My name is Jory Maloney, and I am a registered dental hygienist (RDH) working in Schenectady, NY, at a a federally qualified health center (FQHC), a type of clinic designed to provide affordable access to healthcare for patients using Medicaid, uninsured patients, and those who may otherwise go without medical or dental care. Being from Schenectady, the work that I get to do in my literal hometown is incredibly meaningful to me. It did not take long after starting, however, to see the great need that there is in the community.
With only two FQHCs in the Capital District, there are few places where Medicaid patients can receive dental care, and community clinics across the nation are facing challenges keeping up with the needs of everyone who uses their services. All too often I’ll have a hygiene appointment with a patient who only needs a simple filling to prevent future pain, expense and travel, but the next available appointment with the doctors is more than 6 months out. Even with every dentist working as hard as they can, cavities grow larger while we wait for the appointment. Countless urban and rural communities across New York are affected when FQHCs can’t reach as far and wide as they need to.
Seeing the wait times, the clinical need, and the distances that some families travel to receive services inspired me to pursue dental therapy. As a dental therapist, I will be able to address more preventive and treatment needs of my patients, saving them both time and avoiding more dental pain.
Sadly, there is not yet an educational program training dental therapists in the northeast, and dental therapy is not yet authorized in New York State. For a few years I’m off to Minneapolis to obtain a master’s degree in dental therapy from the University of Minnesota. Without a practice act authorizing dental therapists to work in New York State, I’ll have to practice in nearby Vermont, which passed a bill authorizing dental therapy in 2016, when I return. I would love to return to my hometown of Schenetady to practice dental therapy should New York pass a bill. With plenty of other states already seeing and reaping the benefits, it’s time to bring dental therapy to New York.
We take mid-level providers for granted in the medical field, and there is no reason that New Yorkers shouldn’t benefit from the expanded access to dental care that therapists will provide.