Standards In Development

To purchase DSI Standards ($275) or Standard drafts ($175), please email dentalstandards@gmail.com. Comments or request for involvement in Standard draft can also be emailed to dentalstandards@gmail.com.

BSR/DSI OWSST1.1-202x, Oral Wellness Status (OWS) Determination, Categorization and Reporting
(new standard): Response to PINS submission ended 3/5/2023. Working group and drafts underway.

Interest Categories: Producers, users, and general interest

This Standard details the determinants, categories, and reporting of a dental patient’s oral health via Oral Wellness Status (OWS). OWS quantifies and simplifies previously complicated oral health information into categories and scales that allow non-dental professionals, as well as dental professionals, to recognize the oral health of an individual. Emphasis is placed on determining Emergent Oral Wellness (EOW) needs, as well as oral determinants which have a direct medical impact on the patient. The goal of this Standard is to provide an accurate, concise, and easily consumed data structure that quantifies Oral Wellness in distinct categories.
Project need: Currently healthcare providers, patients, and vendors would like to access the crucial status of a patient’s oral health needs and desires. Current information contained in the Digital Dental Record (DDR) does not aggregate the patient’s oral health information into an actionable status. By categorizing specific Oral Wellness Categories and the determinants required to quantify the patient’s oral health in each category, this Standard will allow for specific recommendations and highlight areas of oral health needs for the patient.  Additionally, as there is an acceleration of oral information being aggregated by digital oral health products, both within the consumer products category and dental industry, the OWS will allow for alignment of reporting such information, thereby enhancing each digital oral health products value to all interested parties.
Stakeholders: Producers, users, and general interest.

BSR/DSI PAIID1.1-202X, Prudent Adjudication Reporting in Dentistry (new standard): Response to PINS submission ended 7/10/2022. Working groups developed and draft underway.

Interest Categories: Users (Healthcare Professionals), Consumers (Patients), Producers (Software Vendors), Payers
The Prudent Augmented Insurance Intelligence for Dentistry (PAIID) are Standards seeking to improve Patient Cost Transparency by creating a reporting system that allows dental providers and dental claim reviewers to describe the results of claim reviews based on empirical measurements to all stakeholders.  This Standard describes the empirical data to be reported including information illustrating how adjudication decisions are determined based on the patient and providers reimbursement benefits.
Project need: Currently, the burden of Patient Cost Transparency is on the dental provider to provide an estimate of what an insurance payer will reimburse on a given procedure code. Multiple issues make that difficult to accurately produce, including accurate benefit breakdowns and unknown medical claim review rules.  Once the vague terms within procedure codes are quantified and distributed by payers for reimbursement purposes, Standard Reporting of review results can be produced.  This allows faster review by humans or machines and allows for the real-time processing of claims and pre-determinations.  With review removed as an obstacle, payers could supply real-time estimations to providers and patients improving access to affordable healthcare.
Stakeholders: Users (Healthcare Professionals), Consumers (Patients), Producers (Software Vendors), Payers

BSR/DSI PAIID2.1-202x, Calibration of Adjudication Techniques in Dentistry (new standard): Response to PINS submission ended 7/10/2022. Working groups developed and draft underway.

Interest Categories: Users (Healthcare Professionals), Consumers (Patients), Producers (Software Vendors), Payers
The Prudent Augmented Insurance Intelligence for Dentistry (PAIID) are Standards seeking to improve Patient Cost Transparency by creating a reporting system  that allows dental providers and dental claim reviewers to describe the results of claim reviews based on empirical measurements to all stakeholders. This Standard seeks to improve Patient Cost Transparency by describing datasets that would allow dental providers and dental claim reviewers to apply consistent measurements in the determination of procedure code accuracy and reimbursement applicability.
Project need: Currently, the burden of Patient Cost Transparency is on the dental provider to provide an estimate of what an insurance payer will reimburse on a given procedure code. Multiple issues make that difficult to accurately produce, including accurate benefit breakdowns and unknown medical claim review rules.  The accuracy can be improved if vague terms within procedure codes can be quantified by payers for reimbursement purposes. One payer may quantify the word “most” as greater than 50%, while another payer may quantify it as greater than 70%..  This Standard would create transparency into the claim review process such that:  1) Dental Providers would be able to accurately code procedures; 2) Dental Claim Reviewers would be able to accurately measure and apply their adjudication rules; 3) Artificial and Augmented Intelligence tools would be able to leverage empirical measurements to automate adjudication decisions.  With the transparency of the rules, the trust between all parties including patients will improve access to affordable healthcare.
Stakeholders: Users (Healthcare Professionals), Consumers (Patients), Producers (Software Vendors), Payers

