Oklahoma Becomes 13th State to Enact Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact

Posted: June 2, 2026

Oklahoma Becomes 13th State to Enact Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact

Edited by Dentaltown staff

Oklahoma has become the 13th state to enact the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact, after Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 540 into law on May 13. The agreement is designed to let licensed dentists and dental hygienists practice in other member states without applying for a separate license in each one.

Under the compact, a dentist or hygienist who holds a license in good standing in a member state and meets the compact’s requirements can obtain a privilege to practice in other participating states. Supporters frame it as a way to ease licensing for practitioners who relocate, including military spouses, and to help fill workforce gaps.

SB 540 was sponsored by Sen. Brenda Stanley and Rep. Erick Harris. Stanley said the measure removes “unnecessary licensing barriers” for qualified professionals and could help address Oklahoma’s shortage of dental hygienists by drawing experienced providers into the state.

Oklahoma joins neighboring Arkansas and Kansas, which have also enacted the compact. Legislation to adopt it is pending in seven additional states, according to the compact’s organizers.

The compact is administered through the National Center for Interstate Compacts at the Council of State Governments. It has now passed the seven-member-state threshold needed to establish its governing commission, which is developing the data system required to verify licenses and issue practice privileges.

Because that system is still being built, practitioners cannot yet use the compact to obtain cross-state privileges. The commission has not announced a date for when privilege issuance will begin.

Sources:
Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact, “Oklahoma Enacts the DDH Compact,” May 14, 2026: ddhcompact.org
Oklahoma Legislature, Senate Bill 540: oklegislature.gov
Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact, “Compact Map”: ddhcompact.org/compact-map


Oklahoma Becomes 13th State to Enact Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact

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