Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #120423

Oscar Arevalo, DDS, ScD, MBA, Sunil Vick Soordhar, BSc, Amit Chattopadhyay, PhD, MPH, BDS, and R. Ivan Lugo, DMD, MBA. School of Dentistry, Temple University, 3223 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, 215 707 5865, oralchair05@yahoo.com

The need for economic efficiency in the delivery of dental care is particularly crucial when there is a shortage of providers. A major input in the production process is dental manpower, and the need for efficiency requires that all personnel are allowed to utilize their productive capabilities to the maximum. The number of dentists in a particular geographic area is an important factor to consider but the actual output produced by the dentists is the end result that if enhanced will improve access to care. Output is the product of the number of dentists and their productivity (Output = workforce x productivity), therefore increases in either factor can enhance output and help improve access to care. Widespread utilization of Expanded Function Dental Assistants (EFDA) has the potential to increase productivity and access by expanding the scope of services of auxiliary personnel. In order to improve access to dental care in the Medicaid and CHIP programs the State of Pennsylvania is expanding its EFDA Program. A possible solution to the evolutionary acceptance process is the incorporation of teaching expanded function auxiliary management in the dental school curriculum. Temple University School of Dentistry (TUSoD) and Harcum College are partnering to incorporate EFDA training in the pre-doctoral curriculum. This project seeks to educate the pre-doctoral students about the benefits of EFDA utilization, provide managerial training on the delegation of expanded functions to auxiliaries, and render four-handed dentistry at TUSoD's outreach clinics.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Understand how Expanded Function Dental Assistants can play a significant role in the dental care delivery system.
• 2. Understand the economic concepts of productivity and substitution and their application to dentistry.
• 3. Learn new approaches to deal with the dental workforce shortage issue.

Keywords: Access to Care, Economic Analysis

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation