Credit: Getty Images.

As CEO at Whitney Young Health, I see how barriers to health access affect the lives of our neighbors. One of the biggest barriers right now is a shrinking health workforce — and that’s especially true for the dental health workforce.

The oral health crisis is hurting millions of New Yorkers of all ages, in every region. Tooth decay remains the most common chronic childhood disease, despite being almost entirely preventable.

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We have hundreds of people — children, adults and seniors — on our waitlist for dental services. The same is true of clinics like ours across the state that take public health insurance. There simply aren’t enough dentists to serve the populations in need of care.

But change is possible, right now: New York’s leaders have the opportunity to improve dental care in our state before they head........

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