Hygienists group supports Dental Reform Act of 2012

The two lawmakers introduced the Comprehensive Dental Reform Act of 2012, which seeks to overcome barriers that more than 140 million Americans face in accessing oral health care services — and ensure that the public has dental coverage and access to safe and high-quality oral health care.

The ADHA news release reported that the United States is in the midst of an oral health care crisis, with nearly 48 million people living in federally designated "shortage areas" that lack an adequate number of dentists to serve the population. Less than 20 percent of Medicaid-eligible children received dental treatment services in 2010. In addition, nationwide, the number of dental-related visits to the ER jumped by 16 percent during a three-year period between 2006 and 2009 to more than 830,000 visits for preventable dental conditions.

With access to comprehensive dental coverage, the ADHA news release reported, vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, children in low-income families and members of racial and ethnic minority groups, are able to receive treatment for oral disease while it is still manageable. This diminishes the need for more costly restorative services and emergency care.

In addition to expanding dental coverage, the Comprehensive Dental Reform Act seeks to raise the public’s awareness of the importance of oral health and expand the dental workforce to accommodate the millions more Americans who may become eligible for dental coverage in 2014. More than 50 countries have used midlevel dental providers for decades to help deliver much-needed oral health care to patients.

Minnesota recognized the need for midlevel dental providers — and their ability to increase access to care -— by passing legislation establishing two new members of the dental team: the dental therapist (DT) and the advanced dental therapist (ADT). The DT functions much like the physician’s assistant, requiring the onsite supervision of a dentist for most services provided. The ADT, however, is modeled after the nurse practitioner, and collaborates with a dentist in the treatment of patients but does not require onsite supervision. This collaborative relationship allows the ADT to provide services in communities where no dentist is regularly available, creating a pipeline to care for those disenfranchised from the current delivery system.

At a Feb. 29 hearing on access to dental care, Christy Fogarty, RDH, MSOHP, told members of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging about her experience practicing as a dental hygienist and ADT in the Minneapolis area, and the impact she has had on increasing access to care for vulnerable populations. Her patients include children (under the age of 21) and pregnant women who currently have limited or no access to oral health care.

“Christy’s testimony spoke to the advantage of [how] being educated first as a dental hygienist and then as an ADT allowed her to provide important preventive care combined with restorative services within the ADT scope of practice. This combination greatly benefits patients as they receive comprehensive care,” said ADHA President Pam Quinones, RDH, BS. “Our goal is to improve access to dental care throughout the country and to ensure that the public is receiving the best care possible.”

The ADHA is the largest national organization representing the professional interests of more than 150,000 dental hygienists across the country. Dental hygienists are preventive oral health professionals, licensed in dental hygiene, who provide educational, clinical and therapeutic services that support total health through the promotion of optimal oral health.

(Source: ADHA)