Bulletin of Dental Education Article

Nobody believes more in the potential impact of dental therapists than Amy Coplen, M.S., RDH.

As the director of Pacific University’s Dental Hygiene program, Prof. Coplen’s passion for the burgeoning profession led to the development of a three-year educational pilot program at Pacific, to Oregon endorsing dental therapists in 2021 and the accreditation of the university’s new Master of Dental Therapy program, in March.

The dental therapy profession aims to bridge the gap in oral care in rural and underserved communities.

Amy Coplen, M.S., RDH, Director of Pacific University's Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy programs, demonstrates techniques in the dental clinic at Pacific's Hillsboro Campus. A longtime licensed dental hygienist, Prof. Coplen received her licensure as a dental therapist in order to lead Pacific's Master of Dental Therapy program, which begins this fall. Photo credit: Thomas Lal/Pacific University.

“The populations that we care for have such a high need, and many of the needs go beyond what dental hygienists can do,” said Prof. Coplen. “The dental therapy profession fits so well with our commitment to serve the public, especially those who have limited access to a dentist.”

Prof. Coplen, who holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in dental hygiene, has served as a member of Pacific’s dental hygiene faculty since 2009 and as program director since 2018. But for an emerging dental therapy program to earn accreditation, the university needed to find a director licensed as a dentist or dental therapist. So, Prof. Coplen put on her scrubs and stepped up.

“If we were going to have our own (dental therapy) program, we wouldn’t be able to do that without hiring someone else,” said Prof. Coplen. “It made the most sense for Pacific financially, and in terms of leadership continuity, if I were able to take that jump.”

And jump she did. Prof. Coplen completed Pacific’s pilot program, which required 200 hours in the classroom and lab and 300 practicum hours, all on top of her full-time job.

“It was one of the hardest things I have ever done,” said prof. Coplen, who was licensed by the state of Oregon as a dental therapist in 2024. “I had never gone back to school while working full-time, or with young children at home. It was also really hard to go back to the basics of learning a new clinical skill when I had become an expert in my field.”

A member of the Pacific faculty since 2009, Prof. Coplen has directed Pacific's Dental Hygiene program since 2018. Photo credit: Thomas Lal/Pacific University.

While dental hygienists specialize in cleanings and education on proper oral care techniques, dental therapists are trained to perform basic dental work, including diagnosing and filling simple cavities, performing simple extractions and repairing dental prosthetics, along with performing dental exams.

The longer Prof. Coplen spent learning dental therapy techniques, the more she discovered how much she enjoyed the new skill set.

“As a dental hygienist, the variety of what you do has a limit. With dental therapy, it felt like the variety was never going to have a limit,” said Prof. Coplen. “There was constantly going to be something new and something challenging. So the combination of helping people and something being different every day, and the complexity and skill required, felt really satisfying.”

Experiencing the day-to-day life of a student again also gave Prof. Coplen a better appreciation of Pacific’s dental hygiene students.

“It really put into perspective the level of stress that they are under and the rigor of the program that we have,” she said. “I was just in awe of how they balance so many responsibilities. It makes you remember what it’s like to learn something for the first time.”

Dental therapy is now an authorized profession in 14 states, including eight in the Western United States. Pacific University will become the fourth accredited program in the nation to train dental therapists—and only the second to offer a master’s degree. Starting in the 2026-27 academic year, students will be able to take the dental hygiene and dental therapy curriculum concurrently, graduating with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. Pacific’s first cohort is expected to welcome six students, expanding to 12 in its fourth year.

In 2020, Pacific partnered with Willamette Dental Group to launch the three-year pilot program that prepared the state’s first 17 dental therapists. In 2021, the Oregon Legislature passed a bill allowing dental therapists to practice in the state.

As the program prepares for its first cohort, Prof. Coplen hopes those students will realize the same satisfaction in education that she did during the pilot program, marrying her commitment to serving others and her passion for lifelong learning.

“I love the helping people aspect, the human connection we make,” she said. “But I have a real joy for the technical aspect as well, getting something that’s very detailed and technique sensitive to improving and perfecting a craft. That brings me a lot of satisfaction.”

Courtesy of Pacific University

Published on May 13, 2026