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Cited by 140Dental Health and Care UtilizationDental Education, Practice, ResearchGlobal Health Workforce Issues

A review of the global literature on dental therapists

Nash, David A., Friedman, Jay W., Mathu‐Muju, Kavita R., Robinson, Peter G., Satur, Julie, Moffat, Susan, Kardos, Rosemary, Lo, Edward C.M. +9 more·2014·Community Dentistry And Oral Epidemiology
DOI 10.1111/cdoe.12052
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Access to adequate oral health care is deficient in many parts of the world. Many countries are now using dental therapists to increase access, particularly for children. To inform the discussion on dental therapists in the workforce, particularly in the United States, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation funded a review of the global literature to identify as many documents as possible related to the practice of dental therapists since the establishment of the School Dental Service in New Zealand in 1921. METHODS: Consultants in each of the countries considered to have a substantive literature on dental therapists were asked to participate in the research; seventeen in total. In addition to identifying and reviewing published articles, a focus of the research was on identifying 'gray' documents. Standard databases were searched for key words associated with dental therapists. In addition, searches were conducted of the governmental and dental association websites of all countries known to have dental therapists in their oral health workforce. RESULTS: Fifty-four countries, both developing and developed, were identified where dental therapists are members of the workforce. Eleven hundred documents were identified from 26 of these countries, with over 2/3 of them cited in the published monograph. Reliable evidence from the related literature and verbal communication confirmed the utilization of dental therapists in an additional 28 countries. Thirty-three of the countries were members of the Commonwealth of Nations, suggesting a mechanism of spread from New Zealand. Variable lengths of training/education existed for dental therapists with the tradition being 2 years postsecondary. In a few countries, the training of therapists and hygienists is now being combined in a three academic year program. Historically, dental therapists have been employed by government agencies caring for children, typically in school-based programs. Initiatives in some countries allow limited care for adults by dental therapists with additional training. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence indicates that dental therapists provide effective, quality, and safe care for children in an economical manner and are generally accepted both by the public and where their use is established, by the dental profession.

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  • There are variations in the scope of practice amongst mid-level providers of oral health, such as dental assistants, dental nurses, dental hygienists, and dental therapists.

    “Grouping all mid-level oral health professionals with distinct scope of practice under the umbrella of ‘dental assistants and therapists’ is not particularly helpful, especially for the African context, given variations in the scope of practice amongst mid-level providers [38] of oral health, such as dental assistants, dental nurses, dental hygienists, and dental therapists [30,35,37,49,50].”

    From Oral health workforce in Africa: a scarce resource (2023) · cites this paper as [49]

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Authors
Nash, D. A., Friedman, J. W., Mathu‐Muju, K. R., Robinson, P. G., Satur, J., Moffat, S., Kardos, R., Lo, E. C. M., Wong, A. H. H., Jaafar, N., van den Heuvel, J., Phantumvanit, P., Chu, E. O., Naidu, R., Naidoo, L., McKenzie, I., & Fernando, E.
Affiliations
  • University of Kentucky (US)
  • Public Health Dental Consultant Los Angeles CA USA
  • University of British Columbia (CA)
  • University of Sheffield (GB)
  • The University of Melbourne (AU)
  • University of Otago (NZ)
  • University of Hong Kong (HK)
  • University of Malaya (MY)
  • Dutch Chief Dental Officer (formerly) Amsterdam The Netherlands
  • Thammasat University (TH)
  • Singapore School Dental Service Singapore City Singapore
  • University of the West Indies (TT)
  • Dental Therapy Association of South Africa Pinetown KwaZulu‐Natal South Africa
  • University of Technology, Jamaica (JM)
  • Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians (LK)
Corresponding author
Nash, David A.
ORCID
Venue
Community Dentistry And Oral Epidemiology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2013-05-03
Volume
42
Issue
1
Pages
1-10
ISSN
  • 0301-5661 (ISSN-L)
  • 1600-0528
DOI
10.1111/cdoe.12052
OpenAlex
W2155810254
Cited by
140
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 2
FWCI
1.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Community Dentistry And Oral Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UKnowledge (University of Kentucky) (submittedVersion)
  • The HKU Scholars Hub (University of Hong Kong) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Dental Health and Care Utilization
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Dental Education, Practice, Research
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Emergency Medical Services › Global Health Workforce Issues
Keywords
dental therapists, dental workforce, school dental care, access to oral health care, dental hygiene education, children's oral health
MeSH terms
Workforce, Adolescent, Adult, Child, Dental Care, Dentistry, Developing Countries, Humans, Global Health, Developed Countries, Dental Care for Children

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