What is a Dental Therapist?

A Dental Therapist is someone who:

• specializes with Children
• is trained to deal with patients with special needs
• can spend some time with their patient to deal with their particular needs, such as anxiety
• can examine and treat diseases of the teeth in pre school, primary and secondary school children, under the general supervision of dentists
• can treat patients up to and including age 25

Dental therapists may perform the following tasks on patients:

• Educate and motivate children, either on a personal basis in the clinic or through classroom lessons, to maintain good oral health
• Help educate the community in the principals of preventive dentistsry by addressing adult groups such as parents groups, play groups and parents and citizens associations.
• provide routine dental care for children including
• Dental examinations and diagnosis
• cleaning, dcaling and polishing teeth
• filling cavities
• extracting deciduous (baby) teeth under local anaesthetic
• treating gum conditions
• taking x-rays of teeth and jaws
• applying pit and fissure sealants and fluoride therapy
• taking impressions for mouthguard construction
• Other more complex treatments can be provided by a dentist or a specialist
• Work with managers of school canteens, advising them about health food
• Liase with other health care providers and refer patients when necessary

Treating Patients with Special Needs

• The dental therapist mat treat a wide range of high treatment needs patients, from those who:
• Are dentally anxious
• Are physically disabled
• Have learning disabilities
• Have high levels of untreated decay
• Are unable to access regular dental care in general dental service
• The dental therapists will often spend valuable time encooraging anxious patients to accept dental treatment.  This requires patience, excellent communication skills.  An empathetic and caring approach is very important, in addition to proficient, highly technical clinical skills.

In Summary

As members of a multidisciplinary team, dental therapists provide restorative dental treatment services, disease prevention and oral health promotion programs to maintain and improve health.

If you have any questions about the role of a dental therapist and how this will benefit your children please contact us and we will be happy to answer your questions.