Midlevel dental providers perform preventive care and routine restorative duties, such as filling cavities. Although they work in more than 50 countries, including Canada and Britain, Minnesota and Alaska are the two states in which midlevel dental providers are licensed to work as part of the dental team. In Minnesota, dental therapists work in a variety of settings. Two dentists who supervise these practitioners in Minnesota share their perspectives. more

Health advocates are concerned that new guidance from the Obama administration could make it more expensive for some low- and middle-income parents to pay for dental insurance for their children once the new health care law takes effect next year.