OPA EFDA Pilot Project Final Report
Missouri has an oral healthcare workforce shortage that has most severely impact rural clinics and clinics serving Medicaid patients. This is a long-standing problem resulting in unacceptably long wait times for appointments and poor access to care.
The State Office of Dental Health (ODH) within the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services used license and permit data to determine where providers are located and where they are needed, as indicated by these Missouri provider distribution maps demonstrating workforce shortage areas by county.
To help address these challenges, the Oral Preventive Expanded Function Dental Assistant (OPA EFDA) pilot project — a collaboration of ODH, the Missouri Dental Board, and the Missouri Dental Association — was carefully designed to implement to evaluate how this healthcare worker might contribute in Missouri.
We have created a page specifically for the report, which summarizes what the study examined, what the evidence shows, and why the findings matter for Missouri patients, providers, and policymakers.
