Virginia Public Dental Access Project
Sources
Every figure published on this site is listed here with its source and year. Where a figure is dated, that date reflects the most recent publicly available data, not the current state of the program.
Needs source5 figures not yet traced to a source
Access
| Figure | Value | Source | Year | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia localities designated federal dental shortage areas | 84% (112 of 133) | HRSA dental HPSA data (BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_DH) | June 2026 | — |
| Additional dentists Virginia needs to lift its federal dental shortage designations | 296 | KFF analysis of HRSA data | December 2025 | — |
| Federal dental shortage area designations in Virginia | 178 | KFF | As of Dec 31, 2025 | — |
| People living in those shortage areas | 2,702,376 | KFF | As of Dec 31, 2025 | — |
| Share of dental need met in those shortage areas | 52.96% | KFF | As of Dec 31, 2025 | — |
| Virginia localities with fewer than one full-time-equivalent dentist | 13 | Virginia Health Catalyst, Oral Health Workforce Gap Assessment | 2023 | — |
| Of those, localities with no dentist at all | 8 | Virginia Health Catalyst, Oral Health Workforce Gap Assessment | 2023 | — |
| Medicaid and FAMIS members per participating dentist, statewide | 1,014 to 1 | DMAS Access Report, 2022, Figure 4 | August 2022 | Open |
| Newly eligible adults who received any dental treatment in the first year of the adult benefit | 17% (158,237 of 924,000) | Virginia Dental Association | July 2021–June 2022 | Open |
| Average cost of a dental-related emergency room visit (national) | $749 | HCCI national estimate | 2021 | — |
| Potential national savings from moving emergency-department dental care into dental offices | $2.7 billion per year | American Dental Association, Medicaid Dental Benefit Act materials | Not stated in source | — |
| Shortage-area designation and HPSA score, per locality | All 133 localities | HRSA dental HPSA data (BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_DH) | June 2026 | — |
| Locality population (25 most populous localities) | Per locality | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates, table B01003 | 2022 | — |
| Loudoun County population | 420,959 | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates, table B01003 | 2022 | — |
| Loudoun County shortage-area score | 17 of 26 | HRSA dental HPSA data (BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_DH) | June 2026 | — |
| Population served by the Loudoun Community Health Center shortage designation | 42,083 | HRSA dental HPSA data (BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_DH) | June 2026 | — |
| Medicaid and FAMIS members, by locality | 80 of 133 localities | DMAS Medicaid and CHIP enrollment dashboard (Member Map) | October 2026 | Open |
| Loudoun County Medicaid and FAMIS members | 45,952 | DMAS Medicaid and CHIP enrollment dashboard | October 2026 | Open |
| Members per participating dentist, by locality | Where both inputs exist | Calculated: DMAS enrollment (Oct 2026) ÷ participating dentists in the Cardinal Care Smiles directory (Jul 2026) | 2026 | — |
| Members per participating dentist, statewide, same method | 819 to 1 | Calculated: DMAS dashboard statewide total ÷ distinct NPIs in the directory | 2026 | — |
| Population change by locality (Study Bill map) | All 133 localities | Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, UVA — Virginia population estimates | April 2020 Census to July 2025 estimate | Open |
| Localities in the top quartile for both population growth and dental access pressure | Computed from the two rows above and HPSA scores | Calculated: Weldon Cooper population change × HRSA HPSA score | 2020–2026 | — |
| ZIP code areas on locality pages | Per locality | U.S. Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA cartographic boundaries, clipped to each locality | 2020 | Open |
Reimbursement
| Figure | Value | Source | Year | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Medicaid dental reimbursement relative to private payment rates, after the 2022 increase (DMAS estimate) | About 82–83% | DMAS Access Report, 2022, p. 7 | 2022 | Open |
| Dental reimbursement rates frozen | 2005–2022 (17 years) | DMAS Access Report, 2022, p. 2 | 2022 | Open |
| July 2022 rate increase | +30% | DMAS Access Report, 2022; 2024 Appropriation Act, Item 288 | July 1, 2022 | Open |
| Funding behind the 2022 increase | More than $116 million (state and federal) | Associated Press / Washington Post, July 3, 2022; Virginia Dental Association, June 22, 2022 | 2022 | Open |
| July 2024 rate increase | +3% | 2024 Appropriation Act (HB 6001, Chapter 2), Item 288, paragraph BBBB.2 | July 1, 2024 | Open |
| Proposed 2025 dental rate increase, not enacted | +7% requested, not funded | Item 288 #33h, HB1600 Member Request, 2025 Session. Does not appear in the 2025 conference report for Item 288, which contains no across-the-board dental rate increase. DMAS still lists the July 2024 fee schedule as current. | 2025 | Open |
| Compounded increase since 2022 | Roughly 34% | Calculated: 1.30 × 1.03 | 2022–2024 | — |
| Increase in the cost of providing dental care since 2005 | More than 60% | Virginia Dental Association (estimate) | June 2022 | Open |
