Michigan Dental Therapy Survey Report:
February 2023: 2/23- Employer-Reported Dental Therapist Compensation in Minnesota. "This
survey demonstrates that DTs work in a variety of dental practices and locations around Minnesota. It shows that they are compensated using various payment structures and that their compensation
level reflects their scope fo practece at a level between a dentist and a dental hygienist."
December 19, 2022: Lawmakers Should Act on the Evidence and Expand
Access to Dental Therapists
"Building an adequate dental workforce is
essential to improving America’s oral and overall health. While medicine has long relied on a wide range of provider types — physicians, nurse practitioners, and the like — dentistry has lagged far
behind in expanding the health care team. That is beginning to change with the inclusion of dental therapists."
November 2022: Dimensions of Dental Hygiene- Supporting Dental Therapy
"This is an exciting time in the dental
field. Few in our profession get to watch such impactful developments as they unfold. We have the opportunity and privilege to help foster this change and contribute to the establishment of the
dental therapy profession. Will your name be in the history books as a supporter of dental therapy?"
October 2022: Dental Thearpists may be Key to Serving More Patients
"Dental therapists contributed to
delivering dental care to patients in Alaska, according to a study in the Journal of the American Dental Association. The number of diagnostic, preventive, and restorative services in the
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta rose since the introduction of dental therapy."
September 22, 2022: Dental Therapists Broaden access to Care
"[A new federal report] found
that adding dental therapists to dental teams resulted in more people getting care and reduced wait and travel times for appointments, and resulted in a workforce more representative of the community
it serves. It recommends the federal government support education programs for dental therapists both by dedicating funding specifically to them and by making dental therapy education programs
eligible for existing oral health workforce programs. The report also encourages federal policymakers to support dental therapists through scholarships and loan repayment
programs.
August 3, 2022: New Federal Report Calls
for Additional Funding and Support to Grow Dental Therapy and Improve Access to Oral Health | Inside Dental Hygiene (aegisdentalnetwork.com)
Concluding that dental therapy improves access to oral health care and offers “clear benefits” to vulnerable and underserved communities, a new report from a federal advisory committee calls on
Congress and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement policies that will advance the burgeoning practice.
June 14, 2022: Dental Therapists Improving Capacity and Efficiency of Dental
Teams | University at Albany
“This research illustrates the successful integration of dental therapists into established dental teams,” says CHWS Project Director Margaret Langelier. “Not only do dental therapists help
increase organizational capacity and access to care, but our study indicates that patient satisfaction is high with these new dental providers.”
January 26, 2022: Experts Develop Model Dental Therapy Regulations | National Partnership for
Dental Therapy
the National Partnership for Dental Therapy (NPDT) announced the release of the Model Dental Therapist Rule and Best Practices Guide (the Model Rule), which will support the implementation,
regulation and growth of the dental therapy profession. It was written by the National Model Dental Therapy Rule Panel, a group of 15 experts with extensive experience in the regulation of dental
professions, administrative law, Tribal law and dental therapy.
2022: Nine
Questions That Dive Deeper into Dental Therapy | CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
A look at training, licensure, and
supervision requirements, impact on access, learning opportunities, and existing dental therapy training programs.
December 2021: Dispelling
Myths About Dental Therapy - Dimensions of Dental Hygiene | Magazine
Dr. Frank Catalanotto: "Despite myriad
success stories, some detractors continue to misrepresent data supporting the effectiveness of dental therapy. Following is a rebuttal to the most commonly spread false statements to better prepare
advocates to defend dental therapy."
Oct 2021: Dental
Therapists in the United States: Health Equity, Advan... : Medical Care (lww.com)
Study: Dr. Elizabeth Mertz, et.al.: "Health
equity is a driving force for dental therapy adoption. Community engagement has been evident in diverse statewide coalitions. National accreditation standards for education programs that can be
deployed in 3 years without an advanced degree reduces educational barriers for improving workforce diversity. Safe, high-quality care, improvements in access, and patient acceptability have been
well documented for DTs in practice
July 17, 32021: Dental Therapy Moves Forward in Michigan
An overview of dental therapy in Michigan
and its potential impacts on access to care and the oral health workforce.
June 23, 2021: Lawmakers OK New Class of Dental Therapists
"This bill reflects the evidence that
unequivocally shows that where dental therapists are providing care, access is increased and oral health outcomes are improved.”
May 17, 2021: Michigan Finalizes Rules
Expanding Access to Dental Care
Pew reports on Michigan's final step forward in dental therapy.
March 16, 2021: 7 years
after lawmakers allowed dental therapists, Maine’s 1st is practicing in Bangor
The Bangor Daily News profiles Maine's first practicing dental therapist.
March 11, 2021: 100+
Organizations Endorse Dental Therapists
The National Partnership for Dental Therapy
announces more than 100 organizations have joined their coalition to support dental therapy as an equity-focused, cost-effective means of addressing a lack of dental care in the United
States.
August 18, 2020: Alaska Dental Therapy Program Gains CODA Accreditation
This report from Dentistry Today details the exciting news of the ADA’s Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) accreditation of 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.
