Kathy S. Forbes, RDH, BS, FADHA, has dedicated more than 40 years to the dental hygiene profession as a clinician, educator, speaker, author, consultant, seminar presenter, and study club facilitator. She is widely recognized for her expertise in the classification, documentation, treatment planning, and CDT procedure code selection associated with dental hygiene services.

Kathy recently served as Chair of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) Coding Committee and previously as a Director of the DentalCodeology™ Consortium. In these leadership roles, she has participated in the review, development, and advocacy of CDT procedure code submissions relevant to dental hygiene practice for consideration by the American Dental Association’s Code Maintenance Committee (CMC). Since 2016, Kathy has attended the annual CMC meetings, providing testimony on proposed code revisions and gaining valuable insight into the rationale behind changes to the CDT Code.

A respected author and educator, Kathy has published articles in RDH Magazine, Dentistry Today, DentistryIQ, and other professional publications, focusing on dental hygiene treatment planning, clinical documentation, and accurate procedure code selection. Her national speaking engagements include presentations for the American Dental Association, the ADHA Annual Conferences, RDH Under One Roof, and the Pacific Northwest Dental Conference and numerous dental hygiene state annual conferences.

Throughout her career, Kathy has held faculty appointments in dental hygiene programs at Concorde Career College in Aurora, Colorado; Pierce College in Tacoma, Washington; and Shoreline Community College in Seattle, Washington. Through the University of Washington Continuing Dental Education Program and the Pacific Northwest Dental Hygiene Institute, she has taught local anesthesia and restorative procedures for out-of-state dental hygienists seeking licensure in Washington State. She has also served as an instructor in the Teaching Practicum Series for Eastern Washington University’s Degree Completion Program for licensed dental hygienists pursuing their bachelor’s degree.

Kathy’s professional accomplishments have earned national recognition, including the 2023 Sunstar RDH Achievement of Distinction Award in Entrepreneurship and selection as a member of the inaugural 2023 class of Fellows of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (FADHA).

As President of Professional Dental Seminars, Inc., Kathy provides customized, interactive in-office workshops designed to help dental teams improve treatment planning, procedure code selection, clinical documentation, and the long-term management of periodontal patients.