Early Impacts of Dental Therapists in Minnesota on Access to Care

Many people with low incomes, who are uninsured, underserved, located in dental health professional shortage areas, or insured through public programs, find it difficult to obtain a dental appointment. In May 2009, Minnesota was the first state in the nation to authorize the licensing of a new oral health professional called a dental therapist (DT) who can also achieve advanced dental therapist (ADT) certification. The legislature included a requirement to study the impact of DTs in terms of patient safety, cost effectiveness, and access to dental services.

A mixed methods approach was used for this study. A patient questionnaire was distributed to all new patients seen by the DT at the time of the appointment. Questions were asked about the current and previous clinic visits. Key informant interviews of the clinic staff were also conducted to better understand the trends. Administrative data on patient counts and insurance type were also collected and analyzed.  

Early results indicated that the introduction of the DTs into the clinic has increased access (reduced appointment wait times and travel times) for patients who are public program enrollees or tend to be otherwise underserved. Other findings include greater clinic productivity and reduced appointment fail rates. The supervising dentists are available for complex procedures and have, therefore, significantly increased the clinic team productivity.

This study is a very early look at the impact of DTs on access to care and has shown early signs of patient care accessibility and increased clinic productivity.