The age of the population is increasing, but so is the age of our medical and dental professionals. There are more medical and dental schools opening. According to the American Dental Association, ADA, there were five dental schools that opened in previous years, including 2011, 2012 and 2013 to accommodate the population.
Obviously, this gives more opportunities for people to become dentists. It has also been a concern that adding more dentists, the aging of the dentists and the degree of low income people who can't afford dentistry increasing, the existing dentists will not be able to handle the population.
According to the Division of Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky, adding dental therapists to the health care team would be a significant strategy for improving access to care for children and reducing oral health disparities.
Another thought that the Department of Dental Services Administration, Community Dentistry Division at the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry explores the potential benefits of the community dental health coordinator (CDHC) program while examining some of the lessons learned in its initial implementation in Oklahoma.
Funding is always under consideration, where to add funds and where to eliminate funds. An example comes from Canada, where Canada's sole training program, the National School of Dental Therapy in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, closed when the federal government eliminated its funding according to the Community Dentistry and Public Health, College of Dentistry at the University of Saskatchewan.
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