TxOHC E-brief

TxOHC is excited to announce the publication of the Community Resource Guides for Dallas which are now available to download at https://txohc.org/get-involved/rohc/nct-rohc/. 

These guides target five different populations (perinatal, children, adults, older adults, and individuals with disabilities) that address social determinants of health factors to help address adverse experiences community members may be facing. We hope to release another set of guides for Fort Worth before the end of the year. 

Our sincere thanks and gratitude go out to Dr. Shirley Lewis from the Texas A&M School of Dentistry and 2nd-year dental students, Emily Tran and Phoebe Khong, for all of their hard work and diligence in researching social service organizations to include in these publications.

On March 26, 2024, Texas Dentists for Medicaid Reform (TDMR) received an OIG update that is valuable for Medicaid dentists. OIG has found concerns “about inappropriate administration of sedation and local anesthesia, discharging the patient before they fully recovered from anesthesia, and billing for sedation levels the provider was not credentialed to perform.”  

Read More from TDMR.

Texas Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Teledentistry draft policy is now posted.  Please submit your comments through the Medicaid Medical and Dental Policy webpage, all public comments will be accepted until 5 PM on April 9th.  

Medicaid Medical and Dental Policies | Texas Health and Human Services – Please follow the instructions found on this webpage.
 
Texas Health Steps (THSteps) Diagnostic Dental Services – public comment accepted until 5 PM on April 9 (MS Word)

March 22, 2024 Texas Register the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners (TSBDE) published the following proposed rules.  The comment period ends on Sunday, April 21, 2024.

• Extension of duties of auxiliary personnel–dental hygiene – 22 tac §115.10
  “The proposed new rule pertains to the certification and standards for the administration of a local anesthetic agent by a dental hygienist as set out in House Bill 3824 of the 88th Texas Legislature, Regular Session (2023), and codified at Sections 258.001 and 262.002 of the Texas Occupations Code.
  This rule was initially proposed at the November 3, 2023 Board meeting and published in the December 15, 2023, issue of the Texas Register. During the public comment period, the Board received stakeholder comments requesting to clarify what “direct supervision” means in subsection (b)(1), and requesting to lower the amount of continuing education hours a dental hygienist is required to take in accordance with subsection (f)(1). As a result of the stakeholder comments, the Board decided to make the following changes to the rule: to add subsection (a)(2) to define what direct supervision means, which mirrors the definition found in 22 TAC §110.1(7) and the language in Section 258.001(5)(B); and, to lower the required amount of continuing education hours from 6 hours to 2 hours every two years. Additionally, the Board voted to have the continuing education requirement be in addition to any additional courses required for licensure. As a result of these changes, the Board voted to re-propose this rule at its February 16, 2024 meeting.”
• Coronal Polishing Requirements for Dental Assistants – 22 TAC §114.5
  “The intent of the amendment is (1) to make it easier for dental assistants who have completed their training at a CODA-accredited program to begin coronal polishing without having to wait on gaining one year of work experience, and (2) to reduce the work experience requirement from two years to one year for dental assistants who did not graduate from a CODA-accredited program. Accordingly, the proposed amendment removes the work experience requirement for a dental assistant who graduated from a CODA-accredited program, and requires one-year work experience for a dental assistant who has not graduated from a CODA-accredited program before the dental assistant can apply to a CODA-accredited program to obtain coronal polishing education.”
• Dental and Dental Hygiene licensing for military service members, military veterans, and military spouses – 22 TAC §101.6, 22 TAC §101.14, and 22 TAC §103.10
  “The purpose of [these proposals] is to implement Senate Bill (S.B.) 422, 88th Legislature, Regular Session (2023), which amended Texas Occupations Code Chapter 55, Licensing of Military Service Members, Military Veterans, and Military Spouses. Specifically, this amendment requires the board to process a military service member, military spouse, or military veteran’s application for alternative licensing within 30 days from receipt of the application and to issue a license to a qualified applicant. Additionally, the amendment includes language to specify that this rule does not modify or alter rights that may be provided under federal law.”
• Fees – 22 TAC §102.1
  “The proposed amendment implements Section 257.002(c)-(c-1) of the Texas Occupations Code by requiring licensees whose license is expired for 90 days or less to pay a renewal fee that is equal to 1½ times the normally required renewal fee, and whose license is expired for more than 90 days but less than one year to pay a renewal fee that is equal to two times the normally required renewal fee.”

