The Maine Board of Dental Practice issued final rules in April to regulate the practice of dental therapy, creating specific qualifications for licensure and establishing education requirements so that schools in the state can launch training programs.
Two dental therapists discuss the necessary changes and the opportunities to provide essential oral health services.
Senate leaders have released a health care bill, called the Patients First Act, which authorizes dental therapists and makes other scope of practice changes, addresses telehealth, and out-of-network billing.
The libertarian think tank discusses how some states are examining scope of practice laws in the context of COVID-19 and how restrictive state laws across professions (including dental therapists) make health care more expensive and restrict access.
Oregon State Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson writes why she sponsored a bill to authorize dental therapists this session and her plan for an interim workgroup to further explore the issue in preparation of the 2021 session.
Dr. Miranda Davis, director of the Native Dental Therapy Initiative for the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, writes about Oregon’s oral health needs and why dental therapists can help make a difference.
A bill to authorize dental therapists statewide in Washington awaits a House floor vote but the Washington State Dental Association is once again blocking this evidence-based solution.
The Native-led dental campaign works to reduce disparities in oral health that have hidden Native smiles for generations as the ADA fights to stop dental therapists.
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee discusses how an alarming amount of Americans do not have dental insurance and many people can’t access the dental care they need. Dental therapists could help but the American Dental Association is standing in the way.
Dental therapists working in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region in southwestern Alaska are helping to prevent oral health disease and improve quality of life, according to a new study that examines the views of dental providers and native community members.
Colorado state Sen. Dominick Moreno and the Polis administration expressed interest in the licensure of dental therapists in Colorado at a briefing on the topic featuring a dental therapist and other experts.
In the face of massive oral health challenges, groups across Florida are supporting legislation to authorize dental therapists in the state.
