When you visit your dental practice, you may be offered an appointment with a Dental Therapist rather than a dentist. But what exactly does a Dental Therapist do?
Dental Therapists are highly trained dental professionals who work alongside dentists, hygienists and dental nurses to provide a wide range of treatments and preventative care. Their role has become increasingly important within general dental practice, helping patients access the right care from the right member of the dental team.
What treatments can a Dental Therapist provide?
The scope of a Dental Therapist is much wider than many patients realise. Depending on the individual clinician's training and competence, a Dental Therapist can provide many aspects of routine dental care, including:
- Dental examinations and assessments
- Gum health assessments and periodontal treatment
- Scaling and professional cleaning
- Taking dental X-rays
- Fillings in both adult and children's teeth
- Applying fluoride varnish
- Placing fissure sealants to help protect teeth from decay
- Taking impressions and digital scans
- Providing oral health and preventative advice
- Extracting children's baby teeth when required
Dental Therapists can therefore look after a significant part of a patient's routine dental care while working closely with the dentist when treatment outside their scope is required.
Dental Therapists and children's dentistry
Dental Therapists can play a particularly valuable role in caring for children.
They can carry out routine examinations, monitor a child's dental health, provide fillings, fluoride treatments and fissure sealants, and extract baby teeth when clinically necessary.
Regular visits also give children the opportunity to become familiar with the dental environment from an early age. Prevention is a huge part of children's dentistry, so Dental Therapists can work with both children and parents to provide advice about brushing, diet and looking after developing teeth.
More than just a "clean"
Dental Therapists are also trained in the prevention and treatment of gum disease.
This can include assessing gum health, removing plaque and calculus, providing periodontal treatment and helping patients develop an effective oral hygiene routine at home.
For patients with gum disease, regular appointments with a Dental Therapist can form an important part of their ongoing care.
Working as part of the dental team
One of the biggest benefits of having a Dental Therapist within a general dental practice is the team approach to patient care.
Dentists and Dental Therapists work closely together. If a Dental Therapist identifies something that needs further investigation or treatment outside their scope of practice, they can refer the patient to the dentist.
Likewise, a dentist may diagnose a problem and then arrange for appropriate treatment, such as a filling or periodontal care, to be completed by the Dental Therapist.
This allows each member of the dental team to use their skills effectively while making sure patients receive appropriate, high-quality care.
The changing face of dentistry
Modern dentistry is increasingly about using the skills of the whole dental team.
Dental Therapists are an important part of this. Their combination of restorative, periodontal and preventative skills means they can provide continuity of care for adults and children while working alongside the dentist.
So, the next time you're offered an appointment with a Dental Therapist, you might be surprised by just how much they can do!
Meet Grace, our Dental Therapist at Roseland Dental
Here at Roseland Dental, our Dental Therapist Grace works alongside our dentists and wider clinical team to provide care for both adults and children.
From routine examinations and preventative care to fillings, gum treatment and children's dentistry, Grace helps us provide patients with accessible, ongoing dental care within the practice.
If you're unsure whether an appointment with Grace would be suitable for you or your child, simply speak to our reception team and we'll be happy to advise.