Ask Kara RDH

I just started my first dental hygiene job, and I’m having a hard time on how to suggest perio treatment and referrals. What’s the best way to explain perio to a patient and how to stress the importance not to leave deep pocket depths and bleeding untreated? With time, the more patients you see and explain the need for referrals...

The new office I work for has informed refusal forms for everything; radiographs, perio chart, SRP, etc. To me, this is supervised neglect for over two years of no radiographs and one year for perio chart. I had one patient who had not had a perio chart in several years due to refusal. I explained to the patient why...

I recently graduated from dental hygiene school and will be returning to my hometown to find a job. I’m from a small town with about 20-30 dental offices, and I have worked at two of them. In the process of trying to find a job, I have discovered an untruthful statement about my work ethic, specifically, my punctuality. A...

I work in a pediatric office, and the doctor won’t buy a size 0 sensor. Because of this, to “get the shot” we are having to hold the sensor while exposing radiographs multiple times per day because of our patients’ small mouths. How do you address exposure concerns with the doctor? This is a tough one because guidelines for operator...

Our office has three hygienists; myself, who has been a hygienist for 35 years, my coworker “Lorna” who has been a hygienist 45 years, and our newest addition “Lucy” who graduated almost three years ago. Lucy gets done with ALL of her patients in 40 minutes. Lorna and I stay on time, but we usually aren’t as fast. The...

I was recently offered a job with more pay and good benefits. However, the appointments are only 45 minutes, except for SRP. Also, the equipment, such as the ultrasonic, are old. The office is pretty laid back, and the people and doctor are very nice, unlike my current, very well-equipped office. I did the working interview, and I felt...

Please help me and tell me I am not alone… am I alone? I have been a hygienist for three years. However, my anxiety over giving injections has not gotten any better. I get shaky and feel like my fear is written all over my face. I am the only hygienist who is licensed to give injections in my...

Is there a polite way to tell a patient to come on time? I get that things happen and are out of their control, but I have a few patients that are always 10-20 minutes late for all appointments. What’s the best way to address this? The offices I’ve worked at that run smoothly, on-time, and with the least amount...

I am a new dental hygienist, licensed for about four months now. I see a lot of patients for periodontal maintenance. My concern with some more involved perio patients I’m running into is, during periodontal probing there isn’t a huge difference from the previous charting. Their pocket depths are ranging from 4-7 mm, OH is poor/fair, and it seems...

I am a new grad and started full-time at a new office. The hygienist I replaced sharpened her instruments once a month. I feel that is not nearly enough, but I know this office doesn’t like ordering new instruments often. My concerns are I don’t want to wear down instruments very fast by over-sharpening, and I don’t want to...