Dental Hygiene

One of the most challenging tasks dental hygienists face is taking the patient’s clinical diagnosis and trying to make it fit into an insurance code to successfully gain payment. Too often, the front office states that a code won’t prompt payment or that the insurance won’t cover a procedure. One philosophy that we can follow is to treat patients based...

March 2020 has forever changed our world as well as the way we treat patients in the dental setting. Adhering to strict Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to ensure the safety and health of our patients, ourselves, and co-workers have been the standard of care since AIDS surfaced in the 1980s. The onset of COVID-19 has required...

Why is pain so variable with dental patients? How do some patients tolerate non-surgical periodontal therapy along root surfaces with zero anesthetic? They take it like a champ ─ no flinching, no facial gestures, no moaning, no fidgeting, and no “ouch.” After the dental appointment ends, they reflect, “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” However, other...

We all took that class. It was the class where we tried not to fall asleep during our first year as dental hygiene students. We knew there was important information during the lectures, but we hoped that we would never have to experience an ethical dilemma. Now here you are in your dental office faced with a situation that needs...

Author Wayne Koestenbaum penned an essay about flossing that was posted by the New York Times on August 10. Koestenbaum, a professor of English in New York City, has never been shy about criticizing American culture throughout his career. But he had some awfully nice things to say about flossing, and dental hygienists should take note of how an artful...

We can all probably relate to moments when we lose sight of the reasons we went into the dental field in the first place and, at times, can get caught up in the negative, forgetting what a great profession we are lucky to be a member of. Everyone has their own journey and motivational factors that led them to...

Both lateral and medial epicondylitis are afflictions that fall under the umbrella of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). An MSD can be defined as "injuries affecting movement of the musculoskeletal system, which includes muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, discs, and blood vessels."1 Lateral Epicondylitis Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is caused by overuse and damage to both the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) muscle and tendon,...

Disclosure: This video is sponsored content from Premier Dental as part of our sponsored partner program. Check out this video where Dr. Petra Wilder-Smith, DDS, DMD, PhD and Kara Vavrosky, RDHEP, discuss variables that affect aerosols transmitted while coronal polishing. See a recent study showing less aerosol and less splatter with the AeroPro® by clicking here.

An amazing thing about being a dental hygienist is the flexibility of our work schedule. Hygienists can choose the days and times to work. We can even choose where. Temporarily employed dental hygienists can do just that − work on our own terms. Before deciding to temp, though, here are a few tips to follow that can ensure you have...

 Disclosure: This video is sponsored content from Heartland Dental as part of our sponsored partner program. Watch this video where Machell Hudson, RDH, FAAOSH, and Kara Vavrosky, RDHEP, discuss how Machell's office transitioned from private practice to a Heartland Dental supported office.   If you are interested in learning more about open positions within Heartland Dental’s 1,000+ supported practices, including opportunities for you...