The changing role of dental auxiliaries: A literature review

Abstract

A review of the literature on dental auxiliaries and their utilization in the dental workforce is presented, and their future role is examined in the light of broader issues relating to changing disease patterns and service delivery. Legislative factors, productivity, quality assurance and the potential scope for dental auxiliaries in both the public sector and private practice setting are discussed. A strategy for adopting a team approach in the delivery of dental services is suggested, which would necessitate the dentist taking on the role of team leader and maintaining responsibility for overall treatment planning and quality assurance. Dental auxiliaries could provide basic preventive and restorative dental services, allowing dentists to concentrate on providing more complex hightechnology treatment. Implications for the future training of dental auxiliaries are presented.

Developing Professionalism in Dentistry: A Systematic Review

“…The global patterns of oral disease, particularly dental caries (tooth decay), since the introduction of preventive measures like water fluoridation have resulted in less complex dental needs of the population towards self-care and minimal simple interventions (Baltutis and Morgan, 1998). These less complex dental procedures can be provided by an oral health therapist, a dental practitioner who complements the role of the dentist.…”

The workforce of professionals complementary to dentistry in the general dental services: a survey of general dental practices in the South West

“…1 It has long been recognised that the deployment of a full range of a different skill-mix in dental teams can provide acceptable and high quality dental services more costeffectively than services provided by dentists alone. [2][3][4] Despite this evidence, the movement towards developing such dental teams in the general dental services in the UK has until recently 5 been limited.…”

The working practices and job satisfaction of dental therapists: findings of a national survey

“…3 The potential role of dental therapists in the provision of oral health services in the United Kingdom has received some attention. 4,5 However there have been few empirical studies of their actual role, though the valuable role therapists within the Community Dental Service can play in clinical and epidemiological work has been discussed. [6][7][8][9] The present study seeks to describe the current working practices and job satisfaction of dental therapists in the United Kingdom.…”