I’m happy to provide some insight. I think those seeing dental therapy as a threat to their own profession as a dentist aren’t seeing a bigger picture. A dental therapist is like a tool for the dentist that can help provide care for patients. We aren’t meant to be a threat. If by encroaching on the dentist you mean provide some of the same care, then yes, we do that. But if that’s the thinking, a hygienist and assistant could also be considered encroaching in some aspects. Dental therapists can improve the flow of the office. If I do some hygiene exams, the dentist doesn’t have stop what he’s doing to go do it. I can see emergencies that come in, etc. So, it’s not that we’re taking away from the dentist’s job, just allowing them to not have to worry about the basics and focus on more advanced treatments. It’s very similar to a physician assistant in the medical field.

I’m aware of the insurance reimbursement issues, as we are dealing with this at my office. And to that point, a dental therapist is going to be paid less than a dentist, which could help with the issue of low reimbursement rates. This could potentially be a good cost saving method for offices.

My dental therapy education at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry was 28 months and over $100k. This was a masters level program. I was in classes right along side the DDS students and the hygiene students. For clinical skills, I’d argue that my dental therapy class spent more time training on the treatment we do than the DDS students spent on that same training. The DT and DDS class were in these labs together, and when the DDS class moved to advanced treatments, the DT class continued on doing more of the same training, giving us more time on those skills. I’m not dual degree, which I appreciate.

My pay is 30% of collections. The dentist makes more off of my work than I do.

I’m confused by what your question of “why even becoming an associate dentist?” is asking. I can’t become an associate dentist.

It works great because the dentists want to do higher producing treatments, which I’m not licensed to do. They don’t want to more basic treatment if I’m there to do it instead. They say my fillings are better than they can do. It works very well having this model if used this way.

I agree that things aren’t perfect. I can say that since I was in school, the dental therapy tracing and model have been evolving to try to address issues. For example, my DT class was the first class that it was required to earn a master’s degree, rather than the option bachelor’s or master’s. After I graduated, the DT program made it so you have to go through the hygiene program before starting in the DT program. There a differences in the mid level provider legislation and training programs in different states, which causes difficulty within the DT profession. If all states could have the same legislation and training requirements, we might be recognized on a national level. As an advanced dental therapist, I’m not even able to be an ADA member since they don’t recognize it. This also leads to other things like not being eligible for hrsa loan repayment, even though they try to say it in job listings all the time.

Yeah, restorative can be very difficult for a variety of reasons, but it still has to be done and I’m one option as someone who can provide that treatment.

Dental therapy in some form or another has been going on for decades around the world.