A Moment to Remember 

There are memories that stay with you forever. Many momentous achievements in life, such as the day you graduated from dental hygiene school and the first day of your first job, cannot be forgotten as they represent the start of your professional life. Often as you live in such moments, you are keenly aware of the significant impact they will have on your future.

On Friday, August 7, 2015, such a moment happened for the dental hygiene profession. The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) voted to implement the accreditation process for dental therapy education programs, which provide training for mid-level providers. These individuals can work in underserved communities and offer necessary services, including subgingival scaling and dental prophylaxis, application of preventive agents, and dispensation and administration of non-narcotic medications via oral or topical routes as prescribed by a licensed health care provider based on state laws. Dental therapists might also render restorative/ surgical procedures, such as simple extractions of primary teeth, fabrication of temporary crowns, pulp capping, and preparation and placement of direct restorations.

Dental therapy education programs comprise at least 3 years of full-time academic instruction or the equivalent at the post-secondary level. Such programs are meant to increase access to care while ensuring that qualified individuals deliver such care. The University of Minnesota in Minneapolis established a dental therapy program based on licensure in 2009.¹ Though CODA’s accreditation implementation process will occur over the next few years, this is a milestone that impacts the future of dental hygiene practice.

What does this mean for you? As a dental hygienist, there will be additional opportunities to use the full extent of your training in roles that you may not have envisioned. Imagine applying your skills as you see fit, utilizing critical thinking and dental hygiene diagnosis to implement a treatment plan. Imagine helping to treat the countless underserved individuals who need our services in a more unrestricted way. This is a moment to celebrate and one our profession will never forget.

Jill Rethman, RDH, BA
Editor in Chief
jrethman@belmontpublications.com

REFERENCE

1. 1. University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. Dental Therapy: A New Profession. Available at:dentistry .umn.edu/ programs-admissions/ dental-therapy/ index.htm. Accessed August 18, 2015.

From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. September 2015;13(9):10.