Dental program in rural Alaska under scrutiny

By The Associated Press

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FAIRBANKS — An Alaska tribal program to train rural residents to perform tasks usually done by dentists is under scrutiny by the American Dental Association (ADA).

"A dental degree in North America is basically an eight-year education. ... There are concerns," said Ty Ivey, a dentist on an ADA task force visiting Alaska to study dental health care in the bush.

Ivey was referring to a program that sent a dozen bush residents to New Zealand for two years to learn, among other things, how to diagnose dental problems and to drill teeth.

Members of the panel were visiting Fairbanks, Bethel and Anchorage, speaking with public-health officials, tribal leaders and dentists.

In addition, six dentists and two oral surgeons from the Lower 48 will spend a week in villages around Nome and Bethel, providing free dental care and evaluating some of rural Alaska's dental-health needs.

Information and recommendations will be compiled into a report, due to the governing body of the Chicago-based association in October, according to Mike Biermann, an ADA trustee.

"What we would like to see is if there are any innovative ways that we can get care to these people," Biermann told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Jeanine Tucker, a dental consultant for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, said rural Alaska Natives have 2-1/2 times more tooth decay than Americans as a whole. A primary reason is limited access to dental care.

"We've got about 20 positions vacant at any given time," Tucker said. "It's hard to find people who want to live out in Bush Alaska and practice dentistry."
 
That's partly why the dental health-aide program was developed, Tucker said.

Training ranges from fluoride treatments to fillings. Also, trained dental assistants are receiving expanded training under the program.

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