Dental therapy in the United Kingdom: part 2. A survey of reported working practices.

OBJECTIVES

To conduct a survey of current working practices of UK dental therapists following the changes in permitted duties, allowed clinical settings and the introduction of the new dental contract in England and Wales.

METHODS

A piloted postal questionnaire was circulated in 2006 to all General Dental Council (GDC) registered therapists and those on the hygienists register possessing a dental therapy qualification. Two subsequent mailings were used to boost the response rate.

RESULTS

There was an 80.6% response rate (n = 587). Ninety-eight percent of respondents were female. Average time since qualification was 17 years. Eighty percent (n = 470) of respondents were currently working as a dental therapist, 53% part-time. Of the 470, half were engaged entirely in general dental practice (GDP), one third in the salaried dental services (SDS), while others worked across different settings. Only 39% claimed to spend most of their time treating children. Recently qualified therapists more often worked in GDP (p <0.001). Overall, a wide range of clinical duties were performed, although there was concern about maintaining skills across all the competencies since qualification, while emphasis on hygiene work was a limiting factor for some. On the basis of the continued professional development (CPD) activities described over one year, only half would have met the GDC CPD requirements from August 2008 for dental care professionals (DCPs).

CONCLUSIONS

More than half of therapists now work in GDP, compared with none six years previously. Many undertake a full range of duties. However, there was concern that some dentists use them for hygiene skills rather than across the whole range of their competencies, risking deskilling, while others reported their inability to gain employment as a therapist.