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The changing role of dental auxiliaries: A literature review
Author(s) -
Baltutis Laura,
Morgan Michael
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
australian dental journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1834-7819
pISSN - 0045-0421
DOI - 10.1111/j.1834-7819.1998.tb00188.x
Subject(s) - dental auxiliary , scope (computer science) , workforce , legislature , quality assurance , business , scope of practice , quality (philosophy) , service delivery framework , dental practice , public sector , service (business) , medicine , public relations , dentistry , marketing , political science , computer science , health care , philosophy , epistemology , law , programming language
A review of the literature on dental auxiliaries and their utilization in the dental workforce is presented, and their future role is examined in the light of broader issues relating to changing disease patterns and service delivery. Legislative factors, productivity, quality assurance and the potential scope for dental auxiliaries in both the public sector and private practice setting are discussed. A strategy for adopting a team approach in the delivery of dental services is suggested, which would necessitate the dentist taking on the role of team leader and maintaining responsibility for overall treatment planning and quality assurance. Dental auxiliaries could provide basic preventive and restorative dental services, allowing dentists to concentrate on providing more complex high‐technology treatment. Implications for the future training of dental auxiliaries are presented.