Dental Hygiene

Dear Dental Patient, I appreciate that you chose me to be your dental hygienist! Thank you! I have a few thoughts I would appreciate sharing that will allow your appointment and my schedule to flow like a symphony... I have one hour to conduct a medical/dental history, take necessary x-rays, chart everything that needs to be updated, perform your necessary...

I have a confession to make. I’m a dental hygienist, and my children have yet to step foot into a dental office. For many of you, I’m assuming your jaw just dropped open in astonishment! For the rest, I’m guessing that you find yourself nodding in agreement, perhaps because you’ve been in my shoes. For the last year, I’ve had...

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...

A dentist wouldn’t place an implant using a composite kit. Why do so many hygienists settle for an augmented prophy setup when performing an SRP or periodontal maintenance? Adding a few choice instruments into your perio-fighting arsenal will give you greater access to pockets, remove more calculus, cause less tissue trauma, and likely improve your periodontal outcomes.1 Start with the...

We all know that dental hygiene is important and that brushing and cleaning in between your teeth (interdentally) is necessary. But did you know that poor oral hygiene could cause more than just bad breath or tooth decay? In fact, poor oral health can lead to some serious health conditions. There’s a reason why it is said that our...

Disclosure: This article is sponsored by Ivoclar Vivadent as part of our sponsored partner program. When hygienists hear the word chlorhexidine, many may automatically think of chlorhexidine gluconate rinse; with that comes the thought of stain, calculus build-up, inhibition of fibroblasts (which can impair healing), and taste alterations. While these are downfalls for chlorhexidine gluconate rinses, the same does not hold...

As a sufferer of recurrent herpes labialis (RHL), I have utilized many methods to decrease duration, including acyclovir cream and acyclovir and hydrocortisone cream 5%/1%, laser treatment, docosanol, and valaciclovir. It had also been suggested to me that applying ice at first tingle reduces the duration and swelling. You name it, and I think I have tried it. Many of...

Dental hygienists see a range of oral lesions on any given day in clinical practice that takes us back to the pages of our oral pathology books. The ability to identify and differentiate oral lesions is one of the most important skills we learn. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a very common dermatologic disease which can affect the skin...

The dental hygienists interviewed for this Decades of Dental Hygiene feature continue to impress me. We have met Fran Tourdot, RDH, an 82-year-old elder care advocate. We tried to keep up with 75-year-old Barb Orth, RDH, BS, a 5K runner who is still temping. This month, meet 67-year-old Renee Ahlf, RDH, MS, whose dental hygiene career is nothing short of...

Now Listen to the Today's RDH Dental Hygiene Podcast Below: