Kaitlyn Machado, RDH, BS, MEd, FADHA
Since a very young age, Kaitlyn Machado, RDH, BS, MEd, FADHA, has always wanted to be a dental hygienist. She was the youngest student to graduate from her dental hygiene class in 2017. Since then, Kate has returned for her bachelor's and master's degrees. She is a faculty member at her local dental hygiene school and a clinical dental hygienist. Kate has been a part of Today's RDH since its launch. She is extremely passionate about homecare, loves her prophy paste and fluoride varnish, and enjoys attending professional conferences. In addition, Kate loves to work with a local non-profit organization that helps fight against hygiene insecurity of all ages in her community. As a lifelong learner, she enjoys being as involved as possible in the dental hygiene profession. When Kate isn't working, she enjoys traveling, sports, watching movies, and spending time with her amazing, supportive family.
Dental Hygienists’ Mental Health: Working Through the Difficult Times in Dentistry
Mental health has become recognized as an essential piece of one's entire whole-body health. When we think of mental health in the dental profession, we think of dental patients. But what about the dental provider on the other side of the chair?
There are some challenging parts of our job, which can take a toll both physically and mentally. Here...
Boosting Morale in the Workplace: Dental Teamwork Makes the Dream Work, Right?
It doesn't matter if you are a part-time or full-time hygienist. You are at your office or other dental health setting for majority of the day or week. Sometimes you are at work more than you are at home. Am I right? Employees working together collaboratively and giving 100% every day will guarantee success.
Doesn't this sound great for everyone?...
Questions Dental Hygienists Should Ask Prospective Employers During an Interview
Health care workers are currently in extreme demand, and dental hygienists are no exception. A huge need for dental hygienists exists, with many job openings available. Not all job positions are the same, though, or what you might necessarily be looking for. This article will aid in sorting through all the job listings, and what to ask employers to...
Hygienist Spotlight: Interview with Sarah Crow, RDH, Explains Guided Biofilm Therapy
The work environments of dental hygienists are not all the same; some are private practices, while some are group practices (DSO) or public clinics. Dental hygienists also treat patients in different ways, depending on allowable duties and/or equipment available in the office ‒ all according to the individual patient's needs.
Many dental providers understand the "traditional" way of dental hygiene...
10 Things to Do during Cancelled Dental Hygiene Appointments
We all have those no-show patients, canceled or broken appointments, or a hole in our schedule. One issue seen in the clinical setting is the dilemma of clocking in and out if patients cancel. In my opinion, you are at work, and it is not your fault you do not have a patient.
But this is not a perfect world,...
Documentation 101: How to Write Thorough Dental Hygiene Progress Notes
Documentation is a very important piece of the dental hygiene process of care. Chart notes are considered legal documents and, according to the American Dental Association, are "critical in the event of a malpractice insurance claim."1 The notes keep track of the procedures, treatments, recommendations, and findings from previous dental visits.
The documentation also reminds dental hygiene professionals how the patient is...
Remember ADPIED? The Concept Helped Hygienists Learn about Process of Care
During dental hygiene education, students presented with an abundance of information very quickly, including a ton of different models and theories. I still remember my first semester when my professor taught us ADPIED. Do you remember what it stands for? ADPIED is short for assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation, and documentation.
This process breaks down the very important process of...
The Demands of the Job: 3 Health Challenges Dental Hygienists Face
Many people, including our patients, do not realize the demands of the dental hygiene profession, especially physically. I was not aware of the aches and pains before either. Even in school, I was more focused on completing the program. In dental hygiene school, we did not see half as many patients in comparison to the real world.
Not all “aches...
How to Build Relationships with Your Patients
In any healthcare setting, you are interacting with different types of people. Clinically, as dental professionals, you are working with a community of many different personality types. Because of a dental hygienist's one-on-one interaction with patients, it is crucial to make a connection.
Making professional relationships with patients will only improve the overall care and treatment experience. Having relationships with...
A Dental Hygienist’s Personal Experience with Community Service
Yes, this article will focus on my own personal experiences doing some good in the community. My story could show some insight on how to find what you are passionate about in your own community.
Sometimes opportunities such as this are unexpected, and they present themselves to you when you aren't even looking. In my case, I was attending a...
Engagement: Dental Hygiene’s Process of Change Inspire Oral Health Improvements
The processes of change in dental patient education are associated with the stages of change model. The stages of change, also known as the Transtheoretical Model, offer guidance on the readiness of individuals or groups to change behavior.
The 10 processes of change are divided into two categories ─ experiential and behavioral. An individual can go through each of these...
6 Ways to Instill Bravery: Caring for Patients with Dental Anxiety
Have you ever put a patient back in the chair, and they blurt out, "I really hate going to the dentist?" Well, it's a good thing that this hygienist is not a dentist, eh?
We all have our own forms of anxiety. If you have ever entered a dental office, which I assume you have, you are aware of dental...
Dental Compliance: Helping Patients Comply Using the Stages of Change Model
Many healthy behavior models and theories are available, but the Stages of Change Model, also known as the Transtheoretical Model (TTM), is one that clearly breaks down where a dental patient is in their readiness to change behavior.
Part of the Stages of Change model involves assessing someone (in this case, your dental patients). Individual awareness and decision making are...
Different Stages of Career: Meet Kim, The Gung-ho Seasoned RDH
In part three of our series, we move our way up the ranks to a hygienist who has many years of experience under her belt. Kimberlee Faria, RDH, is a Massachusetts native who has been practicing for 30 years. She graduated from dental hygiene school in 1990.
To view the previous articles in the Different Stages of Career series, click...
Different Stages of Career: Mid-career RDH Reflects on Challenges
Over the past three years of clinical experience, I have been introduced to many different dental professionals, especially hygienists. Everyone possesses their own opinions, perspectives, and experiences about the profession. My goal here is to have hygienists reflect on their dental hygiene career based on their experience − a new graduate, a hygienist with a few years under her...
What Other Hygienists Do: Be an Advocate Through a Non-profit
Advocacy is a huge part of working with the community and different populations. When I think of advocacy, my first thought was Alicia Murria, RDH, MS(c). She has been a dental hygienist for eight years, is the executive director of a non-profit, and a hygiene faculty member with a dental technology company since 2017.
My other articles in this series...
What Other Hygienists Do: A Look at a School-based Dental Program
Switching settings now, we enter the public health sector, which includes the school-based community. According to the American Dental Association, dental public health is defined as "that part of dentistry providing leadership and expertise in population-based dentistry, oral health surveillance, policy development, community-based disease prevention and health promotion, and the maintenance of the dental safety net.”1
I asked Paula Morrison,...
What Other Hygienists Do: A Look at Care Behind Bars
When we first entered dental hygiene school, we were taught that as dental hygienists, we perform many different roles such as clinician, advocate, researcher, educator, and administrative/manager.
Some of us work in different types of dental offices such as private practices, general, perio, and pedo to name a few, while others work in the public health sector. Some hygienists have...
On the Hunt for CEs: Finding the Best Continuing Education Courses for You
Wherever you practice any form of dental hygiene, you require some sort of licensure, certification, or permit. One thing that all states have in common is the requirement of having a specific total amount of continuing education credits (CEUs).
Some hygienists dread them, and others see it as a great opportunity to refresh themselves in topics or to dive into...
How I Went from Dental Hygiene Student to Educator
During dental hygiene school, I decided I wanted to eventually be a dental hygiene educator. I've previously written about the steps I took to get my bachelor's degree. I wasn't expecting that, as soon as I completed my bachelor's degree, I had a position at my dental hygiene school as adjunct faculty.
For those who know me, I am very...