“Comments on the proposed rule may be submitted to Casey Nichols, Executive Director, 1801 Congress Avenue, Suite 8.600, Austin, Texas 78701, by fax to (512) 649-2482, or by email to official_rules_comments@tsbde.texas.gov for 30 days following the date that the proposed rule is published in the Texas Register. To be considered for purposes of this rulemaking, comments must be: (1) postmarked or shipped by the last day of the comment period; or (2) faxed or e-mailed by midnight on the last day of the comment period.”

NOTE: The previously scheduled North Central Texas ROHC meetings have been moved from Friday to Wednesday.

Please join regional oral health coordinator Dr. Sowmya Renuka for the following meeting dates: 

• Wednesday, April 10, 2024 – 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CT
• Wednesday, November 6, 2024 – 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CT

To attend any of the ROHC Quarterly Meetings, you must register at https://bit.ly/QtrMtg to receive the Zoom link.

The Coalition is pleased to host quarterly virtual member meetings for our regional oral health coalitions.

Please join regional oral health coordinators; Dr. Yashashri Urankar for Austin, Lynn Southerland for Coastal Bend, and Dr. Rebecca Davenport for San Antonio on Friday, April 5, 2024 at noon. Regional Coalitions will meet in separate breakout rooms then everyone returns to the main room to hear all coalitions report out.   

El Paso will meet virtually at 2:00 PM MT/ 3:00 PM CT on the same meeting dates.

North Central Texas will meet virtually on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CT. 

Houston meets in-person and will send meeting invitations directly to their ROHC members.

This is an excellent opportunity to participate at your local level. We encourage all members to actively engage in their regional coalitions to share resources, leverage innovative information, and create viable solutions to address local challenges.

If you have not joined your regional coalition you may do so here.

Upcoming meetings:

• Friday, April 5, 2024 | NTC ROHC Wednesday, April 10, 2024
• Friday, November 1, 2024 | NTC ROHC November 6, 2024

Please register for one or all of the meetings scheduled in 2024.  Registration is complimentary but required at https://bit.ly/QtrMtg to receive your meeting link and passcode.

We are pleased to welcome the following new members since March 27, 2024. 

• Barbara Prema Strecker
  Adjunct Professor, Austin Community College
  Austin, TX

Oral health providers may obtain 1.0 CDE for every one(1) hour of self-instruction. Online courses to choose from include: 

• Substance Use Disorder– *NEW*
  • Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral for Treatment for Patients with Substance Use Disorders
• Tobacco Cessation with the Texas Quitline and eTobacco Protocol
  • Integrating Tobacco Cessation Support Resources to Improve Patient Access
• HPV – Healthy Smiles – Great series for Oral Cancer Awareness Month!
  • The Healthy Smiles Project: Increasing HPV Vaccination through Interprofessional Partnerships with Dental Hygienists 
  • Framing HPV Immunization Education for Maximum Patient Acceptance
• Teledentistry
  • Teledentistry in Texas: Opportunities to Increase Access to Care
  • Selection of Teledentistry Platforms and Utilization in Alternative Care Settings
  • Available for edification only – Taking the Mystery Out of Billing for Virtual Visits
• Treating Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDD)
  • Providing Dental Care under Advanced Anesthesia: Oral Sedation, IV Sedation, TIVA, IV Mac, and General Anesthesia
  • Special Conditions and Barriers and Challenges Providing Dental Care to Patients with IDD
  • Understanding and Working with Caregivers and Group Homes, Dental Desensitization/Advanced Behavior Techniques for Patients with IDD at AbSSLC
• Prescribers
  • Mental Health & Opioid Use Disorder: Using the PMP to improve patient-centered care & communication
  • Statewide Mandate Compliance Using the PMP to Provide Patient-Centered Care
  • Maximizing Your Limited Time: Navigating Challenging Patient Conversations
• Prenatal
  • Maternal Depression: Signs, Facts & Resources
  • Who Do You Call: Making the Referral Connection
  • Do No Harm: The Ethics, Myths & Business of Caring for Pregnant People
• Oral Pathology – Great video webinars to refresh knowledge before national exams!
  • Oral Cancer Update
  • Oral Manifestations of Systemic Diseases and Conditions
  • Common Lesions of the Oral Cavity, from Diagnosis to Treatment

To access any of these courses, please visit https://txohc.org/education/self-instructional-webinars/.