Only about 15% of nearly 9 million veterans enrolled in VA health care qualify for VA dental services. That figure sets the scale of the gap facing rural veterans.
The SMILE for Veterans Act was introduced in the House on September 25, 2026. Jared Golden, Jack Bergman, Don Davis and Jeff Van Drew sponsored the bipartisan proposal.
The VA eligibility categories described by the lawmakers include veterans with service-connected dental conditions, a 100% disability rating, and former prisoners of war.
The plan relies on clinics that already operate in local communities. Veterans would be connected to those practices, and reimbursements would support the care they can provide.
The gap is large.
Jared Golden called VA health care an "essential benefit." He described the lack of dental coverage as a "massive gap in care" and called the bill a "smart first step" toward fuller coverage, with a focus on rural veterans.
A September 23 GAO report cited by Stars and Stripes found that approximately 2.4 million veterans currently qualify for VA dental coverage, underscoring the limited reach of the existing benefit.
The lawmakers and the National Rural Health Association said the measure could help veterans who face barriers to dental care. The press release also cites survey data on veterans' oral health and dental coverage. The supplied summary does not give the survey's specific findings.
Local care is already part of the picture. A separate report on free veteran dental care at Dental365 appeared in earlier veterans coverage. It described how a local provider could become the immediate point of care for people who served.
For rural communities, the test is practical. A pilot based on community dentists could avoid the delay and expense of creating a parallel VA network. Reimbursement would determine whether participating practices could make the model work.
Congress must still create the pilot. Its value would depend on whether the reimbursement structure is strong enough to bring rural providers into the program.
