The MDA worked for many years to establish Expanded Functions for Dental Assistants (EFDA). The Association began researching dental auxiliary shortages as a result of a 1989 resolution passed by the MDA House of Delegates and concluded the restrictive rules regulating dental assistants were causing many to seek advancement outside of dentistry.

In 1992, the MDA began working with the Missouri Dental Board to fashion a dental assisting rule that would:

• Provide solutions and potentially be a model for other states.

• Allow dental assistants to more productively help their dentists treat patients.

• Provide professional growth opportunities with educational and competency testing requirements.

 

One year later, the Missouri Dental Board passed a rule allowing dental assistants to perform 19 expanded functions. The MDA and its component societies were officially recognized as approved course providers and competency testing agents by the Missouri Dental Board in 1994. The MDA worked with the UMKC School of Dentistry and University of Kentucky to develop four expanded function courses to dental assistants the necessary training to perform the delegable expanded functions listed in the Missouri Dental Practice Act. In addition to MDA being an approved EFDA course provider, as well, Missouri's accredited dental assisting schools are course providers.

Fast forward 15 years to 2009. Building on an already successful program, the Missouri Foundation for Health approved a 36-month 'oral health promotion and access grant' of $250,000 to support enhancements and updates to the Missouri EFDA program, a collaborative effort of UMKC and the MDA. Read Grant Summary.

Since the program's inception, its estimated 1,800 EFDAs have been trained by MDA and its trainers. According to research, each of these EFDAs, on average, expands the productivity of the dental team by 10% to 15%, which equates to having added the equivalent in dental productivity of 180 to 270 full-time dentists. According to the Missouri Dental Board, EFDAs currently only constitute approximately 25% to 30% of the state's 6,000 dental assistants. As part of a comprehensive solution to the state's oral health work force needs, EFDAs may be the most significant component (short-term) to the problems of rural areas.

In addition to the grant funding to improve the delivery and efficacy of courses, the Missouri Dental Board is currently reviewing the EFDA rule, with a proposal to, among other changes, include additional restorative procedures and expanded functions.