The evolution of dental education as a profession, 1936-2011, and the role of the journal of dental education.

This article describes selected changes in dental education from 1936 to 2011 and describes how the Journal of Dental Education (JDE) has assisted in both reporting and, at times, championing change. The review provides a series of selective contextual milestones as a backdrop and running commentary for the changing profession of dental education. An assessment of the current state of knowledge in this field is articulated, as are some of the drivers of change.

Navigating career pathways--dental therapists in the workforce: a report of the career path subcommittee.

Creating career pathways to facilitate current dental and other healthcare providers becoming dental therapists can be an efficient means to expand the dental workforce and reduce barriers to access to oral health services. Career pathways are proposed to facilitate dental providers building on previously learned skills to broaden their scope of practice and become even more versatile and productive providers of oral health services. Creation of a unified and integrated curriculum will enable research to document the effectiveness of this new dental provider who will work as part of dental teams and with supervision by dentists.

Envisioning success: the future of the oral health care delivery system in the United States.

The elimination of oral health disparities in the US will require enhancing access to oral health care services. The workshop convened in 2009 by the Institute of Medicine on the "US Oral Health Workforce in the Coming Decade" highlighted both the current workforce's failure to meet the nation's needs as well as the promising opportunities presented by various workforce strategies to significantly enhance access and improve oral health outcomes. In this article, we have briefly reviewed and expanded on the contributions in this special issue of the Journal of Public Health Dentistry, with the goal of identifying common themes and providing a framework for evaluation.