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Florida’s oral health crisis is among the worst in the nation. Over 7.1 million Floridians live in dental health professional shortage areas. And that number grows each day.
A key part of solving this public health emergency is expanding the dental workforce to include dental therapists. Dental therapy is an evidence-based solution for increasing access to dental care worldwide. ALL published studies (nearly 1,500) show dental therapists provide safe, effective and quality care.
Dental therapists are mid-level oral health care professionals that will work under supervision of a licensed Florida dentist. They perform roughly 20% of the most common dental procedures – prevention, exams and fillings. In this limited scope, dental therapists are educated and trained to the exact same level as dentists. They allow dentists to focus on more advanced care for a larger number of patients.
Dental therapists are educated and trained in Commission of Dental Accreditation (CODA) education programs – the same as dentists. They even pass the exact same licensing exam as dentists for procedures they perform.
Dental therapists have practiced for 100 years worldwide in 50 countries and in the U.S. for about 20 years. A total of 14 states have already authorized dental therapists to practice.
Evidence shows dental therapy prevents expensive ER visits caused by untreated dental issues, improves overall health, and provides huge cost savings to the entire health system. The savings in emergency room costs are more than a half-billion dollars ANNUALLY in our state. In 2021 alone, Florida hospitals charged over ($550,000,000) for ER and hospital admissions for temporary relief (antibiotics and pain pills) of preventable dental issues.
Billions in work productivity are lost in Florida due to untreated oral disease. On average, over $45 billion ($45,000,000,000) of work productivity is lost each year in the United States due to untreated oral disease. As the 3rd most populated state, Florida accounts for a significant portion of this lost productivity.
In addition, dental offices that employ dental therapists find they can serve more people, including those on Medicaid.