Wisconsin is not alone. Like many states, Wisconsin has an ample supply of dentists but those providers are not necessarily distributed to all corners of the state.
The Wisconsin Dental Association believes all residents who have the need and want to obtain care should have access to a dentist. Unfortunately, some of our most vulnerable populations for dental disease have the most challenging access to providers. The leadership of your association has begun research and discussions to identify ideas and solutions to improve patients’ access to dental care.
Prevention can have a great impact on reducing disease, but it takes time to significantly impact entire populations. Why don’t we utilize the manpower we already have across the state to make dentists more efficient? What if dentists could provide more definitive care without adding the high cost of brick and mortar or heavily government-subsidized midlevel providers? What if we could find a sustainable model that allows dentists to see and treat more patients, thus providing more access?
What if this model already exists? It does and it’s called the EFDA!
The EFDA or Expanded Function Dental Assistant is a highly trained dental assistant that works under the direct supervision of the team-leading dentist to provide or complete services the dentist initiates and takes full responsibility for.
The WDA supports a model in which the EFDA candidate would receive a minimum of 70-90 hours of formal training through an accredited technical college program followed by state certification. This model has proven successful in 25 states and in the U.S. military.
Many dentists may find that an EFDA does not fit into their practice model and that is fine, but in areas of the state where dentists are unable to meet the needs of the community, the EFDA is a way that a practice can serve more patients.
Please share your thoughts with your WDA regional trustees before our June 8 Board of Trustees meeting.
Note: Regional trustee Board liaisons are listed on each component’s WDA.org web page. Find your trustee and contact information by clicking on your region/component here: https://blog.wda.org/dental-professionals/local-dental-societies.
