Policy has changed, practice has not: building systems in dental therapy

Despite policy changes slowly recognising the full potential of dental therapists, many practices continue to rely on outdated ways of working. Cat Edney and Bradley Wilson explain why meaningful change demands systems that allow dental therapy to thrive.

One of my favourite things about writing Dental Therapy Explained is the conversations it starts. Every month I hear from dental therapists working in completely different environments, all experiencing the profession in slightly different ways. Sometimes those conversations reinforce something I’ve been thinking for a while, and sometimes they make me look at things from a completely different perspective.

Recently I sat down with fellow dental therapist Bradley Wilson to talk about where we think our profession is heading. Bradley works in an NHS mixed corporate practice and is thriving as a direct access dental therapist. He has carved out a role for himself where there once was only dental hygiene work available. I was interested to hear his thoughts on how the profession could grow like he has. 

We started by discussing the recent NHS changes affecting dental therapists, but very quickly found ourselves talking about something much bigger than policy. We found ourselves talking about systems.

The systems we inherit