Affiliated Institution
Advanced Dental Health Practitioner (ADHP)
The ADHA (American Dental Hygienist’ Association) developed the transformative model to improve the provision of dental care to the increasing dental health services demand. The ADHA developed the ADHP model to act as the professional nurse equivalent in the dental health field. The ADHP are meant to bridge the gap between the increasing demand and the availability of services from dentists. This transformation has brought about the mid-level dental care practitioners and therapists. Different states have endorsed the model with Minnesota having transformed its version of the ADHP into the American Dental Health Therapist. Whichever the name adopted by different states, the ADHP model is established with guidelines and requirements that would help the dental health practitioners provide the much needed dental care to Americans.
Naturally, due to the nature and field of work, the ADHP has an established niche with a dentist. This means that the practitioner will have to work closely with a dentist. What this means is that the ADHP requires knowledge in the field of dentistry and access to patient care in order to achieve the requirements of the practice, (Hooker, & Dehn, 2013). However, the ADHA has established requirements that will have to be achieved before a person becomes an ADHP. This includes and master’s degree level of education in the field of dental health from an accredited institution. The ADHP also needs professional licensure in order to practice. The model has been successful so far in providing access to Americans.
A dental health therapist refers to a professional who is trained to provide basic clinical dental preventive services and treatment within different practice settings. Therapists provide services such as dental treatment, oral health promotion, and oral disease prevention. They also lead campaigns and programs for dental health promotion. They play a major role in advocating for the needs of people with oral health needs and assist them in the control, prevention and accessing dental care when necessary, (Hooker, & Dehn, 2013). The natural niche between therapists and dentists provide a unique connection that allows the therapist to refer patients to the professionals for services that are beyond their scope of work.
Discussion
Dental health practitioners require advanced knowledge in the field in order to qualify as dentists. This creates a big gap between the number of qualified dentists available and the demand for oral care. For this reason, the need for dental healthcare keeps rising with the effort necessary to curb the rise being unavailable. Establishing a midlevel post will reduce the workload on the dentist to just the critical cases that require professional attention. Like the medical health requires nurses, the dental health requires the role of professional caregivers to take up some of the easier tasks from the dentists. This role is what the ADHP and the therapists will play in the oral health field. Therefore, this is a necessary and sufficient solution to the problem of increasing demand for dental care.
References:
Hooker, R. S., & Dehn, R. W. (2013). Dental practitioners and dental therapists.
Darby, M. L., & Walsh, M. (2014). Dental hygiene: theory and practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.
