A Review of the Global Literature on Dental Therapists

Objective: To document the work of dental therapists internationally. Method: Major electronic data bases were searched for key words "dental nurse," "school dental nurse," "dental therapist,", "school dental service," "school dental therapist," "dental auxiliaries," and "dental workforce." Knowledgeable consultants were retained in countries that were known to utilize therapists extensively in their oral health workforce. References identified in the literature were searched to obtain additional documents. An attempt was made to identify "gray literature," such as government and NGO reports. Websites of professional dental organizations and governments were also searched. The most significant documents were annotated, and will be published as a monograph by the 17 collaborating international colleagues. Results: Over 1,000 documents were identified from over 16 of 54 countries known to utilize dental therapists in their oral health workforce. Both developed countries and developing countries employed therapists, with the primary reason for their introduction and utilization being inadequate dental professionals to provide access to care. While therapists began in New Zealand as a school-based approach to caring for children, as it has spread the movement has been adapted to the unique oral health needs of a country, including providing care for adults. Conclusion: There is a large literature documenting that dental therapists can provide safe, effective, quality care within their training and scope of practice, with improved oral health outcomes. Some countries are now combining the training and scope of practice of therapists and hygienists.