A Four-Year Study of the Utilization of Dental Assistants with Expanded Functions

Abramowitz, Joseph; Berg, L

doi:10.14219/jada.archive.1973.0462

Cited by 26 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Yet expanding the scopes of practice for allied providers has not dramatically changed dental delivery (23). Since the 1960s, studies have demonstrated that nondentist providers can reduce cost and provide high-quality care and do not put patients at risk (24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31). These findings have motivated policymakers in many states to consider expanding the workforce via nondentist providers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilization of nondentist providers and attitudes toward new provider models: findings from the National Dental Practice‐Based Research Network

Blue

Funkhouser

Riggs

et al. 2013

J Public Health Dent

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives The purpose of this study was to quantify within The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network current utilization of dental hygienists and assistants with expanded functions and quantify network dentists’ attitudes toward a new non-dentist provider model - the dental therapist. Methods Dental practice-based research network practitioner-investigators participated in a single, cross-sectional administration of a questionnaire. Results Current non-dentist providers are not being utilized by network practitioner-investigators to the fullest extent allowed by law. Minnesota practitioners, practitioners in large group practices, and those with prior experience with expanded function non-dentist providers delegate at a higher rate and had more-positive perceptions of the new dental therapist model. Conclusions Expanding scopes of practice for dental hygienists and assistants has not translated to the maximal delegation allowed by law among network practices. This finding may provide insight into dentists’ acceptance of newer non-dentist provider models.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilization of nondentist providers and attitudes toward new provider models: findings from the National Dental Practice‐Based Research Network

Blue

Funkhouser

Riggs

et al. 2013

J Public Health Dent

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studies in the late 1960s demonstrated that dental care could be provided most efficiently and effectively if I H S trained dental assistants were used in the clinics. Studies also revealed that dental assistants could be trained to perform expanded duties (2,4).…”

Section: Events Of the 1960smentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The objectives of the study were to: (1) compare the quality of dentistry provided by dental teams using expanded functions to the quality of dentistry provided by teams using traditional methods; (2) determine the difference in quantity and kinds of services; and (3) determine, by costbenefit analysis, the most effective ratio of dentists to auxiliaries. The primary conclusion of the study was that dental therapists are capable of providing acceptable quality dental restorations (4). Based on this study, both dentists and dental assistants were provided training in the proper proce-dures and techniques to be used in expanded functions.…”

Section: Events Of the 1970smentioning

confidence: 99%

The IHS Dental Program–a Historical Perspective

Martin¹

2000

J Public Health Dent

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The federal government provides health services for American Indians and Alaska Natives based on treaties with tribes, legislation, and executive orders. These services began in the late 1700s, when they were the responsibility of the Department of War. This responsibility was later transferred to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and in 1955 the Indian Health Service was established within the United States Public Health Service. This paper describes the development and mission of the Indian Health Service dental program. During the 1950s, Public Health Service officers were assigned to the dental program, dental assistant training centers were established, and clinical prevention programs were implemented. Increased dentist recruitment, the implementation of four-handed dentistry, and the development of an automated information system were the highlights of the 1960s. Considerable effort was placed on work force development during the 1970s, while expansions of both treatment and prevention services were the highlights of the 1980s. Unfortunately, decreases in administrative staffing and a decline in clinical services have been noted during the last decade. The main reasons for the decline were initiatives to reduce the size of federal government and inability to recruit and retain dentists in clinical positions. Also, many tribes have elected to manage their own programs and have requested and received their share of IHS administrative funds to use in their programs. Recent pay and budget legislation along with changes in program management should reverse this trend. [J Public Health Dent 2000;60(Suppl 1):238-421

show abstract

“…Coupled with the then perceived dental manpower shortage, this statement led to a long series of studies from the mid1960s through the mid-1970s which reviewed the educational requirements, productivity, and quality of services by expanded duty personnel. [12][13][14][15] The results of all studies demonstrated that expanded function auxiliaries increased productivity substantially without a diminution in the level of quality of services and that the personnel could be trained to perform the desired services within considerably shorter periods of training than required for dental practitioners. However, by the early 1970s, the increased delegation of duties to ancillary personnel had become a controversial issue within the dental profession.…”

Section: Expanded Duty Auxiliariesmentioning

confidence: 99%