ADA, AGD speak out against new non-dentist provider models

The survey asked if Americans support or oppose “training licensed dental practitioners to provide preventive, routine dental care to people who are going without care,” and the majority of respondents said yes.

“The Kellogg Foundation’s narrow focus on a single idea — so called ‘dental therapists’ — and its claim that a vast majority of Americans favor creating dental therapists lacks credibility,” said ADA President Raymond F. Gist. “Kellogg’s survey question regarding dental therapists implied that care by therapists would somehow cost less than care by dentists. We know of no data to support this. If such data exists, Kellogg should release it.”

“The manner in which the questions were posed may have caused some confusion among the public responding to the survey,” said AGD President Howard Gamble, DDS, FAGD. “Members of the public may not have been aware that the question was referring to supporting or opposing ‘non-dentist mid-level providers.’”

“Mid-level providers do not have the same level of education as a dentist; they are non-dentists with as little as two years of post-high school training to perform clinical dental procedures that may be irreversible, on populations with the most complex health conditions, without the direct supervision of a dentist,” Gamble said. “Therefore, these midlevel providers could be putting the patient’s oral and overall health at risk, and that is a concern to the AGD.”

Based on a poll of 1,023 adults, the survey, conducted by Lake Research Partners, found that more than 80 percent of Americans believe it is difficult for people to get free or low-cost dental care in their communities, and think the number of Americans who cannot access dental care is a problem.

“This survey clearly shows that people throughout the country are struggling to get dental care,” said Sterling K. Speirn, president and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. “We know the impact that poor oral health has on overall health and well-being, so we must look at using mid-level providers, such as dental therapists, to ensure that children can get the preventive dental care they need.”

The survey also found that while most Americans value regular dental care, four in 10 lack dental insurance. Those most likely to be putting off care due to cost are those with annual incomes of less than $30,000 (55 percent), those without dental insurance (54 percent), and those with a high school diploma or less (47 percent).

Both the ADA and the AGD support other measures that will increase access to care for all Americans.

“The nation will never drill, fill and extract its way out of what Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, famously called a ‘silent epidemic’ of oral disease,” Gist said. “Oral health education and prevention are the two most important measures that can end that epidemic. Regular care by dentists and their teams will prevent disease from recurring. The ADA believes that everyone deserves a dentist.”

“It is unethical and unfair for the underprivileged to be relegated to lesser educated professionals than the rest of the American population,” Gamble said. “When it comes to their health, organizations should be working together to create workable and proven solutions needed to improve the health of our fellow Americans.”

In November 2010, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation launched a major initiative to improve access to dental care for vulnerable populations. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is currently working with Ohio, New Mexico, Kansas, Washington and Vermont to establish dental therapists to help expand access to needed dental care. More than a dozen states are considering similar options.