Dental Therapy Education
The Native Dental Therapy Initiative works to ensure that Tribal communities are able to strengthen their dental therapy educational pathways and ensure a robust workforce, reflective of their communities, for tribes to employ.
A history of Dental Therapy Education in Tribal communities.
The pathway for dental therapy education was paved by the leadership of the Alaskan Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) and the Ilisaġvik College. In partnership, they created the Alaskan Dental Therapy Education Program (ADTEP). Currently, all of the practicing dental therapists in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon were trained through ADTEP. In August of 2020, the Alaska Dental Therapy Educational Program was the first program in the United States to receive Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) approval. In 2015 CODA recognized the growing profession of dental therapy by developing standards for education programs. The growth of the profession on Tribal lands in Washington state has led to an educational partnership between Skagit Valley College (SVC) and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Together they have created the first Dental Therapy education program in Washington state, called “dəxʷx̌ayəbus” (dah-hi-ya-buus).
Take a look at Skagit Valley College’s Dental Therapy Program!
The Dental Therapy Program at Skagit Valley College received CODA accreditation this year, 2022! It is only the second Dental Therapy program in the nation to receive Commission of Dental Accreditation, and is the first Dental Therapy Program in the lower 48 states.
