Dental Therapy Assistant: Attitudes of Army Dentists.

The U.S. Army Dental Corps has implemented a formal program based on the concept that dental care can be more efficiently and effectively provided with treatment teams composed of one dental officer, two dental therapy assistants, one basic assistant, and the shared support of other auxiliary personnel. Such a team will use three dental treatment rooms. The major impetus leading to the adoption of this concept has been the development, during the past decade, of the expanded duty dental assistant. Dental therapy assistant is the Army's nomenclature for the expanded duty dental assistant--a new type of auxiliary trained to perform certain dental tasks traditionally performed only by a dentist. The attitude of Army dentists toward the utilization of the dental therapy assistant (DTA) was studied in a survey, using questionnaires.