Quality of Service Provided by Dental Therapists in an Experimental Program at the University of Alabama

Abstract

Because of the disparity between the need for dental service and the availability of such service, studies have been made at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry on the expanded use of auxiliary personnel. Recent experiments have been conducted over a period of eight months to evaluate the quality of service provided by dental therapists. Six dentists in private practice, two clinical instructors from the department of operative dentistry, and four dental therapists participated in the research. The six clinical procedures investigated included inserting amalgam restorations, finishing amalgam fillings, finishing silicate cement restorations, inserting temporary restorations, and placing matrix bands for amalgam fillings. Evaluations were made by dental practitioners who were unaware whether the dentists or therapists had completed the procedure. Various aspects were evaluated; only a few of the differences were statistically significant. Because of the disparity between the need for dental service and the availability of such service, studies have been made at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry on the expanded use of auxiliary personnel. Recent experiments have been conducted over a period of eight months to evaluate the quality of service provided by dental therapists. Six dentists in private practice, two clinical instructors from the department of operative dentistry, and four dental therapists participated in the research. The six clinical procedures investigated included inserting amalgam restorations, finishing amalgam fillings, finishing silicate cement restorations, inserting temporary restorations, and placing matrix bands for amalgam fillings. Evaluations were made by dental practitioners who were unaware whether the dentists or therapists had completed the procedure. Various aspects were evaluated; only a few of the differences were statistically significant.