The RDHAP - Oral Care Delivered to your Door!
It’s hard to imagine a trip to the dentist without first meeting the hygienist for a cleaning. The dental hygienist is really all about oral disease prevention and fundamentally supports our home care routine. What is missed in our home care routine falls on your dental professional at your regular dental visits and more often than not, that responsibility falls into the capable hands of a hygienist. It is crucial that we keep our teeth plaque and tartar free if we are to avoid gingivitis and periodontal disease.
Like so many things in our world, dentistry is changing to meet the needs of our societal needs, and one big change is the RDHAP or Registered Dental Hygienist in Alternative Practice. It’s a special California license that allows experienced and specially trained dental hygienists to provide preventive dental hygiene care without being inside a dentist’s office.
The first Registered Dental Hygienists in Alternative Practice (RDHAP) were licensed in California in 2003 after the RDHAP model was approved in 1996. This new category of licensed oral health professionals was created to provide independent dental hygiene care to underserved populations in non-traditional settings like homes, schools, and residential facilities.
Unlike traditional dental hygienists (who must work under a dentist’s supervision), an RDHAP can operate independently offering dental cleanings, periodontal (gum) care, oral health screenings, patient education, fluoride treatments, and more. While they cannot diagnose disease or do dental fillings, they play a critical role in prevention and keeping mouths healthy. An RDHAP partners with dentists and physicians (Dentist of Record). For example, a dentist’s prescription may be required to continue care beyond an initial visit, and patients needing advanced treatment are referred back to the “partner dentist.”
To become an RDHAP, one must be a Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH) and obtain a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. After practicing for 2,000 hours as an RDH in a dental office or a public health setting, they take an additional 150 hours of education and training. After testing, they may apply for the RDHAP license.
RDHAPs may work as contractors, collaborate with a dentist or have their own office in a Dental Health Professional Shortage Area. Ninety percent are women owned practices that have portable equipment serving patients where they live, go to school, or visit. They are billable providers with NPI numbers and may contract directly with insurance plans and entities such as the Medi-Cal Dental Program.
Some RDHAP’s such as “Smiles by Candy” operate boutique dental hygiene practices that blend luxury dental care with accessibility, offering everything from spa-like in-office teeth cleaning portable services for people who cannot get to a dental office.
The experience is designed to feel elegant, modern, and calming. Patients are treated more like guests at a luxury spa than in a traditional clinical setting. The services include professional cleanings, gum health treatments, Guided Biofilm Therapy, whitening services, and education to help patients take charge of their oral health.
Created by Candace “Candy” McCracken, RDHAP, “Smiles by Candy” is located inside The Refinery in Redding, California. The Periogen Company is happy to partner with RDHAP’s such as Candy McCracken on their mission of prevention.
