Dental therapists could broaden oral care

Re Lack of oral care leads to needless pain, Feb. 28

I was interested to read the letter by Dr. Jerry Smith, past president of the Ontario Dental Association (ODA), supporting the call from ER doctor Hasan Sheikh to greatly expand governmentfunded dental programs. This sounds good, but one has to wonder if a sufficient number of dentists would buy into and stay committed to a large-scale public-pay system so it could remain viable over the long run.

Even if, after an initial negotiation between the province and the ODA, enough of its members accepted the settled upon fee-for-service schedule to get a major plan up and running, what would happen when after subsequent rounds of bargaining fiscally squeezed governments refused to meet fee-increase demands? Dentists would probably just take a pass on the work (in the U.S. only 40 per cent of dentists take patients on Medicaid).

Forgive my skepticism but, prior to Smith’s letter, I had just finished reading the Star editorial, “Physicians, heal thyselves” (Feb. 28) on the subject of nasty doctor infighting brought on by the failure of a tentative agreement between the Ontario Medical Association and the province.

My suggestion is for the provincial government to take a look at the example set south of the border, where a number of states such as Minnesota and Vermont have begun to legalize dental therapists, a so-called mid-level dental professional (between hygienist and dentist) who performs work that includes filling of basic cavities and tooth extraction. Just let it be made clear from the very beginning that if it green-lights this class of dental worker, the government will always maintain its right to establish and regulate the fee schedule for dental therapists in order to forever preserve a lower-cost oral health-care option. And so, too, that dental therapists might know the drill right upfront with regard to income. Robert McBride, Thornhill