What is a Midlevel Provider?

ASDA identifies a midlevel provider as an individual, who is not a dentist with four years of post-collegiate education (three years in the case of University of the Pacific School of Dentistry), who may perform irreversible procedures on the public. 

Due to barriers to care issues, midlevel provider pilot programs have begun to enter the mainstream world of dental health care.

ASDA Policy on Dental Providers

ASDA’s policy on dental providers states that only a qualified dentist should perform the following functions, including but not limited to:

a. Diagnosis and treatment planning
b. Prescribing work authorizations
c. Performing surgical/irreversible dental procedures
d. Prescribing drugs and/or other medications

• During the 2017 Advocacy Month, ASDA hosted a panel for three dental professionals: a public health dentist, a dental therapist and a community dental health coordinator. The panelists discussed their place in the dental health care community. Watch the recorded webinar online. 

• In Feb. 2016, students from Massachusetts sent letters to lawmakers encouraging them to oppose midlevel provider legislation. Their efforts contributed to the defeat of the bill that year. 

• ASDA keeps its members abreast of current legislation and other news about the issue of midlevel providers through ASDA’s monthly advocacy newsletter, the Advocacy Brief.

• ASDA created a PowerPoint explaining the association's stance on midlevel providers and ASDA’s efforts to address the barriers to care issue. Download the presentation to share this information with your colleagues.

Read what ASDA members are saying about midlevel providers:

• “Funding the Fight for Midlevel Providers,” Contour, November/December 2017

Stay up-to-date

ASDA wants to ensure you are up-to-date with midlevel provider legislation. The below map highlights the states that have already introduced midlevel providers and the states that have considered midlevel legislation in 2019. Use your mouse to hover over the states and see their status (information was updated Oct. 2019).

 

Other Resources

• ASDA’s midlevel provider talking points outline the association’s stance and provides background information on the issue. This is a great resource for students who may be speaking with key stakeholders.
• AGD: Midlevel Providers
• ADEA Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map
• AAOMS White Paper on Midlevel Providers 
• AAPD, “Analysis and Policy  Recommendations Concerning Midlevel Dental Providers”
• ADA Workforce Statement: "Breaking Down Barriers to Oral Health for All Americans: Repairing the Tattered Safety Net"
• “ADA Scientific Study Finds Surgical Midlevel Providers Do Not Reduce Overall Rates of Dental Decay”
• ADA: “About Community Dental Health Coordinators” 
• ADA comment on the Kellogg Foundation Report, "A Review of the Global Literature on Dental Therapists"