Ask Kara RDH

I have 33 years experience and have worked in my current office for 13 years. I take pride in my care of my patients. We deal with a lot of perio, have successful results with SRP, and refer when needed. The doctors hired a new hygienist. I have brought to their attention a few situations where at the four-month...

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...

What do you do if you have a patient that’s been coming to the same practice for 15 years as is treated by the same hygienist, but I am now seeing them due to a scheduling conflict, and the patient presents with moderate subgingival calculus and slight bone loss on X-rays?  Because of this, it is recommended to 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...

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 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 work in an office one day a week. I am a new grad, and this is my first job. We recently hired a new hygienist with years of experience. She saw one of my SRP patients at their first recall recently. This patient has poor oral hygiene and up to 9+ mm pockets. She said that whoever did...

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...

Is it OK to soak gauze in disinfectant or does disinfectant break down gauze to where the disinfectant is left ineffective? Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Organization for Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) don’t recommend pre-soaking gauze in disinfectant. Cotton fibers in gauze can absorb and actually inactivate ingredients in disinfectants leaving them less effective or...

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...