Dental hygiene career alternatives: Can I work for an insurance company?

One letter writer is considering a new career because her new home state doesn’t have board exam reciprocity. Another has not had good experiences working with dentists and wonders how to get into working for an insurance company.

Check out the answers below.

Dear Flossy is a career alternative advice column for dental hygienists. Read more here or send a question to [email protected].

Dear Flossy,

I am a registered dental hygienist working in the state of Texas. My husband and I are relocating to the sunny state of Florida. My concern is that I will have to take several new board exams since they are not a state with reciprocity. I am ready to experience something new for the second half of my career.

I have been a hygienist for over 13 years and I love my job! I am interested in what I can do outside of the clinical aspects of hygiene. I feel this is a perfect opportunity for me to look at new adventures in my career where I can use my experience and knowledge in dental hygiene to benefit others while still earning an income.

Do you have any suggestions? I will be living in Fort Lauderdale Florida in two months. I'm anxious to get settled and start my new life!

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

—Moving

READ MORE | Breaking into public health

There are a number of venues in which a dental hygienist may work. You may want to consider embarking on a career in public health, perhaps in an administrative role. Alternatively, depending on the type of credentials you hold, you may want to work in a dental hygiene program as a clinical or didactic instructor. Another option is to work for a corporate entity in sales or as a clinical educator. For more specific information in the state of Florida, I suggest you contact the Florida Dental Hygiene Association. There is further contact information on the website.

Regarding education, per the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) Accreditation Standards for Dental Hygiene Education Programs, here are the requirements, verbatim:

“The program administrator must be a dental hygienist who is a graduate of a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and possesses a masters or higher degree or is currently enrolled in a masters or higher degree program or a dentist who has background in education and the professional experience necessary to understand and fulfill the program goals.”
“The full time faculty of a dental hygiene program must possess a baccalaureate or higher degree.”
“Part-time faculty providing didactic instruction must have earned at least a baccalaureate degree or be currently enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program.”
“All dental hygiene program faculty members must have:

a) current knowledge of the specific subjects they are teaching.
b) documented background in current educational methodology concepts consistent with teaching assignments.
c) Faculty who are dental hygienists must be graduates of dental hygiene programs accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.”

As well, you may want to join us at RDH UOR on Wednesday, July 27, 2016, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Room National Harbor 2&3. The workshop is entitled RDH Under One Roof Special Session: Evolve your Dental Hygiene Career. We invite you to discover how to develop yourself and your career within the dental hygiene industry by reigniting your passion by finding a new exciting path, which it seems you are researching. With the assistance of the RDH Under One Roof advisory committee, a program of mentorship has been tailored to give you the support and skills enhancement to discover what the future holds for you.

Best of luck!

—Maria Perno Goldie, RDH, MS

Dear Flossy,

I graduated hygiene school this time last year. So far, I've had some really bad experiences with the doctors I've worked with and I'm second guessing doing clinical hygiene. I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about working for an insurance company doing dental claims. Thanks!

—New grad

It is my understanding that insurance companies may hire hygienists but I have not heard of any that have. I went online to several of the Delta companies to check out job opportunities and many of them have the same qualifications for a Claims Audit and Appeal Specialist which is where I would think hygienists would consider. For example Delta of Colorado posted the following:

Associate degree or equivalent experience in business administration, health care administration, audit account or related field.
Minimum of 5 years’ background in dental practice administration and/or dental service provision (dental practice manager, expanded duty dental assistant or dental hygiene.
Solid understanding of dental insurance industry regulations, statutes and procedures.
Knowledge of spreadsheet and database applications.
Demonstrated conflict resolution and mediation skills with ability to secure action.
Requires excellent organization, planning and analytical.
Excellent inter-personal relations, written and verbal communication skills.

Unfortunately, new grads may not have had time to develop these kinds of experience yet. Also, several other states actually require a baccalaureate degree in order to be considered.

I know of one hygienist who gave up private practice to become a Certified Medical Coder and considering there are now Diagnostic as well as Procedure Codes within the dental community, I personally think this will be an up and coming career choice for hygienists who want to opt out of private practice. In addition, more dental practices are realizing and billing medical insurance for dental procedures, especially when the patient has systemic conditions (diabetes, etc). Again, gaining an understanding of this whole process and being able to help dental practices implement them will be a huge asset.

I do know of one hygienist who is working as a Claims Audit and Appeal Specialist for a medical insurance company. They required a baccalaureate degree as well as a minimum of 5 years’ experience.

I hope this provides additional information.

—Kathy S. Forbes, RDH, BS

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Maria Perno Goldie, RDH, MS, is owner of Seminar's for Women's Health, past president of the ADHA, and a dental hygiene key opinion leader.

Kathy S. Forbes, RDH, BS, has been a dental hygienist, educator, speaker, and author for over 30 years. She speaks frequently about the correct classification, documentation, treatment planning, procedure code selection, and long-term case management for patients with periodontal disease. She is a contributing author for the Insurance Solutions Newsletter, a national publication for Dr. Charles Blair and Associates, where she addresses issues related to dental hygiene procedures and proper billing practices. Kathy is also owner of Professional Dental Seminars, Inc., a continuing education provider recently relocated to Colorado. She can be reached at (253) 670-3704 or [email protected].