Posted: Thursday, February 2, 2006 12:00 am
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The American Dental Association is asking a state judge to stop a unique program run by Alaska Native organizations that allows dental health aides in rural villages to perform some services usually done by licensed dentists.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in state Superior Court, the association said the dental aides are performing extractions, surgeries and other irreversible procedures in violation of state licensing laws.
Much of the work is done in rural Native villages, where there are no dentists and where the rate of tooth decay is 2.5 times that of the rest of the nation.
The ADA, joined by the Alaska Dental Society and several dentists in private practice, argued the program puts patients at risk. Bob Brandjord, president of the association, told The Associated Press that the lawsuit was about "bringing quality care to all Alaskans."
The consortium maintains the practice is legal under federal law and has been sanctioned by Alaska's attorney general. It also disagreed with the ADA's contention that quality care can only be attained only through licensed dentists.
None of the work done by seven dental therapists based in rural communities has resulted in health complications for patients who otherwise have little if any access to dental care, the consortium said.
Mary Williard, a licensed dentist in the western Alaska town of Bethel, supervises two dental aides and said they have done excellent work on fillings, extractions, baby tooth crowns and cleanings. The lawsuit is based on unfounded fears, she said.
"You would expect more from a professional organization than scaring the public with these theatrical movements," she said. "What it all boils down to is, dentists are afraid of someone taking a piece of the pie."
The program is a local solution to a local problem, said consortium attorney Valerie Davidson. "It's a way to provide quality, culturally competent care," she said.