Dental Therapy Assistant: Cost Performance Analysis.
Abstract
Expanded duty dental assistants with the title of dental therapy assistants are being trained and utilized in the US Army oral health care delivery system. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of salary cost to dental treatment output for the various oral health care delivery team (OHCDT) configurations utilized in Army dental treatment facilities (DTF). Eight OHCDT configurations were compared using four productivity indicators and three cost performance indicators. Type of practice was compared based on the proportion of output in restorative, preventive, diagnostic, and other categories. The utilization of DTAs in OHCDTs was shown to significantly increase productivity. The findings indicate that the use of DTAs is a cost effective method of expanding the care delivery capability of dentists. The type of practice conducted by dentists without DTA support was shown to be significantly different than for DTA supported OHCDT.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA034209
Entities
People
- Warren A. Parker
Organizations
- Academy of Health Sciences