Reject fiscal year 2026 HHS budget proposal, ADA urges

The ADA and nine other dental organizations are urging Congress to reject the administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Specifically, the coalition said the budget proposal would cut critical investments in oral health research, prevention and workforce infrastructure. In a May 6 letter, the coalition highlighted that federally supported research has established strong connections between oral disease and systemic health conditions, including endocarditis, cardiovascular disease, pregnancy and birth complications, pneumonia, HIV/AIDS, and oral and throat cancer. 

“The president’s proposed cuts would place our nation’s oral health at risk by defunding, and in some cases eliminating, vital programs that defend against chronic disease, strengthen the dental workforce and promote a healthier America,” the letter said. “These cuts would also weaken our nation’s ability to remain a global leader in developing the next generation of treatments and cures for oral diseases and their broader systemic health implications.”

Several oral health investments are at risk, according to the coalition, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Oral Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, and Indian Health Service Dental Program. 

The coalition advocated for keeping the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research as a separate and unique institute within the National Institutes of Health amid restructuring proposals. Consolidating the agency’s 27 institutes and centers “threatens to erode the specialized expertise” that has driven discoveries in pain biology and management, reducing opioid use, temporomandibular disorders, regenerative medicine and disease diagnostics. 

The CDC’s Division of Oral Health, which was eliminated in April, supports states and territories in reducing cavities and oral disease rates among vulnerable populations. The coalition highlighted the agency’s role in supporting health programs, oral disease surveillance, school-based preventive care, medical-dental integration, infection prevention and control guidelines for dental settings and workforce training in public health. 

Additionally, the coalition said the Health Resources and Services Administration Title VII General  and Pediatric dental training programs are essential to expanding and distributing the dental workforce, having supported more than 5,500 dental students and professionals and delivering care to one million patients in the 2022-23 academic year. 

The Indian Health Service Dental Health Program provided nearly 3.5 million services in fiscal year 2023 and “is essential to reducing the prevalence and severity of oral disease and improving the oral health of the [American Indian/Alaska Native] population,” the letter said.

“Oral health is a critical component of overall health and is foundational to individual well-being and the strength of our economy, which benefits from the $478 billion annual economic impact of oral health,” the group concluded. “We urge you to reject the proposed cuts across HHS agencies and programs and instead prioritize investments that protect and advance America’s oral health.”