September 15, 2019: Fixing the gap: State authorization of dental therapist occupation will help fix dental care shortage, but it's not without opposition
The Herald-Palladium in St. Joseph published this report on the progress of dental therapy in Michigan and interviewed MI Dental Access coalition members. All of Southwest Michigan - Berrien, Cass
and Van Buren counties - is a HRSA dental health shortage area.
August 18, 2019: Backers of rural dental care find something to smile about
This Associated Press piece discusses the particular challenges in rural areas as the number of dentists dwindles.
October 11, 2018: Dental
Therapists Can Heal Michigan's Dental Shortage
This commentary piece from the Heartland Institute notes that SB 541 would help address Michigan's access to care problem: "Dental therapists have proven to be safe, effective, and affordable
providers of dental care in America and abroad. Lawmakers should free these qualified professionals to treat all Michiganders, especially those who are most vulnerable."
July 24, 2018: Open door for dental therapists in Michigan
This editorial from The Detroit News supports SB 541. As the editorial notes, "the creation of a mid-level provider would offer a less-costly professional who could make lower Medicaid payments
work for dental practices -- consequently expanding access to dental care."
The News editorial board interviewed both MCMCH Executive Director Amy Zaagman and Ryan Grinnell-Ackerman, Michigan Primary Care Association Policy and Government Affairs
Manager, for the piece, and the result is a well-informed, comprehensive look at why SB 541 should move forward.
May 17, 2018: Ducey signs
bill allowing 'dental therapists' to practice in Arizona
Before Michigan, Arizona was the latest state to license dental therapists when Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation that was passed by the Arizona House of Representatives 47-13 and passed
unanimously in the Senate. Dental therapists can practice in urban Indian clinics or tribal health centers, community health centers, non-profit dental practices, federally qualified health
centers and other locations under the new law.
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January 10, 2018: Dental therapists are
helping the less fortunate in Minnesota. Michigan should follow their lead
Michigan Radio's Senior Political Analyst Jack Lessenberry interviewed MCMCH Executive Director Amy Zaagman about SB 541 and the difference dental therapy has already made in improving access to
care in Minnesota.
October 10, 2017: Lawmakers Should Smile Upon Dental
Therapist Bill
Michael Van Beek, director of research for the Mackinac Center, authored this op-ed discussing the economic impact of Michigan's exisiting access to oral health care burden. A 2014 study by
Anderson Economic Group identified about 7,000 Michigan patients using the emergency room in 2011 to deal with symptoms from preventable dental issues. Hospitals charged over $15 million for the
services provided to these patients. About 1,000 of these patients were even hospitalized, but about half of these hospital stays were for complications relating to cavities — a problem that can be
handled routinely in a dentist’s chair.
September 14, 2017: Dental Therapists Enhance Care
Sen. Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) discusses the reasons he introduced Senate Bill 541 in this op-ed for the Detroit News.
August 6, 2017: America's Dental
Crisis-Thousands Cross Into One Mexican City for Treatment
NBC Nightly News profiles Los Algodones, Mexico--home to roughly 300 dental clinics, and the Americans who travel there for affordable dental care.
July 28, 2017: This Dental Therapist is Filling a Gap in U.S.
Healthcare
This piece in Trust magazine, published by the Pew Trusts, explores the many roles Jodi Becker plays as part of her job as an advanced dental therapist. Most weeks, she can be found packing her
portable equipment and hitting the road to treat the many people in rural and suburban Minnesota who either can’t find a dentist to treat them or can’t travel to an office to receive care.
July
1, 2017: The Unexpected Political Power of Dentists
This Washington Post article discusses the efforts of the American Dental Association to fight mid-level provider legislation in any state considering it. "Among the general public, dentists tend
to have a Norman Rockwell appeal — solo practitioners who clean your teeth, tell your kids to cut down on the candy, and put their seal of approval on a range of minty toothpastes and mouthwashes.
But lawmakers from Maine to Alaska see a different side of dentists and their lobby, the American Dental Association, describing a political force so unified, so relentless and so thoroughly woven
into American communities that its clout rivals that of the gun lobby."
June 23, 2017: How America's Dental Health Crisis
Created Mexico's "Molar City"
This HuffPost article discusses a report written by researchers at the conservative Arizona-based Goldwater Institute. The Goldwater Institute is one of a growing number of groups on both sides of
the political aisle advocating for the licensure of midlevel providers in dentistry as a means to improve access to affordable dental care in the U.S. It also examines the small border town, Los
Algodones, which is better known by its nickname, Molar City, because of the number of Americans traveling there for care.
May 23, 2017: Our Teeth Are Making Us Sick
This New York Times column highlights difficulty with finding oral health care and explores the long-term health problems that result from neglect: “Gum disease can increase the
risk of heart disease and diabetes, and among pregnant women it is correlated with lower birth weights for their babies.” Additionally, tooth decay causes pain, an inability to eat solid foods, and
even more serious problems if left untreated.
