The Oregon Dental Access Campaign is a coalition of consumers, educators, health and dental care organizations, Tribes and tribal organizations working to establish licensed dental therapists in Oregon to increase oral health access and improve outcomes for Oregonians most in need.
Oregonians Need Better Access to Dental Care
Even before COVID-19 severely restricted access to care, across Oregon many people already faced significant barriers to getting the dental care they need. Over a million people in Oregon live in areas that have a shortage of dentists and twenty-six rural primary care service areas have no full-time dentist. This crisis disproportionately impacts tribal communities, people of color, people living in low-income households, and people living in rural areas.
- Only 40% of Oregon dentists accept Medicaid. Of those, most have a Medicaid patient-base of fewer than 25%
- Only 27% adults and 44% of children covered by Medicaid had a dental visit for any reason in 2015
- ER visits for oral health conditions are often a result of limited access to dental care. Most of these visits resulted in opioid and antibiotic prescriptions rather than definitive dental care
What is a Dental Therapist?
Dental therapists are primary oral health professionals who provide critical routine and preventive services under the supervision of a dentist. They are often recruited from the communities in which they go back to serve, staying in those communities long-term with living-wage jobs and providing culturally relevant care. Across the country and worldwide, dental therapy has shown to be an effective workforce model that can help increase access for those who are currently underserved and underrepresented in the health fields. With Oregon moving towards smarter coordinated care in CCO 2.0, dental therapists can help achieve the triple aim by extending and integrating dental care in the community, offering routine and preventive dental care at a lower cost, and eventually lowering state expenditures on expensive acute and emergency dental care.
Efforts to License Dental Therapists in Oregon
A bill, SB 1549, was introduced and suffered the same ill-fate as nearly every other bill in the very short 2020 Oregon Legislative Session. However, Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson, Senate Health Care Committee Chair, convened a workgroup that met this summer to provide evidence for this policy solution and explore any changes needed to the bill.
Supporters of statewide licensing of dental therapists include Advantage Dental, AllCare Health, Alliance4Kids, APANO, Capitol Dental, Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, Coquille Indian Tribe, Health Care for All Oregon, Native American Youth and Family Center, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, Oregon Dental Hygienists' Association, Oregon Primary Care Association, Oregon Public Health Institute, Oregon Rural Health Association, Oregon School-Based Health Alliance, Pacific University and Willamette Dental Group.
Check out our fact sheet here.