Dental Hygiene

I believe every school-aged child should have access to necessary hygiene items, for free. There is no reason for children to go without the basics needed to succeed. I have experienced numerous times while performing hygiene treatment in schools, as I’m explaining why they need to brush better, children telling me they don’t have a toothbrush. Then seeing their excitement when I...

Hygienists, you need this. You want this in your life. You will thank yourself. Your patients will thank you. I feel love and snuggles and see rainbows and unicorns when using the air powder polisher (APP). As you are well aware, our patients can literally feel bacteria because plaque is bacteria, and plaque makes our teeth feel like they are...

At the beginning of my dental hygiene career, I was fortunate to have an intraoral (IO) camera, at least I was told this by the dentist. I was excited because I was told I should be...but I hated that camera! It was heavy and hard to maneuver; that was 1996. In 2006, I was exposed to a lightweight Schick IO...

As I get older, I notice myself commonly making references to the past by using the phrase, “Back in the day…” Music and television award shows also pay homage to their past and the changes that have taken place over the years. Then, too, education teaches lessons on past world history as it does on current world affairs. History...

The Today’s RDH Hygienist Profile is an ongoing series that features dental hygienists who have expanded their career beyond clinical work, are putting a unique spin on dental hygiene, or have gone above and beyond as a preventive specialist. To kick off the Today’s RDH Hygienist Profile series, we interview Whitney, RDH, BS, also known as Teeth Talk Girl!...

Disclosure: We value transparency at Today’s RDH. This review is sponsored content from The Brewer Company as part of our sponsored partner program. As dental hygienists, we all know the importance of ergonomics. Hygiene program instructors stressed its importance every moment they could. “Shoulders down, elbows in, use your modified pen grasp, and sit up straight” are among a few phrases I...

Ergonomics Noun, plural in form but singular or plural in construction er·go·nom·ics   ˌər-gə-ˈnä-miks  An applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely – called also biotechnology, human engineering, human factors.1 If Only I’d Known… If only I’d know that this body would age, If only I’d known that loupes were good for my...

Join us as we embark on a series, Social Media for the Dental Professional. In this series, we will discuss what not to do and say, how to create and maintain a professional online image, how to use social media to advance your career, and what the future of the digital dental world looks like. As a millennial hygienist,...

Periodontal disease causes chronic inflammation, tissue destruction, and cannot be cured only maintained. Periodontal disease has some genetic qualities, and if left untreated can wreak havoc on other organs. It has been associated with heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. All the traits I used to describe periodontal disease could be used to describe several other diseases, all of...

The dental business is a booming structure that is constantly being introduced to new inventions and dentifrices intended to improve oral health. Whitening has become the new sought after trend that is said to be achieved naturally with the use of the popular additive charcoal. With the added benefit of being “natural,” charcoal whitening has quickly become the item...