Overview

“Integrating Nicotine Dependence Treatment with Oral Health: For Dental Professionals”

Presented by Paula Di Gregory, BA, CTTS

Course Description: The link between tobacco use and negative effects on oral health are widely known within the oral health community. Studies indicate that advice from health care professionals increases the chance of quitting and long-term abstinence by 30%. Oral health care professionals see patients twice per year, presenting a unique opportunity to speak with patients about tobacco use, advise them to quit, and refer to appropriate resources. As of fall 2019, these services may be billed by oral healthcare providers to PA Medicaid. However, there is a lack of awareness both in how to perform these services and in how to bill for services. In response, Nicotine Free Northwest PA has partnered with the Pennsylvania Coalition of Oral Health (PCOH) to develop a live 3-hour tobacco and nicotine education training. The training incorporates information presented in Every Smoker, Every Time, a state-required course for billing, into the oral health setting with primary focus on providing support and additional training in referring dental patients to cessation treatment programming, offering tools to empower oral health professionals towards conducting effective cessation counseling, and informing dental clinicians how to bill for these services.

Course Objectives:

    • Understand the health and oral health risks related to tobacco/nicotine use

    • Understand tobacco/nicotine recovery treatment options, billing and coding

    • Foster a culture of tobacco/nicotine treatment in the dental community

    • Cultivate tobacco/nicotine treatment professionals and champions

Speaker: Paula Di Gregory, BA, CTTS: Paula holds a BA and a Secondary Education Certificate from Allegheny College and is a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist (CTTS) through Duquesne University. Paula has experience in teaching adult training programs, as well as in marketing and Human Resources. For the past 10 years, Paula has been working as a Tobacco and Nicotine Services Coordinator in partnership with Nicotine Free NWPA and Erie County Department of Health to provide free nicotine recovery and prevention programming for the Northwest Region. All programming and initiatives are a part of a state-wide strategic plan developed in a coordinated effort between the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) and other key stakeholders in tobacco prevention and control in Pennsylvania, such as the American Lung Association in Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Alliance to Control Tobacco (PACT). Paula is active in numerous community health and substance use coalitions and serves as Chair of the Crawford Health Improvement Coalition (CHIC).

Course Fees:

PDHA Academy Member           $15

ADHA/PDHA/Allied Members    $20

Non-Members/Dentist/Staff        $30

Course Contact: lstraub@velocity.net

Course Categories: Substance Abuse / Addiction (Basic Awareness, Problems of Drug Abuse & Addiction, Oral Effects, & Dependency Issues of Alcohol, Marijuana, Meth, Tobacco, Electronic Cigarettes, etc)

Provider Approval: Associated, affiliated, sponsored, approved, accredited, or offered by the (ADHA) American Dental Hygienists' Association,The Pennsylvania academy of Dental Hygiene studies

Educational Type: Live

Educational Method: Lecture

Prerequisites : None


Sponsor(s) : NW Component of PDHA

Conflict of Interest Disclosure: None

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