Scope of Practice

The mission of the Mason Community Dental Clinic is to increase access to primary and preventive dental care for low-income uninsured and underserved populations. MCDC is a non-opiate clinic.

The Scope of Practice in a comprehensive primary oral health program include the following services and activities:

1. Emergent Care: Services that treat emergency conditions, such as pain and infection.
Activities: Diagnosis, tooth extraction, palliative or temporary restorations and fillings, and prescription of medications

2. Prevention: Services that protect individuals and communities against disease agents by placing barriers between the agent and host, and/or limit the impact of a disease once an agent and host have interacted, so that the patient can be restored to health.
Activities: Professional oral health dental sealants; professional applied topical fluorides and supplement prescriptions where necessary; oral prophylaxis; and patient education on oral hygiene (self-maintenance and disease preventions) and pediatric dental screenings to assess need.

3. Diagnostics: Services that inform the dental professional in developing a treatment plan.
Activities: Exams and X-rays

4. Restorative: Basic dental services that maintain and restore oral function.
Activities: Restorative services that include amalgam and composite fillings

5. Surgery: Services to maintain overall oral health for teeth that can not be saved.
Activities: Simple extractions