At the next appointment approximately two weeks later, you will complete a prophylaxis or scaling and root planing. At this appointment, the comprehensive exam or a comprehensive periodontal exam will be completed.What Are Advantages Sharpening Dental Instruments India? for more information.
Plan to schedule a re-evaluation or tissue check in four to six weeks. This is considered a post-op appointment, and it is billed as another prophylaxis. At this appointment, you will check to be sure proper healing as occurred and the patient is now healthy.
Now that you have cleared the roadblocks when you complete a comprehensive periodontal exam it is possible to discover the patient has active periodontal disease and needs scaling and root planing.
During this prophy appointment, the hygienist will schedule routine hygiene appointments for future dental hygiene preventive care.
When scheduling the patient’s next hygiene appointment, think about what the patient’s balance point is. Balance point refers to how long the patient can go between dental hygiene appointments and still remain healthy. (No signs of active perio, i.e. bleeding gums, pockets >4mms, etc.)
Each patient is an individual, and this is only a guideline. Some patients may only need to return for one more prophylaxis after the initial debridement. Use your best judgement as this is only a guideline for you to make your job easier and not have to re-create the wheel yourself.
Wonder how you will be reimbursed (especially if you are billing insurance)?
Under the current nomenclature, there is no alternative classification code for a second prophy or a “difficult prophy.” To report a difficult prophylaxis requiring additional time, simply report the prophylaxis at a higher fee. This fee really depends upon the doctor’s vision for the practice and how they choose to bill for services dental curing light.
Take insurance out of the equation and think about your role as a health-care professional. Go back to the description listed above from the ADA.
One primary role of the dental hygienist is to not only collect that data but deliver and communicate the data in a way that adds value to patients and benefits their lives in a way that is most appropriate for each individual patient.
Conclusion
It is important to understand why we do what we do as dental professionals. Today’s dentistry is about treating the whole patient, not just the patient’s mouth mobile dental unit.
Dental hygienists do more than clean teeth. Sit down with your team and review your office protocols and your philosophy of care for the periodontal patient as well as the patient with only plaque-induced gingivitis.
Bottom-line for today’s dental professional is that we are now in the business of helping our patients live longer and healthier lives. When we embrace this thought process, it provides satisfaction for what we do and creates patients who want to pay and return for services in your dental office. Ultrasonic Scaler