Dental therapists’ addition to the health care team to improve access to oral health care in Cameroon

Abstract

A report of the National Dental Council, and the subsequent the Ministry of Public Health Call to Action to Promote Oral Health, contributed significantly to raising awareness regarding the lack of access to oral health care by many Cameroonians, especially minority and low-income populations, with resulting disparities in oral health. The problem is particularly acute among the rural and poor communities. The current dental workforce in Cameroon is inadequate to meet the oral health care needs for the population. It is inadequate in terms of numbers of dentists, as well as their geographic distribution, ethnicity, education, and practice orientation. Dental therapists, paraprofessionals trained in a 3 to 4 academic-years program of postsecondary education, have been employed internationally to improve access to oral health care for population. Research has documented that utilizing dental therapists is a cost-effective method of providing quality oral health care in the community. Dental therapists have recently been introduced in Cameroon by the Ministry of Higher Education through Private institutions as St Louis University of Health and Biomedical Sciences, Bamenda. Dental therapists could potentially care for children and adult in dental offices, public health clinics, and school systems, as well as in the domain of Sport activities and NGOs. Adding dental therapists to the health care team would be a significant strategy for improving access to care for communities and reducing oral health inequities.