The US Introduced A New Role For Dental Teams

This month, the state of Arizona introduced the so-called oral preventive assistant (OPA) role for dental practice. As officials claimed, this innovation is not dedicated to replacing the dental hygienist, but it has a range of similar responsibilities to enhance the clinic team's work process.

OPA's role is a new civilian initiative that mirrors the US Air Force's programs regarding preventive dental care in maintaining mission readiness. In simple words, officials are trying to implement approaches with proven effectiveness from military institutions in regular dental practice.

What is oral preventive assistance?

The Air Force's Oral Hygiene Course is a highly intensive education program that includes theoretical instructions and practical training with 170 dental prophylaxes and 60 annual dental screenings. The second part of the course includes further education under the supervision of dental specialists.

New Arizona OPA training also includes hands-on courses on performing preventive procedures, such as:

dental plaque and stains removing
periodontal readings
supragingival scaling and polishing

To receive the OPA certificate, participants must complete a 120-hour training course and obtain a list of certifications in CPR, coronal polishing, radiography, and National Dental Assisting certification.

What's the purpose?

According to the OPA's program statement, the new role aims to enhance the collaboration between dental team members. In particular, new specialists may benefit:

Dental hygienists work – help with preliminary procedures, routine prophylaxis, and paperwork, reducing work pressure on hygienists.
Dental practice workflow – an expanded number of team members can notably increase patient flow, as dentists can more effectively delegate specific procedures between colleagues.

As Arizona's official claims, the new role is dedicated to helping solve the national US dental crisis, during which we are observing a decrease in the number of dental specialists in the country.

If that initiative proves effective after implementation, it's highly likely that we will see the emergence of the OPA role in other states, too, and soon after that, in the rest of the world.

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