Dental Hygiene

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently added more details about occupational burnout to the International Classification of Diseases. Consequently, the topic of hygiene burnout is more relevant than ever.1 A staggering percentage of hygienists (17%) fantasize about a career change at least once per month, according to a 2015 survey, and graduates after 2010 reported the least amount of...

Have you ever thought about the amount of waste a dental practice produces? It can be hard to ignore when a large part of our day is dedicated to cleaning and changing over rooms for the next patient. For the sake of time efficiency and maximizing cleanliness, disposable barriers, single-use products, and chemical-laden cleaning agents have become essential. However,...

Disclosure: This video is sponsored content from Planmeca USA as part of our sponsored partner program. Watch this video where I discuss the safety of LM Sharp Diamond™ instruments, how they are designed to minimize strain for hygienists, and when it is time to replace them.

Thankfully, I am a deep sleeper. I often joke that I die every night and resurrect every morning. I have been blessed with good sleep genes and require no assistance from the Sandman. In addition, noises such as snoring (from my bed partner) have never disturbed me. The same cannot be said for my sister. She sleeps very lightly, and...

Sunny sky, ocean breezes, and palm trees − that is what you can look forward to when you decide to relocate to southern California. The part you may not look forward to is the detailed and time-consuming process to obtain your California dental hygiene license. In my experience, “time-consuming” consisted of a great deal of wait time, much of it...

You exhale a sigh of relief. You made it through dental hygiene school. The most demanding and rewarding two years of your life. You have either started a family prior to school or have begun growing your family after successfully finishing the program. You've reached the point where you want to advance your career and your degree. How can...

The years and tears spent on attending dental hygiene school are marked with a high level of stress that hygienists know all too well. You are so excited during the first two weeks. You have the perfect planner to organize all of your assignments and quizzes. You have a locker, a cubby, and a dressing room. The anticipation of...

Standing in front of a room full of listeners can be intimidating, even when the listeners are only elementary-age schoolchildren. When thinking of a school oral health presentation for National Children’s Dental Health Month, it can be overwhelming to decide what to say or topics to cover. Thankfully, there are many resources available for dental hygienists to gather ideas....

As a society and a profession, we are facing an extremely stressful time. The COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions are not only a public health emergency, but it has quickly become an emotional and mental health crisis. Stress-related depression and anxiety are rising while families are trapped at home with no or little income, homeschooling children, and under a constant barrage...

I am 100% not joking… Candida has been used as a baby name. I know right?! I stumbled upon this fun fact when I was looking for other names for yeast, fungus, and candida. The name Candida has been shared by a German artist, a keyboardist, and a filmmaker (who made the kind of films you wouldn’t want your...