Abstract
The 21st century has seen further change for the oral health professions, with dental therapy and dental hygiene becoming registered professions under the Health Practitioners’ Competence Assurance (HPCA) Act 2003. Oral health professional education has also progressed; Oral Health degrees have been introduced at Otago University and AUT, producing graduates who now register as oral health therapists in the oral health therapy scope of practice.
In looking to the future, it is important that dental and oral health practitioners understand one another’s scopes of practice, in order to work together effectively. Education too must change and evolve to produce practitioners that will be able to address the oral health needs of the population and work towards reducing oral health inequities.