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I'm pretty discouraged to read this article. I have spent quite a bit of time in Unalakleet and the Alaska bush. I have always enjoyed my time in Unalakleet. I was under the impression that dental therapists were only working in the native villages, but apparently this is not the case. Unalakleet is NOT a native village. It is a town, and it is mixed. It has an economy and it is NOT poor. The New York Times really misrepresented the place.
This is a disgrace to the profession. What I will not argue with is the need for dental care in the Alaska bush. You would not believe the amount of junk food these people eat. It honestly would not suprise me if 1/4 the air frieght by weight in the Alaska bush was soda. They drink it almost exclusively. There is very little value placed keeping a nice smile, and preventive care is very poor. The reason they can't afford care is that half of them need full mouth reconstruction. The whole lifestyle in rural Alaska is enough to make any health professional cringe.
What really blows my mind is how this only requires a 2-year education. It probably covers about as much material as 1 year of dental school, as I doubt it is very academically challenging. There is just no way these people are qualified to be making diagnosis and doing irreversable procedures.
The great irony is that Alaska doesn't even subsidize DDS education. They participate in WICHE, but only by providing extra loans. Yet they will foot the bill for the dental therapist program (with federal money), and the best part is the students even get a monthly stipend! "All seven had quit full-time jobs and must now get by on a $750 monthly stipend during the two years of training." WOW, WHAT A SACRIFICE.
I swear that the NYT has an agenda against dentistry. This is like the 3rd anti-dentistry article in 2 years.
You can bet that your politicians are reading this too.
only needing a high school diploma or equivalency is INSANE...there just isnt enough time in a two year program to teach someone at a high school level an acceptable amount of advanced coursework and a decent amount of practical experience to be able to perform irreversible procedures. This is definitely a slap in the face to dentistry and what it really entails to effectively practice the profession. ridiculous...
I'm pretty discouraged to read this article. I have spent quite a bit of time in Unalakleet and the Alaska bush. I have always enjoyed my time in Unalakleet. I was under the impression that dental therapists were only working in the native villages, but apparently this is not the case. Unalakleet is NOT a native village. It is a town, and it is mixed. It has an economy and it is NOT poor. The New York Times really misrepresented the place.
This is a disgrace to the profession. What I will not argue with is the need for dental care in the Alaska bush. You would not believe the amount of junk food these people eat. It honestly would not suprise me if 1/4 the air frieght by weight in the Alaska bush was soda. They drink it almost exclusively. There is very little value placed keeping a nice smile, and preventive care is very poor. The reason they can't afford care is that half of them need full mouth reconstruction. The whole lifestyle in rural Alaska is enough to make any health professional cringe.
What really blows my mind is how this only requires a 2-year education. It probably covers about as much material as 1 year of dental school, as I doubt it is very academically challenging. There is just no way these people are qualified to be making diagnosis and doing irreversable procedures.
The great irony is that Alaska doesn't even subsidize DDS education. They participate in WICHE, but only by providing extra loans. Yet they will foot the bill for the dental therapist program (with federal money), and the best part is the students even get a monthly stipend! "All seven had quit full-time jobs and must now get by on a $750 monthly stipend during the two years of training." WOW, WHAT A SACRIFICE.
Why don't they just train these people as dentists???
While I do agree that "dental therapists" can help the need for greater dental care coverage in rural, isolated areas, I absolutely disagree with the fact that only a high school diploma is required. I know when I graduated high school, I was not mature or disciplined enough to go straight into dental school, which is kind of what that program is doing. I am not saying that the dental therapy program is comparable to dental school...simply that I would not trust a high school grad to go anywhere near me with a hand drill.
While I do agree that "dental therapists" can help the need for greater dental care coverage in rural, isolated areas, I absolutely disagree with the fact that only a high school diploma is required. I know when I graduated high school, I was not mature or disciplined enough to go straight into dental school, which is kind of what that program is doing. I am not saying that the dental therapy program is comparable to dental school...simply that I would not trust a high school grad to go anywhere near me with a hand drill.
I hope for your sake that you didnt graduate HS at age 40+. These newly trained dental therapist aren't immature fresh out of HS teenagers.
Also can anyone really blame the media for oversimplifying what dentists really do. If anyone is to blame its dentists and the ADA themselves. For those of use hoping to graduate in a few weeks, ask yourself how concerned were any of us with basic public health practices as graduation approached. The fact is most schools restoratively driven...i.e. how many and how quickly can requirements be completed.
