At Neutral Bay Family Dental, we have a team of dental professionals working to ensure you are getting the best possible treatment and advice about oral health care. A team approach across different areas of expertise is how the best possible solutions for your dental needs. Having two dental professionals that focus on different aspects of oral health makes for a more thorough evaluation, ensure all areas are covered and nothing is missed.
Who Are Oral Health Therapists?
An oral health therapist is qualified in two important roles — as a dental therapist and as a dental hygienist. This means they can provide diagnosis, treatment advice, and they specifically focus on preventive programs for the oral health of children and adults.
Louis, our trusted oral health therapist, will be able to assess your oral health and find why issues are occurring, determine the correct treatment for you, and provide advice on ensuring your mouth stays healthy.
What Does an Oral Health Therapist Do?
The work an oral health therapist undertakes can be very similar to a dentist’s; however, it centres mostly on motivating people to take better care of their oral health. They perform general dental treatments for children (including examinations, fillings, and tooth extractions), assessment and treatment of gum diseases, as well as oral health promotion and disease prevention.
While they may perform similar tasks as a general dentist, you can think of oral health therapists as allied health professionals who work to provide their patients with the best dental treatments.
What Qualifications Does an Oral Health Therapist Have?
Academically, an oral health therapist has three years of full-time study into a Bachelor Degree in an approved area by the National Board (the difference in training between a dentist and an oral health therapist is just one or two years).
An appointment with an Oral Health Therapist
It varies, of course, but they primarily follow preventive focused dental care. A session usually begins by checking your teeth for any signs of dental disease. From there, they provide dental treatment to help prevent cavities, and this often comes in the form of teeth cleaning, dental x-rays, fillings, removal of teeth and sealants. Should they find other issues outside their expertise—a need for orthodontic work, for instance, they will refer you to a dentist.
By Dr. Lynette Lim
