Ask Kara RDH

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...

My Director of Operations had her friend come in for a cleaning last week. She had not been to the dentist for ten years but has excellent hygiene. My Director of Operations got mad at me because she didn’t need a deep cleaning. Probing depths were healthy with no bone loss or inflammation present. She is now having 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...

I have been doing clinical hygiene 3-4 days per week for over a year now and I’m already feeling burnt out. I work at a great office and love what I do but have noticed that patient’s attitudes make me dislike the job. It’s annoying when a patient tries to dictate care (no cold water, no ultrasonic, negative reactions...

I read one of your articles regarding infection control. Do slow-speed handpieces really need to be sterilized after every patient when using a disposable prophy angles? We are currently sterilizing at the end of each workday. Yes, slow-speed handpieces must be heat-sterilized in between every patient. Even though you use disposable prophy angles, and slow-speed handpieces are considered semi-critical devices,...

The new office I work for has refusal forms for everything; X-rays, perio chart, SRP, etc. To me, this is supervised neglect for over two years of X-rays and one year for periodontal charting. I’m not sure about non-surgical periodontal therapy/SRP. I had one patient who had not had a perio chart in several years due to refusal. I...

I’ve been a hygienist at my current office for two years now. When the doctor hired me, he told me he would pay me $30 per hour ON ONE CONDITION: he said I must have at least five patients per day. If I have less than five, he cuts my pay down to $16 an hour. I agreed only...

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...

I recently moved and started working at an office last week. After taking the position, I realized that it is very unorganized and patient care is not their main focus. There is negativity in the office and I actually sometimes feel very uncomfortable with the situations I have been put in. I am too nice of a person and...

I work for one doctor at 2 of his offices. They are each in 2 completely different areas and therefore have two different average salary rates for the areas. I get paid $43 at one office which is okay for the area, but then I get paid the same amount for the other office when the average salary is...