Swinomish dental therapists keep people safe with outdoor clinics
By Sarah Chagnon
Three years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life: I left my career as a medical assistant to become a dental therapist. I had planned on going to nursing school until Dr. Dailey, a dentist at the Swinomish Dental Clinic, convinced me to join the dental therapy program because it offered me a chance to return to Washington and serve my own community. I packed up my entire house, took a five-day ferry ride with my two children and husband and moved to Alaska to train as a dental therapist.
As COVID-19 sweeps through our country, I can not imagine a better choice than becoming a dental therapist. In Alaska, I learned how to set up portable dental clinics to serve remote tribal villages; Today I use the same techniques to set up open-air dental clinics that keep my patients safe from the pandemic. I also learned how to perform basic dental procedures without electricity, which comes in handy today because it means I can use techniques that avoid aerosolizing particles that are known to spread COVID-19.
Dental therapists have helped the Swinomish Dental clinic increase access to dental care. Before hiring any dental therapists, the dentists had difficulty finding time for more complex procedures. Because of the high volume of patients, they were only able to perform one root canal a day and sometimes only one a week. We now have two dentists, three dental therapists and two hygienists, meaning our clinic is able to work at full capacity.
Having dental therapists in our clinic has opened the door for our dentist to focus on more in-depth procedures, such as crowns, bridges, partials and even start an implant program. Our wait time has gone from 2-3 months to 1-2 weeks and sometimes people are seen the day they come in. We have been able to increase our access to care, finish treatment plans a lot faster and lower our rate of referring children out to a specialist.
And just as important – because I am from the Swinomish tribe, I understand the everyday issues faced by my community. My patients feel more comfortable because they know me. This has a real impact on my community’s oral health. Becoming a dental therapist changed my life. It allowed me to provide necessary dental care to my community. I feel lucky to be part of a tribe that supports innovative methods like dental therapy to make health care more accessible, affordable, and local.
But I know that dental therapy could be doing so much more. Right now, dental therapists in Washington state are only allowed to practice in tribal settings. Six Washington tribes employ dental therapists, and studies by the University of Washington’s Dental School show that dental therapy reduces emergency teeth extractions for kids and prevents tooth decay that leads to serious health problems. By expanding dental therapists to be able to serve the entire state, we could educate and employ people from communities that are hit hard by COVID-19.
Washington state needs a community-focused workforce now more than ever. The good news is that tribes like Swinomish are showing how new methods can make dental care easier to access. I hope my story is just the beginning of more dental care across the state.
Source: Statewide Poverty Action Network.