What are Oral Health Therapists?

If you’ve been to the ‘school dentist’ in Australia, you have probably been seen by an Oral Health Therapist. Dental teams have dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental therapists and dentists, so the terminology can sometimes be confusing. I would like to explain a bit about Oral Health Therapists in this blog post.

What are Oral Health Therapists?

Oral Health Therapists started off mainly working in the Government dental system, treating school age children. School age children to the age of 16 are eligible for free dental treatment through the School Dental Service, which is provided by local Dental Therapy Centres in Western Australia. More about the School Dental Service here. Now Oral Health Therapists continue to work in the Government dental services, and also in private practices in a general dental setting, and also for specialists such as periodontists and orthodontists.

What can Oral Health Therapists do?

1. Assist dentists by preparing the patient for more complex procedures e.g. numbing teeth, taking impressions of the mouth, taking x-rays
2. Cleaning teeth and treatment of gum disease
3. Oral health education
4. Treating children for sealants, fillings, crowns, root canal treatments
5. Depending on where the OHT was trained, some can also do fillings for adults
6. Assist orthodontists by taking impressions, using 3D Scanners, assisting with braces and clear aligner treatments
7. Making mouthguards, retainers, whitening trays and various other dental appliances
8. Removal of teeth

Then what are Dental Hygienists, and what do they do?

1. Cleaning of teeth, and treatment of gum disease
2. Oral health education
3. There are no longer new Dental Hygienists graduating from Universities since the Hygiene and Therapy courses were combined, and became known as Oral Health Therapists

So what’s the difference between an Oral Health Therapist and a Dentist?

1. For those OHTs who can treat adults, the main difference is that a dentist can do more complex treatment such as crowns, veneers, bridges, dental implants and root canal treatments
2. OHTs would mainly do fillings and sealants only

Do you have questions about whether you should see an Oral Health Therapist or a Dentist? Our friendly Claremont dental team would be happy to assist with any queries you may have. Simply give us a call on 6143 5655 or you can even book an online appointment at a time suitable for you right here.

Author: Lydia