May 15, 2017: The Painful Truth About Teeth
This Washington Post report takes an in-depth look at the growing crisis surrounding access to dental care. "Millions of others rely on charity clinics and hospital emergency rooms to treat
painful and neglected teeth. Unable to afford expensive root canals and crowns, many simply have them pulled. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans older than 65 do not have a single real tooth left."
May 1, 2017: Dental therapy nation is just a matter of time
This Watchdog.org report discusses how dental therapy advocates may finally get a leg up on the powerful dental lobby around the country.
April 19, 2017: Dentists Know Best, So Let Them Choose
This piece ran in the trade publication Dentistry Today and was authored by Michael Hamilton of the Illinois-based Heartland Institute. Hamilton discusses how states are preventing dentists from
expanding their practices. "One kind of dental teammate inaccessible to dentists in most states is the dental therapist. Obstruction of dentists’ freedom to hire dental therapists ensues not from
political bias but from special interests. Opponents include dentists who are concerned that patient care and the traditional dentistry model will be turned upside down if an enterprising dentist
strays from the pack by hiring and supervising a dental therapist."
April 9, 2017: 6 years in, dental therapist
experiment is working, experts say
This SC Times piece reviews how dental therapy in Minnesota is working. Since the first dental therapists began practicing there in 2011, a 2016 study by the University of Minnesota
found dental therapists saw up to 90 percent of uninsured patients or patients on public assistance. Wait times were also being reduced for patients.
September 21, 2016: WILS Interview on Dental Therapy
MCMCH Executive Director Amy Zaagman was interviewed for this radio program, discussing the benefits of adding dental therapists to Michigan's workforce.
September 1, 2016: Michigan's Looming Dentist Shortage?
This blog post from The Mackinac Center discusses how mid-level providers could fill the shortage gap in Michigan.
August 30, 2016: Could dental therapy improve access to care in Michigan?
The Michigan Radio current events program Stateside did an interview with Dr. David Gesko, senior vice president of HealthPartners in Minnesota and the Michigan Dental Association, discussing SB
1013 and the work of dental therapists in Minnesota.
August 29, 2016: You Don't Need to Be a Dentist to Fill a Cavity (download below)
The Wall Street Journal explored the issue in Michigan and other states in this piece.
August 29, 2016: Crying need for tooth care warrants targeted use of dental
therapists
Dr. Marilyn Stolberg, a dentist who has practiced throughout northern lower Michigan and served as director of clinical education for the Allied Dental programs at Ferris State University as well
as chief dental officer at a federally qualified health center, spoke to the need for dental therapists to join Michigan's workforce in this op-ed, published Mlive.com.
August 7, 2016: Give dentists the option to hire
therapists
In response to an opinion piece authored by Dr. Larry DeGroat, president of
the Michigan Dental Association, Dr. David Gesko, senior vice president of HealthPartners in Minnesota, submitted this letter published in the Detroit News, explaining that dental therapists are
contributing to increased access in Minnesota.
July 7, 2016: Down in the mouth: Michigan's dentist shortage prompts reform
effort
The nonprofit news group
Watchdog.org featured an
article on Senate Bill 1013, discussing dental therapists and the role they could play in addressing Michigan's access to oral health care issue.
MCMCH Executive Director Amy Zaagman wrote this op-ed for Bridge Magazine, detailing Michigan's oral health care access problems, and why introducing dental therapists to the state's workforce
can help.
June 20, 2016: Big Smiles in Vermont Over Dental Therapy
On June 20, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed Senate Bill 20 into law, authorizing the practice of dental therapy. After a five-year campaign by the Vermont Oral Health Care for All Coalition,
Vermont became the third state, joining Maine and Minnesota, to allow dentists to hire these midlevel providers. Dental therapists also work with dentists caring for Native American tribes in Alaska,
Oregon, and Washington.
May
26, 2016: Vermont Tech Lays Groundwork for Dental Therapy Program
This news report looks at Vermont Technical College's draft curriculum for its dental therapy program. The Vermont legislature passed a bill this session to license dental therapists.
May 24, 2016: Proper Dental Care Should Be a Human
Right
This Boston Globe op-ed urges Massachusetts lawmakers to pass the Dental Health Practitioner legislation.
May 22, 2016: Where Dentists Are Scarce, American Indians Forge a Path to Better Care
The New York Times reports on a dental therapist practicing at the Swinomish Dental Clinic in Washington.
May 3, 2016: Confronting Dental Decay in Indian Country
KPLU public radio produced this three-part series examining dental care among Native Americans.
April
19, 2016: Tribal Pilot Program May Point to Dental-care Future For All Oregonians
A guest column by Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson discussing a pilot project for clinics in two southwest Oregon tribes to hire dental therapists.
April 13, 2016: Former health secretary advocates for dental therapists
Dr. Louis Sullivan, former secretary of health and human services who served under President George H.W. Bush, spoke to the North Dakota Legislature's interim Health Services Committee April
13 about the growing lack of access to dentistry, particularly in more rural areas.
February 27, 2016: Shortage of dentists
makes case for change
James Haveman, former director of what was then the Michigan Department of Community Health, discusses in this Detroit News op-ed how states are creating new midlevel dental care providers with
good results.
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