When it comes to dental care, Hawai'i's children on average need help. For instance, our 5- to 9-year-olds have nearly twice as many filled or decayed teeth than their counterparts nationally; nearly 14 percent of our 5-year-olds have "baby bottle tooth decay" compared to just 5 percent nationally; and 36 percent of our 8-year-olds have unmet treatment needs, compared to 29 percent nationally, according to the Hawai'i Primary Care Association.

So it's encouraging to see our community health centers, which generally serve Hawai'i's poor and uninsured, expanding their dental care program to include a pediatric dentistry specialty.

Dental care at the health centers is supported by a yearlong dental residency program that connects graduates of dental schools across the country with local health centers through New York's Lutheran Medical Center. The law now allows these residents to practice for up to 13 months, while they work on taking their board exams.

The center plans to add pediatric specialists to the residency program. But that's a two-year program and would require amending the dental licensing law so that residents enrolled in the program can be allowed to work for the longer two-year period.

Lawmakers should grant that request.

Since 2002, the residency program has trained 27 dentists — with 30 percent of them opting to stay and continue to work at the health centers. The program would allow the centers to treat thousands of children on Medicaid who are now underserved due to a lack of pediatric dentists in the state, said Beth Giesting, CEO of the Hawai'i Primary Care Association.

The new program won't cost the state a dime. And it will open the door for better dental care for thousands of keiki. It's the right move.