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AAPHD outlines dental therapist training program
By DrBicuspid Staff

June 3, 2011 -- The American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD) has published a series of papers highlighting proposed curriculum guidelines for the training of dental therapists (Journal of Public Health Dentistry, June 1, 2011).

AAPHD believes that adding dental therapists as members of the dental team may help meet growing U.S. oral health needs, particularly among underserved populations. The papers are the work of an 11-person academic panel that was selected for expertise, experience, and in-depth knowledge of dental education.

The series includes the following information: the principles upon which a dental therapy program should be based, the recommended length of training programs, the competencies required for graduates, and the general curriculum content of such programs. The proposed model curriculum is based on a two-year, postsecondary training program.

“Such a designation could add value to the dental profession as a whole.”
— Caswell Evans Jr., DDS, MPH,
     University of Illinois at Chicago

"The AAPHD brought together this panel of academicians and highly respected authorities in dental education to determine an appropriate course of study to be included in a two-year education program," said Caswell Evans Jr., DDS, MPH, associate dean for prevention and public health sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago and convener of the panel, in a press release.

In completing its work, the panel has considered the course of study for dental therapists in programs already in the U.S. (Minnesota and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium/University of Washington program) and throughout the world. The dental therapist designation is a professional, accredited position in 55 countries in the world today.

This month, the first group of Minnesota's groundbreaking dental therapist program will graduate after completing a two-year program. After they have applied for and received their dental therapist license from the Minnesota Board of Dentistry, the dental therapists will be allowed to perform basic preventive and restorative procedures and primary extractions with the onsite supervision of a dentist.

"There has been a growing interest in adding a new oral health professional designation to the dental workforce by both state and federal legislatures," Dr. Evans said. "The AAPHD and the panel it convened believe that such a designation could add value to the dental profession as a whole, and could assist the profession in its efforts to improve access to care for difficult-to-reach sectors of the population."

According to AAPHD President Diane Brunson, RDH, MPH, AAPHD took on the charge of developing a model curriculum because of the increasing interest in the states and the need to standardize training to ensure accreditation of programs, as well as develop a career path for entering the profession to best serve the oral health needs of all populations.

"We believe that the expert panel recommendations, used as a model to build on, will assure that curricula from school to school and state to state are consistent, of high quality and will pave the way for national accrediting," she said. "We are most appreciative to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation for the grant monies that made the panel's work possible."

Related Reading

First group of Minn. dental therapists set to graduate, April 15, 2011

State dental groups question dental therapist qualifications, December 8, 2010

More states moving forward with midlevel providers, November 17, 2010

Minn. shapes future of midlevel providers, January 27, 2009

Dentists, hygienists debate role of 'midlevel provider', November 17, 2008


Copyright © 2011 DrBicuspid.com

Last Updated hh 6/8/2011 10:31:26 AM
Forum Comments
11 comments so far ...
6/17/2011 7:25:17 PM
drkc		 I am a pediatric dentist who finds it offensive that some of my colleagues are so eager to allow persons with a 2year post high school education the privilege of practicing the dentistry that those of us who are true dental health care professionals went to school for 7 years to obtain.  I do not believe there is an "access to care" issue in terms of insufficient dentists to provide care.  There is a "distribution of dentist" crisis.  Most of us are concentrated in urban/suburban areas. There are many reason for this, but economics may top the list. However, incentives such as loan forgiveness in exchange for 2-5 years of service in a rural, but well equiped, dental facility might start to relieve some of the problems with access to care.  I am also very saddened by the fact that my profession, which I do love dearly, seems content to allow control over this issue be in the hands of 3rd parties whose interest in access to care may not be strictly for the benefit of patients. We need to look closely at who will benefit the most financially from non-dentist personnel providing dental care to underserved populations.  "Anything is better than nothing" is not a good thing for patients or our profession.
6/20/2011 4:57:23 AM
WhiteLake69		 A pedodontist friend is looking for for an associate. He has bscome somewhat dismayed by candidates asking $300,000/yr staring salary, plus vacation,etc.  Nuff said?

As for "loan forgiveness" and other "incentives, these are all just other means by which taxpayers are being asked to pay for dentists, who we are already subsidizing. How much GME $$ do you suppose went into the pedo residency? How much to dental school and college? Perhaps for good reason. None the less, a two year trained DT can a will perform five basic services at the same level of quality as dentists do. This we know. Those five services may be just what children need 90% of the time.

The AAPHD is a specialty no less so than AAPD. Its members have a specific expertise in public health/access. Pedodontists have clustered in areas which are rarely considered poor or near poor, urban and suburban vs rural, same as generalists and other specialists. Little will change that, but for the possibility that some, such as members of AAPHD and therapists will make a real try to improve access.
6/20/2011 12:29:02 PM
DocM		 I have a hard time believing that any area of the country has Pedo associates being able to demand a starting salary of $300,000. plus benefits. My guess is that most owner/docs don't make anywhere near that amount.  Regardless, I don't believe that "dental assistant specialists" should be doing this type of work after a short period of training.  Most dentists have a four year undergraduate degree, followed by four years of dental school.  Not to mention that pediatric dentists have another 2-3+ years of formal training.  How can you expect the dental therapist to provide the same level of care??  I agree that this is NOT good for our profession.
6/24/2011 3:44:31 AM
WhiteLake69		 What do you mean  by "not good for our profession?" Dental therapists, in their two years of training, perform far more restorative, exo, SSCs than dental students do in their four years. It is simply a matter of focused skill development. Is it "not good for our profession" that DTs have demonstrated access improvement up to 95% among school children? That DMFT is almost MFT, the D being minimized?

Pedodontists are trained to treat the complex pediatric dental patient. The everyday kid has been very well served by DTs. There is ample supportive evidence, if you wish to look for it.

And yes, the $300,000/yr was a serious demand by a recent graduate of a pedo program. And yes, the specialty income levels are that high in several areas of the US. Check with the ADA. Two year DTs can be trained for approx. $60,000 and the evidence tells us that they definitely perform, as a member of a dentist led team, at acceptable levels of quality. We pride ourselves in being professionals and businessmen. Does it make any sense to use our most expensive person, who takes the longest to train, to perform what can be delegated to one of our least expensive and who can be trained in the shortest period?

We do have an access problem in America, for whatever reason you wish to use.  Bruised egos should not restrict approaches to solving it. That is not good for our profession.
7/22/2011 2:29:51 PM
insight		 WhiteLakes - you speak well.  I suspect I am older than you but still have the unorthodox belief that dentistry, access, stress etc. would all be better with focused expansion of duties. 
 
Spell out for me if you would how you see the Mid level  being used in the U.S.  Would they be RDH's with Mid L. additional training working with indirect ( no dentist physically present) in schools or are you talking about EFDS's with direct supervision in offices or both.
 
Hope to learn more.
 
Insight
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