Educational Plan for Two-Year Dental Therapist Programs Presented

The entire collection of papers is available online at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jphd.2011.71.issue-s2/issuetoc and will also be published in a special issue, Volume 71:S2 of the peer-reviewed Journal of Public Health Dentistry later this month, June 2011.

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, post-secondary training program. 

Presentations reviewing the panel’s work have already been made during the American Dental Education Association Annual Meeting Symposium and the National Oral Health Conference, both in the Spring of this year. 

According to 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, “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.” 

In completing its work, the panel has considered the course of study for dental therapists in programs already in the United States (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.

Dr. Evans continues, “There has been a growing interest in adding a new oral health professional designation to the dental workforce by both state and federal legislatures. 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 assure 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 adds, “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.

AAPHD is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to the vision of optimal oral health for all. Its members are dentists, dental hygienists, and other individuals committed to improving the oral health of the public.  Founded in 1937, the AAPHD provides a focus for meeting the challenge to improve oral health.  Public health dentistry is one of the nine dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, established in 1930, supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, southern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.