FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, May 3, 2021
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Omar Cuevas Vega, Statewide Poverty Action Network, (206) 694-6867;
Charlotte Linton, Children’s Alliance, (323) 350-4280
Task force aims to bring dental care to more WA communities
Dental therapy is the focus of increasing access to affordable dental care
Olympia, WA—State lawmakers are creating a task force to analyze how to bring the successful practice of dental therapy, currently only authorized on Washington tribal lands, to scale statewide.
The task force, composed of dental professionals, health providers, and tribal and consumer representatives, will study how dental therapists can expand access to oral health care in more underserved communities.
Dental therapists are primary oral health care professionals. They are often recruited from and employed by communities where health care access is scarce, so patients get care from trusted providers who know their community. The practice of dental therapy aims to increase access to oral health care and consequently improve oral health outcomes.
“Washington faces a health care crisis, and our current system is not serving the people who need care the most,” said Marcy Bowers, executive director of the Statewide Poverty Action Network. “Dental therapy creates jobs and provides care for people who have historically been left out of accessible, quality health care: low-income, rural and communities of color.”
By creating a pathway for people of color to enter the dental profession, dental therapy develops community-based providers who expand culturally and linguistically appropriate care. This is critical because the high cost of dental school puts it out of reach for many rural, Black, Indigenous, and other students of color.
“Our recovery from the pandemic must dismantle racist barriers that keep people from getting health care. Dental therapists are an essential part of the solution,” said Dr. Stephan Blanford, executive director of Children’s Alliance.
A recent study by the University of Washington found that communities with dental therapists in Alaska saw improved health outcomes: more preventive care, fewer tooth extractions, and decreased use of general anesthesia on children.
While dental therapists are currently working or authorized in 12 states, they are only allowed to work in tribal settings in Washington state, which limits their reach here. Six Washington Tribes employ dental therapists, and in Alaska dental therapists have expanded oral health care to 40,000 people who didn’t have regular access before.
The task force will be convened by the Pierce County Center for Dispute Resolution. The center will submit recommendations to the Legislature by December 1.
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The Washington Dental Access Campaign brings together more than 40 organizations dedicated to increasing access to dental care. Members include health care associations, consumer advocates, dentists, dental hygienists, senior groups, Tribal governments, and educational institutions that have come together in support of authorizing dental therapy in Washington.