A dental auxiliary is any oral health practitioner other than a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial c ...

& dental hygienist, including the supporting team assisting in dental treatment. They include

dental assistant Dental assistants are members of the dental team. They support a dental operator (such as a dentist or other treating dental auxiliary) in providing more efficient dental treatment. ''Dental assistants'' are distinguished from other groups of de ...

s (known as dental nurses in the United Kingdom and Ireland),

dental therapist A dental therapist is a member of the dental team who provides preventive and restorative dental care for children and adults. The precise role varies and is dependent on the therapist's education and the various dental regulations and guidelines o ...

s and oral health therapists, dental technologists, and orthodontic auxiliaries. The role of dental auxiliaries is usually set out in regional dental regulations, defining the treatment that can be performed.

Dental assistants

Dental assistant Dental assistants are members of the dental team. They support a dental operator (such as a dentist or other treating dental auxiliary) in providing more efficient dental treatment. ''Dental assistants'' are distinguished from other groups of de ...

help make dental treatment more efficient by assisting the clinician. They hold and pass instruments, retract tissues and apply suction to assist better vision of the operating field. They also mix materials, help maintain dental records, and sterilize instruments and equipment. Some also engage in professional

teeth whitening Tooth whitening or tooth bleaching is the process of lightening the color of human teeth. Whitening is often desirable when teeth become yellowed over time for a number of reasons, and can be achieved by changing the intrinsic or extrinsic color o ...

procedures, particularly in The Republic of Ireland where laser teeth whitening is classified as a cosmetic procedure and not dental treatment. This practice usually occurs in clinics solely devoted to laser teeth whitening and not routine dental treatment.

Dental therapists

Dental therapist A dental therapist is a member of the dental team who provides preventive and restorative dental care for children and adults. The precise role varies and is dependent on the therapist's education and the various dental regulations and guidelines o ...

s are licensed dental auxiliaries in some countries. Therapists were created in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1921, with the formation of the ''School Dental Service'', and spread mainly to other Commonwealth countries. Local regulations determine the duties therapists are allowed to perform, including either working under the prescription of a dentist or independently, and either exclusively treating children, or patients of any age. Therapists may work in government or private clinics, and are typically licensed to examine teeth, take

radiographs Radiography is an imaging technique using X-rays, gamma rays, or similar ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation to view the internal form of an object. Applications of radiography include medical radiography ("diagnostic" and "therapeut ...

, administer

local anesthesia Local anesthesia is any technique to induce the absence of sensation in a specific part of the body, generally for the aim of inducing local analgesia, that is, local insensitivity to pain, although other local senses may be affected as well. It ...

, restore teeth, administer vital pulp treatments such as

pulpotomies Pulpotomy is a minimally invasive procedure performed in children on a primary tooth with extensive caries but without evidence of root pathology. The minimally invasive endodontic techniques of vital pulp therapy (VPT) are based on improved unders ...

, extration of deciduous (primary) teeth, provide

sealants Sealant is a substance used to block the passage of fluids through openings in materials, a type of mechanical seal. In building construction ''sealant'' is sometimes synonymous with ''caulking'' and also serve the purposes of blocking dust, sou ...

, scaling and polishing, and apply topical fluoride.

Oral health therapists

Training for dental hygienists and dental therapists was combined in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia in 1998 to create ''oral health therapists'' or ''OHTs''. They are now also trained in New Zealand, Singapore, and Indonesia. Depending on local regulations, oral health therapists may work in consultation with dentists, or independently. And depending on regulations and training, may treat only children, or patients of any age. Duties usually include examining teeth and/or gingiva (gums), taking and interpreting intra and extra-oral radiographs, diagnosing

dental caries Tooth decay, also known as cavities or caries, is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The cavities may be a number of different colors from yellow to black. Symptoms may include pain and difficulty with eating. Complicat ...

(decay) and periodontal (gum) disease, restoring teeth (either deciduous (primary) or both deciduous and permanent), extracton of deciduous teeth, scaling or debridement to remove calculus, polishing to remove stain, applying fisssure sealants and topical fluoride, patient education, and oral hygiene instruction. Although dental hygienists and dental therapists can be jointly-trained in the UK, the oral health therapy scope does not exist there.

Dental technologists

Dental technologists or dental technicians are dental professionals who fabricate dental appliances: removable protheses including

dentures Dentures (also known as false teeth) are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and are supported by the surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable ( removable partial denture o ...

and orthodontic retainers, and fixed restorative work such as

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

and

bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

for the dental operator to insert. Denturists or clinical dental technologists or technicians are dental technicians with postgraduate training who see patients to fabric and fit dentures.

Orthodontic auxiliaries

Orthodontic auxiliaries are oral health professionals who work exclusively under the direction of an

orthodontist Orthodontics is a dentistry specialty that addresses the diagnosis, prevention, management, and correction of mal-positioned teeth and jaws, and misaligned bite patterns. It may also address the modification of facial growth, known as dentofacial ...

or dentist providing orthodontic treatment. Under supervision they place and remove orthodontic brackets, wires, bands, and appliances on patients, as treatment-planned by the orthodontist or dentist, in order to improve efficiency.

References