What is the Health through Oral Wellness® program?

A healthy mouth is a vital part of overall health, and Delta Dental of Idaho cares about yours. That's why we're introducing Health through Oral Wellness (or, HOW® for short). HOW is a unique, patient-centered program that adds additional benefits to dental plans, based on a patient's oral health needs. By having a network dentist perform a simple risk assessment, patients may have access to additional preventive and health-sustaining benefits. Check out the patient score card and HOW program video below to learn more!

Patient Scorecard Example

Previser Scorecard

HOW User Guide

Download our Health through Oral Wellness (HOW) user guide to learn more information about the program.

Receive Additional Dental Benefits for High Risk Patients

— Frequent Questions —

HOW FAQs

What is PreViser?
PreViser is an easy to use online tool that accurately describes the risk of oral disease, the severity of periodontal disease and the restorative needs of your patients. These numeric scores are delivered in colorful patient reports and describe risk on a scale of 1 - 5 and disease severity from 1 - 100, making scores easy to track over time.

Why should I use PreViser?
There are numerous benefits to be gained by using PreViser:
  1. When patients receive the PreViser oral health assessment report, they are more likely to comply with your treatment recommendations while increasing practice productivity.
  2. Using PreViser saves time by improving communication between dentists, dental hygienists and patients.
  3. Using PreViser identifies virtually all patients with oral disease, fully informs them of their need for treatment while shielding the practice from any claims of a failure to diagnose and treat periodontal disease.
  4. Because PreViser oral health scoring is objective and evidence-based, it facilitates rapid approval of treatment plans and claims reimbursement.

How do I Register for my Free PreViser License?
  1. Navigate to go.deltadentalid.com/previser and follow the on-screen instructions.
  2. Click ‘Find My Practice Information,’ select the dentist and location from the list, and click ‘Submit.’ Please note that a separate registration is required for each practice location.
  3. Complete the required fields and click ‘Register.’
  4. You will receive an email from PreViser advising you to complete and validate your registration by visiting previser.com/free and selecting ‘My Account.’
To learn how to maximize the value of using this important tool, please view the training videos in PreViser University on their website at previser.com. If you have any questions or are unable to locate the dentist information you entered, please call Delta Dental of Idaho’s Professional Relations department at 208-489-3563.

What is the cost?
There is no cost to the dentist for a PreViser account.

How do I train my staff, or learn more about PreViser?
From the homepage at previser.com/free, just click PreViser University. Here you will find training videos that collectively take around 90 minutes for your staff to review. These videos address all major questions about the system, and will help you learn how to turn PreViser into an important practice tool that delivers higher productivity and enhances clinical excellence. In addition, you will find copies of PreViser’s clinical research, downloads and much more.

How much time does it take to complete a PreViser risk assessment?
Once you are familiar with filling out the simple online form that collects the information needed for a PreViser risk assessment, a first time evaluation for periodontal disease, caries or oral cancer will take around 2 - 3 minutes. On recall, the process is much faster since only changes are recorded. Recall assessments can be completed in fewer than 15 seconds.

Is PreViser supported in the scientific community?
Yes. PreViser’s scores for periodontal disease risk and severity are both clinically validated in peer-reviewed studies, as is the score for restorative needs. Caries and oral cancer risk are based on the best research available. In addition, PreViser is used in hygiene schools and dental colleges nationwide. Details on PreViser’s research papers can be found on the PreViser website in the Support/PreViser University section.

How do patients react to PreViser?
PreViser gives patients numeric scores describing the state of their oral health. These scores are similar to other scores they are already familiar with, like cholesterol levels, credit scores, etc. As a result, they gain insight into their current health and health risks. The patient also gains valuable insights into the importance of maintaining or improving health. A study conducted by Procter & Gamble found that when patients receive the PreViser report, they are 99% likely to follow through on report recommendations. For more information on this study, please review the video located in PreViser University title Patient Reactions to the PreViser Reports.

Is support available?
Yes. Online resources to train your staff are available in the Support/PreViser University section of the PreViser website. If you need live assistance, and your question relates to the PreViser tool rather than questions best answered by Delta Dental, just call PreViser support at 1-888-854-0007, ext. 2

Is my data secure and is patient privacy protected?
Yes. All Private Health Information (PHI) is encrypted using an encryption key only you possess. Only encrypted patient information is sent over the Internet to PreViser for analysis and returns to you in the form of reports. As a result, PreViser has no ability to compromise patient privacy since they have no ability to identify.

What internet browser should I use?
Chrome or Firefox will work best, as will Safari on an iPad. All versions of Internet Explorer will be slower than these other browsers, and versions earlier than IE 8.0 will not work at all.

If I terminate an employee who had access to PreViser, how do I block their access?
As with other applications in your office, it is a good practice to change the password to your PreViser account when someone leaves your employment. You can easily do this from the PreViser web page by clicking My Account / My Practice Information / Edit

We have multiple dentists that practice at multiple locations, should I have one PreViser account for each dentist or one account for each location?
It is recommended that dentists with multiple locations set up an account for each location so each patient population within a practice is not blended with patients from a different practice location.

In a practice with multiple providers does each dentist or dental hygienist use the same personal identification number (PIN)?
No, each person that will be completing risk assessments needs their own PIN.

Can I be reimbursed for completing a risk assessment?
Standard processing policy allows reimbursement for performing a caries risk assessment on patient’s 3 years to 19 years of age. Currently, there is no reimbursement code for completing a periodontal risk assessment.

How often should I complete a risk assessment on a patient?
Patients must receive a risk assessment at least once a year to maintain HOW® enhanced benefits.

What should I do if my patient has two Delta Dental of Idaho plans with the HOW® program on both?
A risk assessment must be sent under both subscriber ID numbers.
EXAMPLE: if a patient, who has HOW® enhanced preventive benefits reaches their annual maximum on their primary plan and has a third cleaning completed, if benefits are remaining on the secondary plan then the secondary plan must be activated with HOW® in order for the third cleaning to be reimbursed.

— HOW® Program —

Quick Docs

Preview

Program Overview

Preview

Summary of Benefits Flyer

Preview

HOW Suggested Documentation

Preview

Encryption Key and PIN Number

Preview

Oral Health Score Example

Preview

HOW and PreViser User Guide

Provider Office HOW Testimonials

Stacie, Hygienist
Mallard Dental and Warm Springs Dental

"I absolutely love the HOW program because I can get extra cleanings for patients who need them, especially ones who wouldn't come unless their insurance would pay for it."

Front Office
Dr. Kevin Banner's Practice

"We do a risk assessment on every single patient. Our patients love getting a report card knowing how they are doing and what they need to work on (instructions for home care). Honestly, it’s changed our practice since we started it."


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