BSR/DSI ODINST1.1 (202X) : The Specification, Storage, Transmission, Retrieval and Processing of Vital Datasets In Oral Health Care In The Oral Dataset Interoperability Network (ODIN)

This Standard details vital information that is necessary to be included in dental patient care when either the patient, dental care team member or dental industry professional requires to view the patient’s Digital Dental Record (DDR). The availability, storage, transmission, retrieval and processing of this crucial electronic dental patient information is described. The goal of this Standard is to provide secure and open access to the dental patient’s crucial data, elevating patient care and reducing the incidence of errors due to miscommunication or lack of information availability. This Standard covers the the formatting and data exchange within the Oral Dataset Interoperability Network (ODIN), as well as how ODIN can be leveraged with existing health care Standards, such as HL7, FHIR and DICOM, to provide more complete overall care of the dental patient.

DSI ERST1.1 (202X) : The Dental Practice Medical Emergency Kit

COMMENT IN ADA LETTER TO DSI 4.27.20: The goal of this proposed standard is to define the most likely medical emergencies within a dental practice based on procedures performed in that office and define a system to address them effectively. This goal is very problematic due to the wide variety of practice settings that can vary from single-dentist, freestanding offices, to complex dental practices in large institutional settings that include practice in the operating room. Provider qualifications, patient needs, and presenting medical conditions also vary widely among dental practice settings. 

In addition, this proposed new standard would include materials as well as clinical practice guidelines that are set by professional organizations and that vary due to differing requirements of state statutes, state board of dentistry regulations, federal law, and institutional regulations. A single standardized homogeneous approach to dental practice emergency kits is neither possible nor desirable. Best practices given the multidisciplinary nature of this subject is an appropriate discussion to be shared but creating a standard within the dental profession is inappropriate.

DSI RESPONSE: DSI has a different perspective on this issue that is stated in the Standard draft.  This Standard draft will seek to allow for the variations that concerns you. 

If these are truly the concerns that the ADA SCDI has, DSI would request that the SCDI wait to see the draft to see if the Standard draft has these issues and we will work in harmony to address them. 

BSR/DSI RCST1.1 (202X) : Systemization of Notifications Regarding Dental Patient Recall (DPR)

COMMENT IN ADA LETTER TO DSI 4.27.20: This new proposed standard jeopardizes the dentist’s current ability to provide consistent quality patient care for recalls over time, exercise appropriate clinical judgment, and interferes unnecessarily with an already highly developed and continuously evolving clinical decision support tool that has been used successfully for delivery of quality care for over 30 years.

The ADA SCDI considers this a professional and business determination, not a technical matter for SDOs. Most standards-based EHRs enable users to build a comprehensive set of notification templates that can be used to create message content such as patient recall notifications. This allows dental offices to determine how they want their messages to appear each and every time they send one out. 

DSI RESPONSE: DSI has a different perspective on this issue that is stated in the Standard draft.

DSI TDST1.1 (202X) : The Usage of Teledentistry For Remote Prediagnostic Dental Care

This Standard defines the category of Prediagnostic Teledentistry (PDTD), as well as the subcategories within the category. The goal of this Standard is to address the need for differentiating prediagnostic remote care from definitive remote care, as well providing convenient, secure, consistent, interoperable communication between dental care providers and patients remotely. In addition this Standard will address some of the most problematic areas of providing teledental care today, including the need for easy documentation and efficiently managed quality remote dental care screening.