Dental Hygiene

Have you ever noticed that everywhere you shop, everything seems labeled with that word “antioxidant” or “now contains antioxidants?” I was at the makeup counter, and even the moisturizer said, "now with antioxidants." After a shopping trip one day, I wondered what I was missing. What is so important about antioxidants that manufacturers are taking up label space to announce...

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...

Do you ever experience sharp pain, almost like a lightning bolt hit your tooth, when drinking a cold beverage, eating ice cream, or when breathing in cold air? Maybe sweet, sour, or hot food and beverages cause discomfort? Or even brushing and flossing gives you a zinger? If any of these sound familiar to you, you aren’t alone. It...

Earning the title RDH is no easy task, and you can ask any graduate, surviving the 2-3 years of dental hygiene school is a rite of passage. Yet, on this journey, some want more after a few years of clinical practice and have taken the path to higher education to complete a bachelors or master’s degree. I have worn...

Long gone are the days of messy, salty air abrasion polishing for stain removal on our patients. Welcome to a whole new world of safer softer powders and Guided Biofilm Therapy. In 2004, a coworker RDH of mine told me about a new subgingival air polishing powder she had recently seen presented at a Perio CE in Vienna. I was...

What is full mouth debridement and when exactly are we supposed to do it? Ask a variety of clinicians, and you will receive a variety of answers. Does it pertain only to scaling above the gingival margin, or can we go below? Is it an acceptable step prior to scaling and root planing or is it simply a “bloody...

I was halfway there; it was right before my summer classes were to begin the last year of dental hygiene school. One night I noticed a little bump on my right breast, so I did an exam on myself and felt a small, rock-like lump. Being only twenty-nine years old, and having no family history of breast cancer, I wasn’t...

I can still remember how it felt in those first few months out of hygiene school. The anxiety over finding a job, the thrill of landing one, and the excitement of finally being able to practice Dental Hygiene as a clinician in private practice. It was all so new and exhilarating, like setting off on an adventure into my...

To premedicate or not to premedicate, that is the question, and it has become an increasingly difficult question to answer. New clinical research and recommendations are colliding with long-held, but outdated, protocols to create the perfect storm of confusion for clinicians. Add to that the controversy regarding the overuse of antibiotics, and it becomes apparent that this issue is...

Have you ever found yourself discussing with coworkers about the patient in your schedule who is non-compliant with their treatment plan? The patient has had treatment recommended countless times, only to have them walk out with it unscheduled or has ended up canceling the appointment for said treatment. Working in the dental field, we hear all too often from...