About Dental Health Aides

About Dental Health Aides (DHAs): A DHA is a primary dental provider serving tribal communities delivering routine and preventive care under the supervision of a dentist. In our area, DHAs are certified by the Portland Area CHAP Certification Board (PACCB), which certifies and sets standards for DHAs. Each level of DHA meets specific certification requirements and engages in a specific scope of practice.

There are four levels of Dental Health Aides:

Primary Dental Health Aide (PDHA I and II)

• Patient education; including oral hygiene instruction and nutritional counseling. Fluoride and antimicrobial treatments, community health prevention and education programs

• Dental assisting duties, radiology, medical and history taking, patient documentation, dental charting, instrument handling, chairside assistance, sterilization procedures, atraumatic restorative treatment, sealant placement, dental prophylaxis; Including scaling and polishing, calculus and stains coronally

  Expanded Function Dental Health Aide (EFDHA I and II)

• PDHA duties and applying topical anesthetic, placing and removing rubber dams, restores teeth prepared by dentist or DHAT, pre-fabricated crown placement

  Dental Health Aide Hygienist (DHAH)

• Sub gingival prophylaxis, non-surgical periodontal therapy, local anesthetic, periodontal probing, additional dental hygiene duties

  Dental Health Aide Therapist (DHAT)

• PDHA and EFDHA skills, diagnosis and treatment of caries, uncomplicated extractions, local anesthetic, primary teeth pulpotomies

Benefits of employing/training a DHA:

Increase access to dental care

• Opportunity to treat more patients – add additional providers to the dental team

• Dental clinics/communities can tailor the type of DHA needed for their team & community

• Reduce patient wait times

• Communities receive dental care from their own peers and community members which

  • Fosters a culture of health and holistic healing within communities

  • Provides evidence-based, culturally responsive and trauma-informed oral health care

  • Increases retention and longevity of providers in the community

  • Develops a trusting environment within the community

• Allows dental providers to work at the top of their license/scope

• Increase revenue/encounters – DHA services are billable

Improve community partnership

• Community-based care:

  • Community health prevention and education programs

  • Dental screenings and referrals

  • Maternity care

  • Hospital visits

  • Children services (Head Start)

  • Elder care

• Effective care:

  • Early – begin oral education and treatment at a young age

  • Frequent - frequent care for optimum oral disease prevention

  • Prevention-focused – reducing the risk for oral disease

  • Patient centered – respect for patient’s values and preferences, transparency in information sharing, coordination of care between patient and provider with the patient’s values guiding clinical decisions