SB 541 was enacted with Governor Rick Snyder's signature on December 27, 2018--establishing PA 463--a little more than a week after the legislation passed the House. You can download the press release on passage of the bill below. 

UPDATE 12-18-20: Licensing Rules Move Into Final Approval Phase

Following the September public hearing on the draft licensing rules, the rules were approved by the state Board of Dentistry on November 12.

TThe rules now move into the final stages with LARA, followed by presentation to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR).

The Road to Bring Dental Therapists to Michigan
Sen. Mike Shirkey (R- Clarklake) introduced Senate Bill 541 to address significant gaps in access to oral health services across the state by licensing dental therapists to practice in Michigan. SB 541 would allow dentists to treat more patients by hiring dental therapists, similar to a physician assistant on a medical team, to provide preventive and routine restorative care such as filling cavities. 

Michigan has an uneven distribution of dentists, resulting in a shortage of dental providers in many rural and urban communities.  77 out of Michigan’s 83 counties have at least one dental shortage area, leaving millions of residents without access to necessary oral care. SB 541 will expand oral health care especially to vulnerable people, including seniors, pregnant women, children and people living in rural areas. 

“Expanding the dental team to include a dental therapist could improve overall access to oral health care for underserved patients while allowing dentists to increase their revenues and modernize and expand their practices,” said Sen. Shirkey. “When people cannot get dental care, they often resort to emergency rooms for relief which costs Michigan taxpayers money. Relying on emergency rooms doesn’t alleviate patients’ underlying problems and places an unfair burden on taxpayers.”

Access to dental care is limited or nonexistent for millions of Michigan residents:

•      More than one-third of all Michigan seniors have lost six or more natural teeth due to tooth decay or gum disease. 

•      Half of new mothers in 2014 did not receive a preventative dental visit during their pregnancy. Research shows gum disease can increase the risk of preterm birth.

•      Approximately half of the kids covered by Medicaid or Healthy Kids Dental did not receive dental services in 2016.

PA 463 increases the number of highly trained professionals able to perform these basic procedures under the supervision of a dentist and allow dentists to focus their time and skills on more complicated procedures.

Arizona, Minnesota, Maine, Vermont and tribal governments in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon allow dentists to hire these midlevel providers. More than a dozen other states are considering similar bills.

IIn August 2020, the ADA’s Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) accredited the dental therapy program at Ilisaġvik College in Utqiaġvik, Alaska. According to the National Partnership for Dental Therapy, this is the first time that CODA has granted accreditation to a dental therapy education program. Read more here.

In 2011, Apple Tree Dental began deploying an advanced dental therapist, as part of its care team at the Madelia Center for Dental Health, a dental clinic located within the Madelia Community Hospital and Clinic in rural southwestern Minnesota. In 2016, the population of Madelia was 2,239, and both the hospital and Apple Tree served patients from surrounding south-central rural counties.

This case study, covering the dental therapist's work from 2014 through 2016, provides an analysis of the productivity and cost effectiveness of an Advanced Dental Therapist (ADT) and the findings strongly suggest that other rural dental practices could benefit from adding dental therapists to their dental care teams. You can read the full case study here.

Children and adults had lower rates of tooth extractions and more preventive care in Alaska Native communities served frequently by dental health aide therapists than residents in communities not receiving these services, according to a new study released by the University of Washington.

Led by Donald Chi, DDS, PhD, and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Rasmuson Foundation and the WK Kellogg Foundation, the study presents an analysis of patients in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC) from 2006 to 2015. The YKHC, which is a part of the Alaska Tribal Health System, serves 25,000 Alaska Natives representing 58 federally recognized tribes. Read more here.

Two recent case studies show that the addition of dental therapists at two private, for-profit clinics in Minnesota helped increase access to oral health services for low-income and underserved residents while providing quality care and significantly increased cost-efficiency. In 2009, Minnesota approved legislation authorizing the statewide use of dental therapy. State dental therapists must work in practice settings that serve low-income and underserved people or in areas designated by the federal government as a "dental health professional shortage area" (DHPSA).

The case studies assessed the contribution of dental therapists at Midwest Dental and Grand Marais Family Dentistry. These two private, for-profit clinics are located in rural areas of Minneosta that are designated as DHPSAs. The results show that the clinics were able to serve more patients with public insurance after hiring dental therapists. Read more here.