The changing face of dental practice: emerging models of team care in Australia

Background Different skill-mix models have changed the face of the dental workforce. This study aimed to assess how this skill-mix translates into different practice models of care and the employer-dentists' perception of the dental team.Methods Twenty-two oral health therapists (OHTs) and 12 employer-dentists from both the private and public sectors participated in the online surveys. The OHT survey contained questions on practice models of care and work design characteristics. An open-ended question was added to the dentist survey assessing their perceptions of the OHTs in practice.Results OHTs provided over 90% of initial point-of-care for children and 40% for adults. All OHTs in the public sector and over 90% of the OHTs in private practice thought their job gave them a high degree of decision-making autonomy, despite over half of OHTs in private practice working under some level of supervision. Most employer-dentists perceived OHTs as an asset to their practice.Conclusion The collaborative relationship has translated into different dental practice models of care. Dentists indicated that employing an OHT created efficiencies for their practice and OHTs reported they had a high degree of autonomy in the workplace, especially for the treatment of children. Further studies should be conducted to determine what influences the OHTs to exercise full autonomy. The impact of the changes in the oral health workforce will create adaptations in dental education in the future.