ADHA applaud Kellogg Foundation plans
The American Dental Hygienists’ Association has declared that it is backing W.K. Kellogg Foundation calls for non-dentist oral health professionals to start providing treatments.
The foundation released a report which said that extra training should be provided by the government so that new dental therapists could increase access to dental care for underserved communities.
The association (ADHA) has backed the idea of introducing a two-year and a three-year dental therapist role which incorporates dental hygienist and dental therapist techniques so patients could receive treatment.
In a statement the ADHA said that it had long recognised the need for new non-dentist providers to deliver needed oral health care services for the 108 million US citizens without dental insurance.
It added that it supported Kellogg’s suggestion that licensed accredited programs for non-dentist oral health professionals was a good solution to the problem.
The ADHA began establishing a new Advanced Dental Hygiene Practitioner (ADHP) model in its own attempt to combat America’s access to dentistry issues in 2004.
ADHPs are masters-level educated professionals, similar to nurse practitioners, which would be able to provide a number of oral health treatments.
As well as being well versed in practice management, ADHPs would also have clinical and therapeutic training.
The first ADHP education program began in 2009 at Metropolitan State University in St Paul, Minnesota.
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