American Dental Association Files Suit Over Unlicensed Dental Therapists Providing Care in Rural Areas, NPR Reports
The American Dental Association last week filed suit in Superior Court against the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium to stop a program that uses dental health aid therapists, who do not have state dental licenses, to provide dental care in rural areas, NPR's "All Things Considered" reports (Feidt, "All Things Considered," NPR, 2/2). The ADA and some lawmakers maintain that dental therapists do not have proper training and might cause permanent damage to some patients, and other lawmakers say that bringing dental therapists to rural areas -- not just their states -- can be beneficial. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) had proposed an amendment under which dental therapists could not perform procedures that might cause "irreversible damage," but the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in October 2005 rejected the measure (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 11/21/05). Alaska, which began the program more than one year ago, is the only state to allow the use of dental therapists, who may provide cleanings, fill cavities and pull teeth, NPR reports. There are no dental therapy training programs in the U.S., so dental therapists practicing in Alaska study in New Zealand, one of several countries to use dental therapists. According to NPR, there are currently eight practicing dental therapists in rural Alaska, and four in training. The NPR segment includes comments from Valerie Davidson, legal affairs director for the consortium; Jim Towle, executive director of the Alaska Dental Society, which signed onto the lawsuit; Mary Willard, a dentist at a clinic in Bethel, Alaska, that has had six positions open for six years; and dental therapists in rural Alaska ("All Things Considered," NPR, 2/2).
The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.