IMPORTANCE Currently, 13 states and tribal nations have expanded their dental workforce by adopting use of dental therapists. To date, there has been no evaluation of the influence of this policy on dental care use. OBJECTIVE To assess changes in dental care use in Minnesota after the implementation of the policy to authorize dental therapists in 2009.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSIn this cross-sectional study of 2 613 716 adults aged 18 years and older, a synthetic control method was used to compare changes in dental care use after the authorization of the policy in Minnesota relative to a synthetic control of nonadopting states. Data