A survey of the work force experiences and job satisfaction of dental therapists and oral health therapists in New Zealand.

Background: The dental therapy workforce has undergone successional changes since the inception of dental therapy education in New Zealand. Although the role of dental therapists and oral health therapists in delivering oral health care is recognised as important, there have not been any recent empirical studies published on their work experiences and job satisfaction levels in New Zealand. The aim of this study is to explore the work experiences and job satisfaction of dental therapists and oral health therapists in New Zealand. The secondary aim of this study is to identify specific differences associated with these responses. Methods: An electronic web-based questionnaire was developed using Survey Monkey. Survey Monkey is an online survey development cloud-base system software. The questionnaire was sent to members of the New Zealand Dental and Oral Health Therapists Association. The data was subjected to chi-square tests and ordinal regression analysis. Results: The difference between the clinical activities of those with the dental therapy scope and oral health therapists (with both dental therapy and dental hygiene scopes) was in the performance of pulpotomies. 53% of the participants with the dental therapy scope of practice reported carrying out pulpotomies, compared to 80% of the participants with both dental therapy and dental hygiene scopes of practice. Most participants reported high levels of job satisfaction but those with the single dental therapy scope were significantly more likely to report higher job satisfaction than those with the dual scopes of practice. Conclusion: Most dental therapists and oral health therapists reported having high levels of job satisfaction. The utilisation of skills, the support of the clinical and nonclinical team members in terms of understanding the scopes of practice, and the participants perceived levels of patient acceptance all correlated to higher job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]