A Look Into Expanded Function Dental Assistants
The providers of oral health care encompass a larger scope than just the dentist and his or her assistants and hygienists. Multiple disciplines exist within the field to help the efficiency of the dental practice and to provide the underserved population in the absence of an adequate dentist to population ratio. An expanded function dental assistant (EFDA) is one discipline that has come about to provide dental care in a more efficient way.
An EFDA works under the supervision of the dentist with the purpose of increasing the efficiency of care. This allows more care to be provided to more people within a given time period while still upholding a high quality of care (5). EFDAs have an interesting …show more content…
This brings to mind the question of quality, productivity and the subsequent potential reach in the realm of public health.
Many studies have demonstrated that employing EFDAs increases the number of restorations and general productivity in a dental practice (2). This increase in productivity was also accompanied by an increase in the number of patients seen and a decrease in stress for the dental team (2). “Previous research has shown that dental assistants can perform a wide range of duties when properly trained, including placing restorations, which also directly increases the productivity of dentists”(4).
While those opposed to the role of EFDAs might cite a concern over the quality of care delivered by EFDAs versus dentists, extensive research has found no difference in quality of basic restorations delivered by either group. For example, “using evaluation by the Temple University School of Dentistry faculty during a 21-month period… we determined that EFDAs completed restorations of a quality at least equal to that of dentists” …show more content…
A report by the Comptroller General determined that employing EFDAs, “allowed public health dental programs to reduce unit costs and thereby provide a greater amount of dental services with limited resources.” The successful use of EFDAs to provide care was well documented in a report of Army Honduran dental missions. When comparing the original mission trip that included only dentists in a nine day mission trip in 2002 to the mission trip that was realized a year later over the course of six days and included EFDAs there was a $14,665 increase in the value of dental care provided. More importantly, “the 2003 Honduran Dental mission represented an effective paradigm shift from extraction-based dental missions to comprehensive care aided by expanded function dental assistants.” (4)
Ultimately, research shows that the utilization of EFDAs in the dental office increases the efficiency of care. EFDAs can provide equal quality of care, when adequately trained and supervised, while increasing productivity and decreasing the fees that are passed on to patients. This makes an appealing argument for their continued role in public health, particularly in minimizing dental health disparities in the
The providers of oral health care encompass a larger scope than just the dentist and his or her assistants and hygienists. Multiple disciplines exist within the field to help the efficiency of the dental practice and to provide the underserved population in the absence of an adequate dentist to population ratio. An expanded function dental assistant (EFDA) is one discipline that has come about to provide dental care in a more efficient way.
An EFDA works under the supervision of the dentist with the purpose of increasing the efficiency of care. This allows more care to be provided to more people within a given time period while still upholding a high quality of care (5). EFDAs have an interesting …show more content…
This brings to mind the question of quality, productivity and the subsequent potential reach in the realm of public health.
Many studies have demonstrated that employing EFDAs increases the number of restorations and general productivity in a dental practice (2). This increase in productivity was also accompanied by an increase in the number of patients seen and a decrease in stress for the dental team (2). “Previous research has shown that dental assistants can perform a wide range of duties when properly trained, including placing restorations, which also directly increases the productivity of dentists”(4).
While those opposed to the role of EFDAs might cite a concern over the quality of care delivered by EFDAs versus dentists, extensive research has found no difference in quality of basic restorations delivered by either group. For example, “using evaluation by the Temple University School of Dentistry faculty during a 21-month period… we determined that EFDAs completed restorations of a quality at least equal to that of dentists” …show more content…
A report by the Comptroller General determined that employing EFDAs, “allowed public health dental programs to reduce unit costs and thereby provide a greater amount of dental services with limited resources.” The successful use of EFDAs to provide care was well documented in a report of Army Honduran dental missions. When comparing the original mission trip that included only dentists in a nine day mission trip in 2002 to the mission trip that was realized a year later over the course of six days and included EFDAs there was a $14,665 increase in the value of dental care provided. More importantly, “the 2003 Honduran Dental mission represented an effective paradigm shift from extraction-based dental missions to comprehensive care aided by expanded function dental assistants.” (4)
Ultimately, research shows that the utilization of EFDAs in the dental office increases the efficiency of care. EFDAs can provide equal quality of care, when adequately trained and supervised, while increasing productivity and decreasing the fees that are passed on to patients. This makes an appealing argument for their continued role in public health, particularly in minimizing dental health disparities in the