How to Get the Most Out of Your Dental Team: Improving Access to Care with Advanced Dental Hygienists

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Jacob Barnett
7 years ago
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1 How to Get the Most Out of Your Dental Team: Improving Access to Care with Advanced Dental Hygienists

2 Access to Oral Health Care Oral health is integral to overall health. Tooth decay is the nation s most common chronic disease among children 5 times more common than asthma. Treat the disease while it is still manageable. Maximize our existing oral health workforce to facilitate greater access to care.

3 Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioners (PHDHPs)

4 PHDHP A licensed dental hygienist who is certified by the PA SBOD to practice in certain practice settings without the supervision of a dentist.

5 PHDHP: What are the requirements? Apply to the PA State Board of Dentistry fee $20.00 (permit); then $40.00 (biennial renewal). Have an active license in good standing as a dental hygienist. Need to have completed 3,600 hours of practice under the supervision of a dentist. Obtain professional liability insurance (minimum $1,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 per annual aggregate).

6 Continuing Education Requirements 5 hours of continuing education (in Public Health related courses) are required to maintain the Public Health Dental Hygiene Certification. Can be applied to the 20 hour continuing education requirements to maintain the license to practice dental hygiene.

7 What Practice Settings? All public and private educational institutions that provide elementary and secondary instruction to school aged children Correctional Facilities Healthcare Facilities Personal care Homes Domiciliary care facilities Older adult daily living centers and

8 Practice Settings Continuing care provider facilities Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) Public or private institutions under the jurisdiction of a Federal, State or Local Agency Free and reduced-fee nonprofit health clinics More info: e mail: ST-DENTISTRY@pa.gov

9 Recordkeeping Maintain a record that reflects the dental hygiene services provided. Record must be retained for at least 5 years from the date of the last treatment entry.

10 Content of Record Name and address of the patient and if the patient is a minor, the name(s) of the patient s parent(s) or legal guardian. Date that dental hygiene services were provided. Description of the treatment or services rendered at each visit.

11 Radiographs If radiographs were taken, the date and type of radiographs should be documented. Documentation regarding the necessity or justification for taking radiographs. The radiographs themselves should be in the record.

12 Annual Referral Each patient shall be referred to a licensed dentist on an annual basis. Documentation of the referral must be maintained in the patient s dental record. NOTE: The failure of the patient to see a dentist as referred does not prevent the PHDHP from continuing to provide dental hygiene services.

13 Why use the PHDHP? Look at your down time if you are the sole practitioner in your center Increase access to care Increase production Decrease patient s waiting time for preventive services Utilize the resources you already have available

14 Where is your down time? Vacation days Sick days Personal days Continuing Education Seminars Family emergencies

15 Do the Math!! Example: A sole practitioner (dentist): with time off in one year Uses: 10 vacation days; 6 sick days; 5 CE days; 4 personal days Results: 25 days or 5 weeks without preventive care

16 Ideas to Incorporate: Be Creative Sealant and varnish day Kids day Periodontal patients treatment day Bleaching and/or Whitening day Utilize the dental assistants and other staff for patient flow Utilize 2 operatories

17 What will it take to make it work? Utilize the staff you already have Cooperation Teamwork Good Communication

18 Discussion Questions? Ideas? What works for you?

19 Thank you!

How To Write A Law In Pennsylvania

How To Write A Law In Pennsylvania PACHC Memo 09-03 Applicable for: FQHC Management Team Human Resource Department Dental Hygienists Dentists December 14, 2009 TO: Health Center CEOs FROM: Cheri Rinehart, President & CEO SUBJECT: Final