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) stands ready to collaborate with our colleagues in higher education, Congress, and the Administration to achieve these goals.

However, the Executive Order of March 20, 2025, “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities,” does not offer a clear vision or pathway to enhance higher education. While it rightly emphasizes the need to improve test scores, it falls short in addressing the broader challenges facing postsecondary education.

A key role of the U.S. Department of Education is ensuring that higher education remains within reach for all who seek to further their studies and develop the skills necessary to improve lives. In health professions education, this means equipping future providers with the knowledge needed to deliver high-quality care to Americans of all backgrounds, abilities, and socioeconomic conditions.

Financial aid plays a critical role in making this possible. For students pursuing careers in dentistry, there is a higher cost of education due to the advanced technology and equipment required. If caps are placed on Grad PLUS Loans or if Public Service Loan Forgiveness is not preserved, many aspiring oral health professionals will find dental education financially out of reach. Without action, this could deepen the existing shortage of dental professionals, exacerbating access-to-care issues and leaving more Americans with unmet oral health needs—needs that directly impact overall health and well-being.

Currently, 60 million Americans live in one of over 7,000 designated dental health shortage areas, where there are not enough oral health professionals to provide adequate care. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that closing this gap requires an additional 10,143 dental professionals. Addressing this shortfall is at the heart of ADEA’s mission: “To develop an inclusive, future-ready oral health workforce prepared to improve the health of all people and communities through leadership, education, and collaboration.”

To achieve this, graduates of dental schools, allied oral health programs, and advanced education residency programs must be educated at institutions accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). This accreditation ensures that educational standards are applied consistently and fairly, giving state licensing boards and patients confidence in the skill, knowledge, and competency of oral health professionals.

We know that oral health is integral to overall health. Poor oral health has been linked to chronic diseases affecting the entire body, making access to dental care a public health priority. ADEA is committed to working with policymakers in Congress to strengthen our educational system and ensure that every community has access to the oral health care it needs.