On Tuesday, April 11, 2023, the Washington State Senate announced the final vote supporting Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 1678. Sponsored by the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness, the bill passed the House on March 4, 2023, with 53 yeas, 42 nays. The bill proceeded to the Senate where it worked its way through a public hearing, reviews by the Rules Committee, and a final vote resulting in 30 yeas, 19 nays. To view a summary of the bill, including license requirements, the scope of practice, the practice plan contract, and other provisions, click here.

Bill highlights include:

Four months after graduating with a bachelor’s in dental hygiene and a master’s in dental therapy, Claire Roesler moved from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Bangor, Maine, where she joined Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC) as its first dental therapist. As a result, Claire has the esteemed designation of being the first dental therapist to work in the State of Maine. The state adopted legislation in 2014 recognizing dental therapy as a profession; however, the legislation had to be amended in 2019 to allow dental therapists to practice.

Like all new paths being forged, there were certainly bumps along the way. Claire spent the first four months performing hygienist work while PCHC negotiated a collaborative management agreement with a clear scope of work to practice as a dental therapist. During her first year, Claire advocated extensively for dental therapy in Maine. 

By Sarah Chagnon, ADTA President, Dental Therapist, Swinomish Dental Clinic 

Dental therapists can fill/restore any part of the tooth as long as the tooth does not need treatment to the nerve. We use all the same materials a dentist would use. 

What sparked your interest in becoming a dental therapist?

I went in for a dental cleaning and check-up. I told the dentist I had just gotten my associate's degree and was accepted into nursing school. Dr. Dailey encouraged me to shadow a dental therapist who worked at the clinic and recommended that I consider dental therapy instead of nursing school. That night I went home and googled dental therapy and was fascinated by the concept of a mid-level provider. I called the clinic the next day, and job shadowed Daniel Kennedy, the first dental therapist from Alaska to work in Washington State. After watching him for 30 seconds, I knew dental therapy was what I wanted to do. Five months later, I packed up my entire house and took a five-day ferry to Alaska and became a student of the Alaska Dental Therapy Education Program.  

The ADTA congratulates board members, Immediate Past President Kari Ann Kuntzelman, and Treasurer Mark Kobylinsky on becoming newly licensed dental therapists in the State of Oregon.

Kuntzelman, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, moved to Alaska in 2017 to attend the Alaska Dental Therapy Education Program (ADTEP). Upon graduating from the program, she returned home to her urban community in Portland, Oregon, to give back to her people, and join the efforts to end oral health inequity. In 2019, Kuntzelman graduated from the ADTEP Program and worked under Dental Pilot Project #100 in the State of Oregon at the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest (NARA) for two and a half years. In April 2022, she joined the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board as a Dental Health Aide Education Specialist, advocating for dental therapists and other levels of dental health aides. On January 5th, 2023, Kuntzelman became the 11th licensed dental therapist in the State of Oregon.

If you are an American Indian/Alaska Native student looking for scholarship opportunities, below is a list of some scholarships to consider for the next academic year. 

The Cobell Scholarship  

Check out this great interactive tool by the Oral Health Workforce Research Center to learn the details of each state's laws and regulations for dental therapy!