Open AccessA Workforce Strategy for Reducing Oral Health Disparities: Dental Therapists
Author(s) -
Jane Koppelman,
Rebecca Singer-Cohen
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2017.303747
Subject(s) - workforce , oral health , medicine , dental auxiliary , oral health care , work (physics) , state (computer science) , public health , family medicine , medline , nursing , dentistry , political science , law , mechanical engineering , algorithm , computer science , engineering
This article seeks to chronicle how dental therapists are being used to bolster the supply of providers for the underserved and explore their potential to diversify the field of dentistry and improve public health. Of the factors that contribute to persistent oral health disparities in the United States, an insufficient oral health workforce figures prominently. A growing number of states are authorizing a midlevel dental provider (often called a dental therapist) to address this problem. Dental therapists work under the supervision of dentists to deliver routine preventive and restorative care, including preparing and filling cavities and performing extractions. They can serve all populations in 3 states, are caring for Native Americans in an additional 3 states under federal or state authority, and are being considered in about a dozen state houses.