What is a Dental Therapist?

Scope of practice:

Gain a detailed dental history from patients and evaluate their medical history
They can carry out a clinical examinations
Complete periodontal examination and charting and use indices to screen and monitor periodontal disease
Diagnose and treatment plan
Prescribe radiographs, take, process and interpret various film views
Provide preventive oral care to patients and liaise with dentists over the treatment of caries, periodontal disease and tooth wear.
Undertake supragingival and subgingival scaling and root surface debridement using manual and powered instruments
Adjust restored surfaces in relation to periodontal treatment
Apply topical treatments and fissure sealants
Give infiltration and inferior dental block analgesia
Do temporary dressings and re-cement crowns with temporary cement
Place rubber dam
Take impressions
Maintain of implants and treatment of peri-implant tissues
Carry out direct restorations on primary and secondary teeth
Fulfil pulpotomies on primary teeth
Extract primary teeth and place pre-formed crowns
Identify anatomical features, recognise abnormalities and interpret common pathology
Oral cancer screening
Keep full, accurate and contemporaneous patient records

Additional skills which dental therapists could develop include:

Tooth whitening to the prescription of a dentist
Inhalation sedation
Removing sutures after the wound has been checked by a dentist

While therapists can’t perform complex procedures like root canals or crowns—those are typically carried out by dentists—they do, however, handle a wide range of important treatments. These include preventive and restorative care that help manage dental disease, particularly in communities with limited access to full dental services.

Overall, dental therapists play a vital role in the dental team. In particular, they bridge the gap between hygiene and dentistry. As a result, they help improve access to care and keep mouths healthy.

Please see The British Association of Dental Therapists (BADT) for more information.

The Dental therapist profession was introduced in the 1960s!

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