Dental Hygienists that serve Public Programs
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) issued this message
on October 4, 2022:
“Writing today to let you know that we have done a new update to include provider type on
the oral health dashboard we partnered on. Using the same link, you will see a new table at the
bottom of the page that shows what percentage of services in MN public health care programs
are provided by each type of oral health provider.
You will quickly notice that the majority are provided by dentists. Keep in mind that all of this
data is derived from claims data and we know that dentists are not providing 99% of the
services. However, this does show that the vast majority of services being done by the other
provider types are still being billed under a dentist. This has been confirmed over the years in
conversations with colleagues in the oral health community when we discuss this issue and
hear that many clinics bill under one dentist for the majority of their services. In order to get a
more accurate picture of the breakdown clinics would need to start billing under the other
providers so that it can be identified in the claims.”
Please start using your dental hygienist provider number so that accurate
data can be collected. This is so important in determining future oral health
policies.
Thank you!
Minnesota Dental Hygienists
Advocacy Council
