Dental News
Earlier this week the W.K. Kellogg Foundation released a wide-ranging assessment of dental care in the U.S. which concluded that dental therapists -a relatively new type of dental professional- could provide care to millions of underserved Americans living in dentist-shortage areas.
Similar to a nurse practitioner or physician assistant in the medical field, dental therapists are envisioned as members of the dental team that is led by the dentist or dental specialist.
Some 48 million U.S. children and adults live in areas without enough dentists to provide routine oral health care and millions more can get to a dentist but cannot afford to pay. As a result, many live with pain, miss school or work and, in extreme cases, face life-threatening medical emergencies from consequences of dental infections.
Dental Therapists History in the U.S.
In Alaska, dental therapists began work in 2003 in rural and tribal areas of the state, according to the report. Earlier this year, the neighboring state of Minnesota became the first state to enact a law authorizing the deployment of a new type of health professional, dental therapists, to serve rural and underserved populations.
But the foundation's assessment differed from the Minnesota model by urging a more simplified training and certification process of two years for a therapist or three years for joint dental therapy/dental hygiene education after high school. The report concludes that the "Minnesota dental therapy model requires more schooling and stricter oversight than the established international model -- two differences that could severely diminish its effectiveness by creating barriers to entering the profession and by increasing dental care costs."
Dental Therapists History Abroad
Internationally, dental therapists have been used for decades. However, dental therapy is still relatively new to the United States. Dental therapy began in the 1920s in New Zealand and is now well-established around the world, including countries with advanced dental care similar to the United States, such as England, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, the foundation report notes.
"Decades of research have shown that the preventive and basic dental repair services provided by dental therapists are safe, high quality, acceptable to the public, and cost-effective," it concludes.
The full report and executive summary are available on the Foundation's website, www.wkkf.org.
Related Blog Posts
Latest Dental News and My Dental Views ( October 16, 2009 )
The Latest Dental News and Views ( April 4, 2007 )
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(Note: I recently received the following e-mail concerning this post of mine)
ReplyDeleteKen,
I wanted to follow up on the great piece you did last week on Dental Therapists with another sign of momentum for the model. The American Dental Hygienists’ Association just came out in support of the Dental Therapist provider as a way to address the dental care access crisis in this country. It’s a major milestone of support, and another sign of progress toward filling the gaps in care.
The ADHA press release is here (http://www.adha.org/media/releases/12222010_Kellogg.htm), and we’re happy to answer any questions that you may have. Thanks for your interest and coverage of the Kellogg Foundation report and this new model to help the millions living in areas short of dentist get the care they need.
Happy Holidays!
Thanks,
Monica Fuentes