Prospective Students

Dental therapists, also known as dental health aid therapists, are licensed and/or certified providers that work under the supervision of a dentist. Dental therapists receive intensive training in a select set of the most needed routine dental procedures. Like physician assistants in the field of medicine, dental therapists are mid-level providers. They provide preventive and routine dental care, including exams, filling cavities, educating patients about oral health, cleaning teeth, placing temporary crowns on baby teeth and perform simple extractions depending on their regulatory oversite (state legislation or certification standards). Dental therapists are a vital, cost-effective part of the dental team that allow dentists to be able to perform more advanced care for a larger number of patients, increasing access AND overall revenue. 

The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) serves the public and dental professions by developing and implementing accreditation standards that promote and monitor the continuous quality and improvement of dental education programs. Under national CODA dental therapy accreditation standards, dental therapy students must receive at least three academic years (not including summers) of full-time instruction including a clinical preceptorship experience. For specific areas of practice in which they overlap, dental therapists receive the same training as dentists.

Over 75 million people in the United States live in areas with dentist shortages, and each year, more than 32 million children don’t receive dental care. People of color, low-income families, those who are uninsured, and those living in rural locations are the most impacted. As experts in providing high-quality, affordable oral health care, dental therapists address critical gaps in access to dental health care. Moreover, clinics that incorporate dental therapists into their care team demonstrate increased access to oral health care for underserved patients. This means more Americans receiving the oral health care they deserve.

Access to routine dental care should be a right, not a privilege. Dental therapists help expand quality care by allowing dental clinics to see more patients. This can also decrease patient wait times. Plus, the reimbursement value of the care dental therapists deliver has been demonstrated to far exceed the costs of their employment.

Dental therapists can work in traditional dental offices and clinics, community settings such as schools, nursing homes, mobile clinics and in some states dental therapists are working in ER/hospital settings. For a detailed representation of the specific state-by-state requirements that define dental therapy practice, click here.

There are currently four dental therapy programs in the United States, one in Alaska, one in Washington, and two in Minnesota. 

• Ilisagvik Dental Therapy Program in Alaska (CODA Accredited)
• Skagit Valley Dental Therapy Program in Washington (CODA accredited)
• University of Minnesota School of Dentistry Dental Therapy Program (CODA accredited)
• Minnesota State University Master of Science in Advanced Dental Therapy

The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and community activists helped introduce dental therapists to the United States in 2004. Shortly after, in 2009, Minnesota approved statewide legislation to authorize licensure for dental therapists. Dental therapists are authorized in tribal settings in Alaska and state wide in Arizona, Connecticut, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

There are several successful models. To learn more, consider taking this short course on how to optimize your dental team with dental therapists! It will help you become more familiar with the role of dental therapists (on a state wide level) and the benefits they bring to patient care and the community. Reach out to our team if you would like to be connected to a dental therapist to learn more. 

Your education is a priority to ADTA. Learn more here or email us for more info. We can answer your questions, discuss the application process, and connect you to the right resources. At this time, there is no pathway for foreign trained dental therapists to practice in the United States.