Public Health Dental Hygienist (PHDH) Toolkit
Next Steps
Office of Oral Health
Massachusetts Department of Public Health

What’s next?

•	Read the BORID regulations in detail regarding specific requirements for the PDHD
•	Complete the required training for a PHDH
•	Identify public health needs in Massachusetts populations
•	Form a collaborative agreement with a licensed dentist
•	Understand reimbursement requirements for the PHDH
•	Understand and incorporate evidence-based public health practices into the planning, implementation and evaluation of your program.

BORID Regulations

•	The updated rules and regulation concerning the practice of dentistry in the Commonwealth will be effective on August 20, 2010.  

•	Board of Registration in Dentistry Regulations 

•	 www.mass.gov/dph/boards/dn

Identify Massachusetts Dental Public Health Needs

•	Work with the Office of Oral Health and local/city health departments to identify public health needs in your local areas
•	Other Massachusetts public health resources:
•	Massachusetts Public Health Association
•	Massachusetts Coalition for Oral Health
•	Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Public Health and Community Service
•	Harvard University School of Dental Medicine, Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology
•	Boston University, Center for Research to Evaluate and Eliminate Dental Disparities

Collaborative Agreements

•	Locate licensed dentist(s) who are interested and willing to sign a collaborative agreement
•	Review what should be included in a collaborative agreement
•	Go to the Documents and Resources Page for a sample collaborative agreement
•	 

Reporting Requirements
•	Review in the BORID Regulations (234 CMR 5.08(8)) the reporting requirements for a PHDH to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Office of Oral Health
•	These include:
•	The dates of each session with name and address of the site where public health dental services were provided; and
•	The number of patients served
•	The type(s) and quantity(ies) of each service provided.

** Go to the PHDH Toolkit Main Page for details

Reimbursements for PHDH Services

•	The public health dental hygienists shall be directly reimbursed for services administered in a public health setting by Medicaid or the commonwealth care health insurance program but except as required by federal Medicaid law, shall not seek reimbursement from any other insurance or third party payor.
•	Contact MassHealth to sign up as dental provider.

Communicate with the Office of Oral Health

•	Office of Oral Health Webpage
•	Contact Information:
•	250 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108
•	Telephone: (617) 624-6074
•	Fax: (617) 624-6062
•	Oral.Health@state.ma.us