re: Scope of practice laws & health outcomes, dental edition

quote:

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I think the top right quadrant of the graph speaks more to the poverty level in those states rather than the restrictiveness of dental hygienist certification

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No doubt. I'm also thinking about the interaction between the issue you bring up and the one measured in the chart as well.

By that I mean that these poor folks who can't afford a top-level practitioner, might be able to afford a mid-level one. Certainly this will be the case at least some of the time.

And in many of those states where poverty is most likely an impediment, services from those mid-level (cheaper) providers isn't legal.

To some extent, it seems that this results in a greater number of toothless people.