Becca Hagen

Alternative Career Report

The alternative career I researched was mobile dental hygiene services. I came across a
business called DoorStep Dental Hygiene in Corvallis. Ann Ossinger, RDH, EPDH is the
business owner of this company. Ann has a great website and I was able to get most of my
research from her blog. I had a few questions regarding her business and called her for a brief
phone interview.
Ann Ossinger, RDH, EPDH is an extended practice permitted dental hygienist that owns
her own mobile dental business. She provides services to patients in both Linn and Benton
Counties. She is one of the many hygienists that are contracted by Exceptional Needs Dental
Services, which is a mobile dental program that provides services to people who are in retirement
homes and hospitals that are unable to travel to receive care. Ms. Ossinger has always had a
passion for public health and it has led her to start her own business and join the E.N.D.S.
program. The extended practice permit is a great certification for everyone especially if you are
considering working for public health. The requirements for practicing independently are the
EPP permit, 2,500 or more of clinical practice hours, a BLS/CPR, 40 hours of CE courses that
are certified, Liability insurance. You may also want to bet business license so you can register
your business and give it an LCC so that other people cannot use that name.
Another reason that she decided to work in public health and start her own business was
because it enabled her to enjoy the freedom that the extended practice permit allows. She travels
to the care facility with a plastic tote that holds all of her equipment. If there is a stand or some
sort of table near the patient this is what she will use. The patients are treated in whatever
position is easiest for them, if they are in a wheel chair then they are treated in their wheel chair.
She uses clean and dirty boxes to transport her tools to and from the living facility that she is
working at. At her home she converted her third bathroom into a sterilization room equipped

with an ultrasonic and a sterilizer to sterilizer her instruments. When a dental hygienist works for
E.N.D.S. they work as independent hygienist. It is up to the hygienist what equipment they will
use and how they go about their job. Many people that are seen in long term living facilities are
unable to travel outside to a dental van or even transfer to a dental chair. Ms. Ossinger has also
created her own HIPPA, patient information, health history, medications, and charts. Ms.
Ossinger does not have a collaborative agreement with a dentist but she does not provide a lot of
SRP treatment with the types of patients she provides care for. The dental hygienist that wants to
provide mobile dental care ultimately needs to decide what kind of services and patient treatment
they would like to provide. This will determine what equipment is needed and if a collaborative
agreement will be needed with a dentist.
I feel there huge need in retirement homes and assisted living facilities for dental care. I
strongly believe that we need more dental hygienists to start businesses like Ann Ossinger to go
to these places and ensure that people are receiving care. I believe that more dental hygienists
are needed to travel to care facilities and that there is always a population in need. As dental
hygienists we need to be willing to go to where our patients need us, not wait until they come to
us. I see myself fitting into this position because I have always had a passion for public health
but being able to travel and help others would feel so rewarding. Ann Ossinger offers an
exceptional service and she only charges $120 an hour, well worth it.

References

Coplen, Amy E., and Kathryn P. Bell. "Barriers Faced by Expanded Practice
Dental Hygienists in Oregon." Journal of Dental Hygiene Apr. 2015: 91. Academic
OneFile. Web. 4 June 2015. <https://lanecc.idm.oclc.org/login?
url=http://go.galegroup.com.lanecc.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?id=GALE|
A413787803&v=2.1&u=laneccoll&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=582e8d0e6bd0754b
15bf96d21cf1f0d4>.
Bell, Kathryn P., and Amy E. Coplen. "Evaluating the Impact of Expanded
Practice Dental Hygienists in Oregon: An Outcomes Assessment." Journal of Dental
Hygiene Feb. 2015: 17. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 June 2015.
<https://lanecc.idm.oclc.org/login?
url=http://go.galegroup.com.lanecc.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?id=GALE|
A412411964&v=2.1&u=laneccoll&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=ec16275e2d688d55
373a580fc5ef677c>.

"Serving the Linn & Benton Counties of Oregon." DoorStep Dental Hygiene. N.p., n.d.
Web. 03 June 2015. http://www.doorstepdh.com/index.html