Is 60 Minutes Enough Time? What is the Standard of Care?

Fifty years ago, the dental hygiene recare appointment was 1 hour. Currently it is still 60 minutes (and even shortened to 30 minutes in some offices) while the number of procedures expected to be completed grows! Between infection control protocols, medical history/drug interaction evaluations, risk assessment protocols, selection of diagnostic codes, aging population issues (mental and physical), and more, it is amazing that any hygienist can develop a proper dental hygiene treatment plan as well as provide quality dental hygiene and periodontal therapy which include necessary radiographs, periodontal chartings, patient education and more during those 60 minutes.

It is up to the hygienist to provide comprehensive assessments, submit the appropriate documentation as well as determine CDT procedure codes (and coming soon, ICD-10 diagnostic codes) which most clearly describe the medically necessary dental treatment provided to the patient. And will that treatment meet the Standard of Care? What exactly is the Standard of Care?

Objectives:

• Discuss dental hygiene diagnosis, dental hygiene/periodontal treatment planning and the related initial CDT procedure code selection. (Which of the 7 “cleaning” procedure codes would be appropriate?)
• Define what procedures must be done during a typical dental hygiene appointment to provide comprehensive care to patients and meet the Standard of Care.
• Describe the various resources available to dental professionals which outline Standard of Care for dental hygiene procedures.

About The Presenter:

Kathy S. Forbes, RDH, BS, FADHA
The Dental Hygiene Coding Coach

Kathy has been a dental hygienist, dental hygiene educator, speaker, author, consultant, seminar, and study club leader for over 40 years. She speaks frequently about the correct classification, documentation, treatment planning, and CDT procedure code selection for patients with periodontal disease. In addition, she holds a license with the ADA for Current Dental Terminology© whichallows her to provide the most up-to-date understanding of current procedure codes.

As a former dental hygiene faculty professor for over 20 years, she understands that most programs do not teach the CDT procedure codes and those that do, do not always include the descriptors for those procedures. When determining a dental hygiene treatment plan, knowledge about these codes is imperative!

She has articles published in RDH Magazine, Dentistry Today, and others specifically addressing dental hygiene treatment planning and correct procedure code selection. Her national engagements include presentations to the American Dental Association’s Annual Meeting, ADHA Annual Conference, RDH Under One Roof, WDHA Oral Health Symposium and the Pacific Northwest Dental Conference.

She currently serves as a Director for the DentalCodeology™ Consortium, reviewing and developing procedure codes relevant to dental hygiene practice which are presented to the Code Maintenance Committee of the American Dental Association each year.