| Virginia Medicaid reimbursement as a share of private insurance, child dental services | 63.7% | ADA Health Policy Institute (also cited in DMAS Access Report, 2022) | 2020 | Open |
| Virginia Medicaid reimbursement as a share of private insurance, adult dental services | Not reported | ADA Health Policy Institute | 2020 | Open |
| National average, child dental services | 61.4% (61.9% in 2017) | ADA Health Policy Institute | 2020 | Open |
| Range across states, child dental services | 27.8% (Minnesota) to 104.8% (Kentucky) | ADA Health Policy Institute | 2020 | Open |
| Virginia fee schedule, 8 procedure codes (dashboard chart) | $26.99–$502.13 per code | DMAS Cardinal Care Smiles Fee Schedule | Effective July 1, 2024 | Open |
| Maryland fee schedule, 7 procedure codes (dashboard chart) | Per code | Maryland Healthy Smiles Dental Program Fee Schedule | Effective Aug 1, 2023 | Open |
| Maryland fee, root canal (D3310), dashboard chart | $395.00 | NEEDS SOURCE | — | — |
| North Carolina fee schedule, 8 procedure codes (dashboard chart) | Per code | NC Medicaid Dental Fee Schedule | Effective Feb 10, 2022 | Open |
| Minnesota fees for D0120, D1110, D2140 (dashboard benchmark) | Per code | MSDA National Profile | 2023 | — |
| Minnesota fees for D2150, D2330, D0150, D0330, D3310 (dashboard benchmark) | Per code | NEEDS SOURCE | — | — |
| Virginia average as a share of Minnesota across the 8 codes | 87% | Calculated from the fee schedules above | 2022–2024 schedules | — |
| Adult Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement as a share of dentist charges, by state | All 50 states + DC | ADA Health Policy Institute | 2022 data (published Aug 2023) | — |
Workforce
| Figure | Value | Source | Year | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia dentists who treated zero Medicaid patients | 73% | DMAS Access Report, 2022 | 2022 | Open |
| Virginia dentists who treated at least one Medicaid patient | 26.9% | DMAS Access Report, 2022 | FY2022 | Open |
| Dentists participating in the Medicaid dental program (Smiles For Children) | 1,782 | DMAS Access Report, 2022, Figure 2 | FY2022 | Open |
| Peak participation in the published series | 1,929 | DMAS Access Report, 2022, Figure 2 | FY2018 | Open |
| New dentists joining the network per month, before and after the 2022 increase | About 15 → about 23 | Virginia Mercury (DentaQuest figures) | March 2023 | Open |
| National dentist participation in Medicaid or CHIP | 41% | ADA Health Policy Institute | 2024 data (published Dec 2025) | — |
| Share of dentists enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP, by state | All 50 states + DC | ADA Health Policy Institute, "Dental Care in Medicaid Programs" | 2024 data (published Dec 2025) | — |
| Participating dentists, early 2005 (trend chart) | 620 | DMAS Access Report, 2022, p. 1 | 2005 | Open |
| Participating dentists, FY2010–FY2022, even years (trend chart) | 1,092; 1,439; 1,709; 1,907; 1,929; 1,820; 1,782 | DMAS Access Report, 2022, Figure 2 | FY2010–FY2022 | Open |
| Participating dentists by DMAS region (dashboard regional view) | NW 240 · N 793 · SW 209 · C 282 · E 246 · outside VA 112 | DMAS Access Report, 2022, Figure 4 | August 2022 | Open |
| Members per participating dentist by DMAS region | NW 1,217 · N 492 · SW 1,877 · C 1,378 · E 1,812 | DMAS Access Report, 2022, Figure 4 | August 2022 | Open |
| Medicaid accepting dental practice locations in Virginia (Find a Dentist) | 1,399 | DentaQuest, Virginia Cardinal Care Smiles provider directory | As of 2026-07-01 | Open |
| Participating dentists in Virginia (distinct NPIs) | 2,154 | DentaQuest, Virginia Cardinal Care Smiles provider directory | As of 2026-07-01 | Open |
| Practices placed in a locality | 1269 by street address · 81 by single-locality ZIP · 49 unplaced | U.S. Census batch geocoder; Census 2020 ZCTA–county relationship file | 2026 | — |
| Medicaid accepting dental practices and participating dentists, per locality | Per locality | DentaQuest, Virginia Cardinal Care Smiles provider directory | As of 2026-07-01 | Open |
| Share of local dentists accepting Medicaid, by locality | Not published | NEEDS SOURCE | — | — |
Program
| Figure | Value | Source | Year | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginians covered by Medicaid | Over 2 million | Virginia Health Catalyst; DMAS Access Report, 2022 (2.06 million, August 2022) | 2022–2023 | — |
| Children through age 20 covered for dental since | 2005 | Virginia Mercury (Smiles For Children launched 2005); DMAS Access Report, 2022, p. 1 | 2005 | Open |
| Pregnant members covered for dental since | March 1, 2015 | DMAS Access Report, 2022, p. 2 | 2015 | Open |
| Comprehensive adult dental benefit since | July 1, 2021 | DMAS Access Report, 2022, p. 2 | 2021 | Open |
| Annual cap on adult Medicaid dental benefits, retained in the 2026–2028 budget | $2,000 | Virginia 2026 session budget | 2026 | — |
| Estimated cost of removing the cap | $9.9 million (FY2027); $13.7 million (FY2028) | Virginia 2026 session budget | 2026 | — |
| Adult Medicaid dental coverage level, by state | All 50 states + DC | CareQuest Institute, Medicaid Adult Dental Benefits classification | December 2024 | — |
| Year adult coverage began (10 profiled states) | Per state | NEEDS SOURCE | — | — |
| Out-of-state bills listed in the tracker (MD HB 1056, TN HB 512, CA AB 247, TX HB 3219) | Bill number, status, year | NEEDS SOURCE | — | — |