# 119-hr-9829: ORTHO Act

119-hr-9829, ORTHO Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Babin, Brian [R-TX-36] (R-TX); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-31).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9829
- As of: 2026-07-31
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9829
- Congress: 119
- Title: ORTHO Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-22
- Sponsor: Rep. Babin, Brian [R-TX-36] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-31

## Summary

**Would require an in-person dental exam before teledentistry** and set federal rules on when remote dental services and devices may be used, with narrow exceptions and shared enforcement by the FTC and states. - Patients and families: Most remote dental services would need an in-person exam first, with three narrow exceptions for emergency care, public health programs, and certain initial orthodontic evaluations. - Dentists and orthodontists: Remote diagnosis may establish a patient relationship for tooth misalignment, but the dentist must make or affirm the diagnosis using independent judgment and confirm it in person with radiographic review before an orthodontic appliance is used. - Regulators and state enforcers: The Federal Trade Commission would write rules within 180 days and enforce violations under the FTC Act. States could sue on behalf of residents and seek at least $1,000 per violation, up to three times that amount for willful breaches, and courts may award attorney fees. *Net effect: would create a federal safety framework that limits most teledentistry, requires in-person confirmation for orthodontic appliances, and adds FTC and state enforcement tools.*

## Cosponsors (3)

- Rep. Joyce, John [R-PA-13] (R-PA), 2026-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2] (R-NJ), 2026-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9] (R-AZ), 2026-07-23T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New rules for teledentistry care: cost, medium. This bill would require the FTC to write rules within 180 days that generally force a dentist to do an in-person exam before giving dental care or a dental device by teledentistry. There are three narrow exceptions, including emergency care and some public health programs. Any initial teledentistry…
- New enforcement and damages for teledentistry: mixed, medium. This bill would let the FTC treat violations of the teledentistry in-person-exam rule as unfair or deceptive acts and use its normal enforcement powers. It would also let State attorneys general sue in federal court for violations on behalf of residents. States could get $1,000 for each violating r…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-22: SAVE Act
- 119-hr-4317: PBM Reform Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5401: Pay Our Troops Act of 2026
- 119-hr-1301: Death Tax Repeal Act
- 119-hr-516: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the railroad track maintenance credit.
- 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-9829 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9829)

## Related
- [119-hr-22: SAVE Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-22)
- [119-hr-4317: PBM Reform Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4317)
- [119-hr-5401: Pay Our Troops Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5401)
- [119-hr-1301: Death Tax Repeal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1301)
- [119-hr-516: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the railroad track mainten…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-516)
- [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9829 (as of 2026-07-31).