American Dental Therapy Association
Connecting and supporting the dental therapy profession by fostering collaboration and advancing workforce growth nationwide.
Why Dental Therapy?
There are wide disparities in oral care in the United States.
Millions of Americans face barriers to oral healthcare.
As of March 31, 2026, more than 70.6 million people lived in federally designated Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas. HRSA estimated that 11,779 additional dentists were needed to meet the workforce thresholds required to remove those designations. Dental therapists expand the reach of dental teams, bringing preventive and routine restorative care to communities facing barriers to care.(1)
Dental Therapists are widely regarded as an effective solution.
According to the CDC, “Policymakers should support the training and licensing of mid-level providers, such as dental therapists, to deliver preventive and basic restorative services, especially in rural and underserved areas." (2)
Dental Therapists make economic sense.
Dental therapists drastically reduce preventable Emergency Room visits for dental care. In 2022, the estimated total costs for Emergency Department visits for Non-Traumatic Dental Conditions in 2022 was $3.9 billion. This was from approximately 1.6 million Emergency Department visits for Non-Traumatic Dental Conditions. (3)
Thanks for joining us at the ADTA Annual Conference 2026 August 10-12, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan
We hope to see you next year! Join dental therapists, educators, policymakers, and advocates from across the country for the American Dental Therapy Association's premier annual event in 2027. Stay tuned for updates by signing up for our e-news updates here.
From Our Membership Community
“Dental Therapy, to me, means service. It means access. It means opportunity. It means reaching patients where they are at and caring for people who may not have seen a dental provider in years, helping them feel comfortable, respected, and heard. It means bringing care into communities through mobile clinics, community health centers, and other nontraditional settings so people who are too often left behind can receive the care they deserve. Dental Therapy is about people first.”
"As a first-generation Latina who fulfilled her dream of becoming a dental therapist, returning to a rural community highlights the purpose of dental therapy. It expands access to care in rural small-town communities facing provider shortages, while also allowing me to build trust through shared language, culture, and lived experience."
"I became a Dental therapist because as a collaborative hygienist I saw extensive decay and abscesses that I could do nothing about and had so few places to refer these patients to. While I have made a difference in the oral health and lives of so many patients throughout the state of Minnesota, my real difference is being a dental therapy instructor. It is rewarding to know that my students will see thousands of patients and continue to address access to care and the oral health of patients throughout the country."
Watch & Learn
What is a Dental Therapist?
Alaska’s solution for America’s Dental Health Care Crisis
Day in the Life of a Dental Therapist in Alaska
Dental Health Aide Therapists (DHATs) in Alaska
Dental Therapy Advocacy
Our Partnerships
Become an ADTA Member Today
Dental Therapist or not, we’d love to have you join the movement.