The Southern Plains Tribal Health Board (SPTHB) has become the latest Area Indian Health Board to pass a resolution of support for dental therapists. Serving Tribes in the Oklahoma City Service Area, SPTHB provides a unified voice on Tribal public health needs and policy for the 43 federally recognized Tribes located in the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

According to recent survey results published by SPTHB, Oklahoma Tribal health professionals are concerned with the acute shortage of oral health providers in the state. On average, nationwide one dentist serves 1,600 people, compared to one dentist for 2,800 people in the Indian health system. For Tribes in the Oklahoma City Service Area, one dentist serves on average 3,200 people—double the average patient load in the nation.

Click here to see a list of Tribes, Area Indian Health Boards, and other intertribal organizations supporting dental therapy.

The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) has published a new e-learning module, “Optimizing Dental Teams with Dental Therapists.” The four-episode module provides an in-depth guide to integrating dental therapists into a Tribal dental clinic. The intended audience includes clinic administrators, dental providers, and members of the public. The course does not require any prior knowledge of dental therapy to complete.

The module was created with support from the National Indian Health Board. Completing the course will provide three (3) CDE credits. Access the course here!

The Society of American Indian Dentists (SAID) elected its 2021-23 Board of Directors in August. The elected members, including for the first time a student dentist, are:

·      Felicia Fontenot, D.D.S, (Mescalero Apache) - President

·      Cristin Haase, D.M.D., M.P.H. (Cheyenne River Sioux) - Vice President

·      Adrian Sandoval, D.D.S. (Navajo)

·      Frederick John, D.M.D. (Pyramid Lake Paiute)

·      George Blue Spruce, Jr., D.D.S., M.P.H., Pueblo (Laguna/Ohkay-Owingeh)

·      Jessica Bremerman, D.D.S. (Yakama Nation)

·      Seth Brooks, D.D.S. (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma)

·      Tommie Chavis II, Student Dentist (Lumbee)

·      Jessica A. Rickert, D.D.S. (Prairie Band of Potawatomi)

·      Jerry Snell, D.D.S. (Cherokee Nation)

SAID is a grassroots organization founded in 1990 both to improve the status for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) dentists within the overall profession of dentistry and strengthen the educational pathway for AI/AN dental students. In 2020 and 2021, ten SAID students graduated from dental schools across the country. SAID is dedicated to entering at least one SAID student annually in each of the 60+ US dental schools.

The Senate Appropriations Committee released its Fiscal Year 2022 spending plan for the Department of Health & Human Services, and for the first time since the program’s creation, the Appropriations Committee has included funding for the alternative dental health care providers demonstration grant program. This grant would allow states and Tribes to fund alternative dental provider models, like dental therapists, through the Health Resources & Services Administration. Congress has included specific language in each spending bill since the program’s creation banning funding for it; however, this year the language is not included (see page 11).

The Senate’s appropriations bill follows the House’s legislation over the summer also providing funding for the $60 million program. While nothing is certain until the appropriation is signed into law, both chambers of Congress including funding is a promising sign. The inclusion of funding in the draft legislation follows advocacy from a wide array of oral health advocacy groups.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) announced awards totaling $7.7 million to support expansion of the Community Health Aide Program (CHAP). The program currently provides frontline medical, behavioral, and dental health services to Alaska Native communities, and IHS is expanding the program to Tribes throughout the country following a 2016 Tribal consultation. Each awardee is receiving either $669,000 to support assessment and planning activities or $1,000,000 to support implementation activities.

The awards are going to ten Tribes/Tribal organizations in six Service Areas. To create this funding opportunity, IHS combined two years of funding from Congress, which appropriated $5 million for CHAP expansion in each of Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has appointed its first ever Chief Dental Officer in the agency’s Office of the Administrator. In this role, Natalia Chalmers, DDS, PhD, will focus on reducing oral health inequity and the provision of care for the whole person. Dr. Chalmers will guide the agency’s dental policies in Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the health care marketplace. Read more about Dr. Chalmers and her new role here.

Wisconsin's legislature is the last to be considering dental therapy legislation in 2021. Legislation passed the state Senate without opposition in April, but leaders in the state Assembly have not scheduled the bill for a vote. The state dental association was not opposed to the legislation. Due to language in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, Tribes can only employ dental therapists under the Community Health Aide Program (CHAP) if their state licenses dental therapists, even though dental therapists working under CHAP practice under federal certification.

However, the author of the dental therapy legislation, Senator Mary Felzkowski, also introduced a bill to authorize expanded function dental auxiliaries. These auxiliaries are typically either dental assistants or hygienists who receive additional training to perform reversible intraoral procedures. The scope of work an expanded function dental auxiliary can perform is limited compared to a dental therapist. The legislation for these auxiliaries has passed the Senate without opposition and with support from the state dental association.