Dental Therapist Position Proposed

Legislation to create a dental therapist position in Ohio has been introduced in the Ohio Senate. The Ohio Dental Association strongly opposes Senate Bill 98, which is sponsored by Sen. Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering) and Sen. Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati). This radical proposal would allow a person with only three years of post-high school training to perform irreversible surgical dental procedures including the extraction of teeth, cutting tooth structure and gums, and the administration of local anesthetic injections.

The Ohio Dental Association opposes this proposal because it presents an unnecessary risk to the health of our most vulnerable dental patients and is a diversion of scarce resources that are better utilized supporting programs proven to improve access to quality dental care.