The Native Dental Therapy Initiative works to establish the laws and policies needed for dental therapists to provide the maximum care for their communities. This authorization can happen through state, federal and/or tribal governments. Our team works with tribes, tribal organizations, and other partners to advocate policies that allow dental therapists to work at the top of their scope in as many practice settings as possible, and to make sure education pathways for this profession remain accessible.

Idaho

The Coeur D’Alene tribe spearheaded efforts in 2019 to pass S 1129: Amending Idaho Code to Provide for Dental Therapists. The law allows the state to license dental therapists and restricts their practice to tribal lands.

Oregon

The Oregon legislature passed HB 2528 in 2021, licensing dental therapists statewide. The law becomes operative on January 1, 2022.  Dental therapists working for Tribes in Oregon will have the ability to apply for a license after that date or apply for CHAP certification through the Portland Area Community Health Aide Program Certification Board.

For more information about what is in the new law, check out our fact sheet!

Dental therapists are currently practicing in Oregon under the authority of the Oregon Health Authority’s Dental Pilot Project Program, established by Enrolled SB 738: Dental Pilot Projects in 2011. A pilot project sponsored by the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, partnering with the Coquille Indian Tribe, Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, and Native American Rehabilitation Association was approved in 2016 and will currently end in 2022.

Washington

Dental therapists have been working for Washington tribes since 2016.  Both the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and Lummi Nation have established tribal licensing boards to license their dental therapists. Swinomish has also entered into memorandums of agreement to license dental therapists working for other tribes. 

In 2017, the Washington state legislature passed Enrolled SSB 5079: Dental Health Services in Tribal Settings–Dental Health Aide Therapists, recognizing tribal sovereignty and establishing state law that allows for Tribes to access IHS and Medicaid funding for dental therapy services. 

We are also part of a coalition, the Washington Dental Access Campaign, to extend dental therapy statewide beyond tribal lands. During the 2021 legislative session, the coalition was successful in securing funding for a Dental Therapy Task Force to convene this summer.

This task force will bring together key stakeholders to offer recommendations on bringing the current practice of dental therapy on tribal lands to a statewide scale by examining best practices, reviewing data-driven evidence, and reporting their findings to the legislature by the end of 2021. This is an important step in moving Washington state forward to increase oral health care access, grant urban Indian health centers the ability to hire dental therapists, eliminate inequities in oral health outcomes, and build a diverse oral health care workforce across the state.

Federal

NPAIHB is leading efforts to stand up a Community Health Aide Program (CHAP) Certification Board in the Portland Area.  Once established, this would offer a pathway for Portland Area tribes to employ dental therapists that are federally certified by CHAP instead of licensed by a tribe or state.

If you have questions or ideas or interest in becoming more involved, please contact Miranda Davis, NDTI Project Director, at mdavis@npaihb.org.