More than two dozen students from all seven dental schools in California traveled to the state Capitol April 9 to advocate for the dental profession, better access to oral health care and dental insurance reform. The students met with staff in 13 legislative offices, focusing their discussions on CDA-sponsored legislation and preventing cuts to the Medi-Cal Dental program as the June 30 budget deadline approaches. A few students were veterans of the annual advocacy event. Others, like Monica Tang and Shahrzad Khalaf, attended for the first time.
Tang, a fourth-year student in the Professional Program for International Dentists at UCLA School of Dentistry, is not new to organized dentistry and leadership, but she acknowledged that CDA’s Student Advocacy Day opened her eyes to the power of legislative advocacy.
“It was a valuable experience to see how policy decisions are shaped and how we, as dental students, can contribute to those conversations,” Tang said. “I saw how engaged legislators and their staff were and how open they were to hearing our perspectives.”
Supporting AB 1952 as an internationally trained dentist
Tang primarily spoke about CDA-sponsored Assembly Bill 1952, which would create a pathway for internationally trained dentists to become licensed dental hygienists in California.
In her discussions, she emphasized her personal experience as a foreign-trained dentist who became an RDH in Florida.
“That opportunity played a significant role in my journey,” Tang said. “It allowed me to gain clinical experience in the U.S., strengthen my dental school application and support myself financially while preparing for and attending dental school.”
Working as an RDH also gave her firsthand insight into how a strong hygiene team improves access to care. “Many dentists in California are forced to perform their own hygiene due to workforce shortages, which can limit efficiency and take time away from more complex procedures,” she said.
Tang also stressed that many internationally trained dentists cannot afford or access advanced standing programs due to cost and limited seats.
“This leads some ITDs to leave dentistry or work in roles that don’t fully utilize their training,” she said. “Creating a pathway through AB 1952 would not only help address the hygienist shortage but also provide individuals like me an opportunity to stay within the profession, contribute meaningfully and reduce financial stress during their journey.”
From Hungary to the state Capitol: One student’s advocacy journey
Shahrzad Khalaf, a first-year student in the International Dental Studies program at the University of the Pacific, Dugoni School of Dentistry, got her start in advocacy when she was in Hungary during the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine War. There she supported Ukrainian refugee students, working on initiatives to help them transfer into schools and access free public transportation.
“I advocated to ease their transition and support their basic needs during a very difficult time,” said Khalaf who, now in the U.S., continues to enjoy engaging in policy and advocacy work. “CDA’s Student Advocacy Day reinforced that passion,” she said.
Among other topics, she and her student group discussed two dental insurance reform bills including CDA-sponsored 1629, which addresses the growing inadequacy of dental plan networks to meet enrollees’ needs.
“We focused on how the bills would improve access to care and streamline administrative processes, particularly insurance verification,” Khalaf said.
AB 1629 would reduce delays and ‘improve the overall patient experience’
Specifically, AB 1629 would require dental insurance companies to report provider network information to the state for all dental plans they sell. It also would require dental plans to comply with patients’ assignment of benefits requests. Patients could then receive care from an out-of-network dentist, and the dental plan would send payment directly to the dental office.
“Interestingly, both legislative staffers were able to personally relate to this issue, sharing their own experiences with long wait times in dental offices due to employees needing to call insurance companies,” Khalaf added.
Medi-Cal cuts would be catastrophic, strain emergency departments
Khalaf and her group also discussed anticipated repercussions of proposed Medi-Cal cuts. The 2026-27 state budget proposal calls for $1 billion in cuts to Medi-Cal Dental, which serves more than half of California’s children and one-third of its adults. The cuts initially were due to take effect last year, but legislators postponed them for one year following an extensive campaign by CDA and other coalition members.
Now, the cuts are looming with one-third of Medi-Cal Dental funding set to be eliminated July 1, 2026. This cut would bring the program to 1990s funding levels and would have catastrophic impacts on millions of patients.
“Health care systems rely on strong foundations, and if that foundation is compromised, the entire system is affected,” Khalaf said. “We explained that these cuts would lead to an increase in dental-related visits to emergency rooms, placing additional strain on ERs that are meant to handle life-threatening conditions.
The students also highlighted the impact of Medi-Cal Dental cuts on education, as dental schools serve a large proportion of Medi-Cal patients.
“Reduced Medi-Cal Dental funding would negatively affect both student training and patient care, creating a ripple effect across the entire system,” Khalaf said.
Students hold ‘protect Medi-Cal Dental’ signs at Capitol press event
Before their meetings with legislative staff, all two dozen-plus students gathered for a rally and press event on the Capitol steps. Wearing their white coats, they held “Protect Medi-Cal Dental” signs behind three speakers who presented on Medi-Cal Dental and access to oral health care: CDA President Robert Hanlon, DDS, AB 1629’s author, Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) and Isabelle Bernardo, a student at the College of Dental Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences. (Watch the video.)
Both Tang and Khalaf encourage their fellow dental students to get involved in advocacy.
“Advocacy allows us to highlight real challenges we see in practice and propose meaningful solutions that can improve access to care for our patients,” Tang said, adding that the experience reinforced the importance of bringing diverse perspectives into policy discussions. “As someone who has trained and worked in different systems, I’ve seen firsthand how workforce flexibility can improve access to care. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to share that perspective.”
Khalaf encourages students to get involved as future professionals.
“The policies being discussed today will directly impact our careers, our patients, and the future of dentistry,” she said. “Issues such as Medi-Cal funding affect not only practicing dentists but also dental students through their clinical education and patient exposure. Beyond that, participating in advocacy helps build leadership skills, professional confidence, and a deeper understanding of how health care systems operate.”
CDA’s major legislative priorities plus how to get involved
- CDA’s major issues & priorities: Learn more about the bills CDA is sponsoring in the current legislative session plus what CDA is doing to stop the Medi-Cal Dental cuts.
- Save Our Dental Care coalition: This CDA-convened coalition of more than 100 groups is fighting to stop the planned Medi-Cal cuts. Take action at saveourdentalcare.org.
- Dental Plan Action Center: See CDA’s ongoing dental plan reform efforts and how to access immediate member resources to help with plan contracts, claims, appeals and more.
- Grassroots advocacy: Get involved in grassroots advocacy with CDA.