Alternative Dental Providers

PEW CENTER ON THE STATES INFOGRAPHIC New members of the dental team can help improve access to dental care in the U.S. 47 million 1 in 7 Americans lives in an area with a shortage of dentists' 16,511,502 1 in 5 children went without seeing a dentist in 2009? zero 29 Number of studies that have revealed problems with the quality of care given by dental therapists and other midlevel dental providers Number of states that permit expanded function dental assistants3 16 Number of recent graduates of 2 dental therapist programs in Minnesota who are now ready to care for patients 53 5,157 Number of countries, including Great Britain and Canada, that Number of additional procedures that a dentist in a solo, private practice could provide in 1 year by hiring a hygienist with dental therapy training currently deploy dental therapists5 For more information and sources on these data, please visit www.pewcenteronthestates.org/dental-workforce Pew Center on the States, 2012 Infographic by Carla Uriona and Evan Potler