Dentists must see patients in person before most telehealth dental care.
H.R. 9829 — ORTHO Act · Filed by Brian Babin (R-TX) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 22, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill tells the Federal Trade Commission to write rules within 180 days. These rules say dentists must do in-person exams first. Then dentists can give most dental care by video or phone. A few exceptions exist: emergencies, public health programs, and first orthodontic visits. But even those need an in-person visit before real treatment starts. The FTC and state attorneys general can punish dentists who break these rules. The punishment is $1,000 per violation. It can be up to three times that if done on purpose.
Who it affects
Patients get protected because dentists must check them in person first. People in rural areas or with less money may find it harder to get dental help by video. Teledentistry companies may face big fines.
One thing to notice
The $1,000 fine per violation may lead state officials to bring many cases against teledentistry companies.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 3 Republicans.
- Jul 22, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 22, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- teledentistry — Dental care given by video call or phone instead of in person.
- Federal Trade Commission — A government agency that stops unfair or deceptive business practices.
- state attorneys general — The top law officers in each state who can bring legal cases.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (8,751 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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