Anchorage Daily News

Two professional dentists groups that tried for years to kill a rural dental aide program are giving up the fight.

The American Dental Association and the Alaska Dental Society will drop their lawsuit against Alaska dental therapists now battling tooth decay in the Bush, according to a settlement announced Wednesday.

And, in a surprise twist to more than a year of bitter litigation, the national dentists say they will join forces with program managers to improve oral health care in rural Alaska, including contributing more than $500,000, according to a lawyer in the case.

For their part, the therapists have agreed not to go after either professional organization for legal fees they are entitled to after winning the case at the Superior Court level, said Anchorage attorney Thomas Van Flein.

The dental organizations could have appealed that loss to the Alaska Supreme Court, plunging the issue into limbo for years.

Why not appeal?

"Time, money," said Van Flein, who represents the ADS. "They're giving up reluctantly, but it's expensive . ... The legal issue is done for the Alaska Dental Society."

IMPROVING RURAL HEALTH

A congressional board created the dental therapist program to address the scarcity of dentists in rural Alaska, a region with tooth decay rates among the nation's highest.

Therapists are licensed after two years of study and have access to dentists for consultation and advice. They are limited to examinations, fillings, cleaning and uncomplicated extractions.

The first eight therapists, trained in New Zealand because no American dental school would accept them, began working in villages in 2005.

The dental groups and four individual dentists sued program managers -- the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, the state and the therapists last year, saying the aides are allowed to perform procedures that should only be done by licensed dentists.

State Superior Court Judge Mark Rindner ruled in favor of the program last month, saying it's legal under federal law.

SETTLEMENT TERMS

The ADA, based in Chicago, agreed to several additional terms as part of the settlement, including:

• Give $537,000 to a Consortium foundation to promote preventive dental care in rural Alaska.

• Create a new position to educate rural Alaskans about good oral health care.

• Sponsor a study to measure the effectiveness of the dental therapy program.

The ADA will also work to get more dentists to rural Alaska by sponsoring more internships and residencies, said Van Flein. The ADS is already seeking government approval to create a nonprofit to send volunteer dentists to the Bush, he said.

"It's been working on that for quite some time. ... The ADS has always thought care is needed out there. It just believes it should be provided by licensed dentists."

Also under the settlement, the ADA and the Consortium must announce their plans to work together at a press conference, Van Flein said.

That's scheduled for Friday.

An ANTHC spokeswoman would not comment, deferring inquiries to the press conference.

An official with the ADA, reached Wednesday in Washington, D.C., would not comment when asked why the association was dropping the legal battle. That question can be answered Friday, he said.

Find Alex deMarban online at adn.com/contact/ademarban or call 257-4310.