Dental therapist likely dont get anywhere near the same level of basic science and medicine training related to dentistry. But once those courses are completed in dental school how many of your clinical intructors ever gave a comprehensive assessment of a patients medical history. For many all they want to know is if epi is contra-indicated. If something seems unusual or suspicious on a patient hx, a medical clearance is usually requested, which can be interpreted as "all I need to know is can I do a filling on this patient." Remember how you felt when you passed biochemistry or physiology and the preception of never needing to recall that information again. Its those feelings that also contribute to the misconception of dentist not being considered real doctors.
I'm not suggesting that dental therapist be given the same latitude or independence as someone's who has undergone 3plus years of ADA accredited dental school training. However with appropriate oversight these programs have been utililized successfully around the world for years. Hopefully initiatives like this can prevent another Deamonte Driver situation from occuring. Whats occuring in Alaska may not ideal but its better than doing nothing at all...
I hope for your sake that you didnt graduate HS at age 40+. These newly trained dental therapist aren't immature fresh out of HS teenagers.
Not trying to attack you but I could care less about how old the high school graduate is...sure, being older and more mature is better...but a high school education is the same no matter what age you are. They cant have a real scientific/medical understanding of what they are really doing when they "bore" into cavities off just two years of education which im sure includes a lot of practical experience. I mean, do they even have some sort of entrance exam or any high school grad/GED applicant welcome?
Why not find ways to attract properly trained and qualified individuals to the state or any underserved area for that matter with GPRs and loan forgiveness programs?
Why don't they just train these people as dentists???
To add to this, a high school education in the Alaskan bush is a pretty marginal accomplishment. They are not exactly offering AP biology in these places.
AP - salmon anatomy.
What high school did you go to? CHS here.
AP - salmon anatomy.
What high school did you go to? CHS here.
The Times ran a letter from ADA President Mark Feldman today...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/opinion/l06dental.html
I have good news! The New York Times has been suffering horrible circulation decrease and ad revenue decrease and laying of a lot of their leftist punks. Good riddance.
"But some dentists in public health programs contend that dentists in private practice consider therapists low-cost competition"
SOME DENTISTS??! Of course they do! They don't need 4 years of college or 4 years of dental school. They don't even need to spend $200,000 on dental school. Why would anyone see a dentist when the local therapist could do fillings for them? The therapist doesn't have half the costs, and a lot of this is simply from decreased requirements in the education and business.
I think a lot of this also has to come from the fact that most people don't perceive dentists as doctors. Time and time again I've heard people say "dentists have to go through how many years of school?" "Oh, so you're like a doctor then?" and it frustrates me immensly. People think that dentists are just ripping them off, or as one guy told me, we have a "license to steal". That also frustrated me because dentists work hard, very hard for their money and they also have tons of overhead and loans they need to pay. It's not that we aren't making good money, but that people don't understand why dental work is so expensive.
-"They must also work under the supervision of a dentist, who reviews their work either in their clinics or off-site, by electronically vetting documents and X-rays."-
I think corporate dentistry is really behind this. Why hire a dentist when you can hire 4-5 dental therapists and pay them half as much. All you need is to hire one DR. to review the charts...AND he doesn't even have to be present!
Anyhoo, on a side note the NYT is a great paper. Its just an article. Turn off Rush Dildo and think for yourself.
This was a great post until you ruined it with the last sentence.-"They must also work under the supervision of a dentist, who reviews their work either in their clinics or off-site, by electronically vetting documents and X-rays."-
I think corporate dentistry is really behind this. Why hire a dentist when you can hire 4-5 dental therapists and pay them half as much. All you need is to hire one DR. to review the charts...AND he doesn't even have to be present!
Anyhoo, on a side note the NYT is a great paper. Its just an article. Turn off Rush Dildo and think for yourself.
"But some dentists in public health programs contend that dentists in private practice consider therapists low-cost competition"
SOME DENTISTS??! Of course they do! They don't need 4 years of college or 4 years of dental school. They don't even need to spend $200,000 on dental school. Why would anyone see a dentist when the local therapist could do fillings for them? The therapist doesn't have half the costs, and a lot of this is simply from decreased requirements in the education and business.
I think a lot of this also has to come from the fact that most people don't perceive dentists as doctors. Time and time again I've heard people say "dentists have to go through how many years of school?" "Oh, so you're like a doctor then?" and it frustrates me immensly. People think that dentists are just ripping them off, or as one guy told me, we have a "license to steal". That also frustrated me because dentists work hard, very hard for their money and they also have tons of overhead and loans they need to pay. It's not that we aren't making good money, but that people don't understand why dental work is so expensive.