How to Feel Renewed as a Dental Hygienist

 Are you hitting your 7 year, 7 month, or 7 hour slump of your career? Being a dental hygienist is hard. It’s hard on our bodies, minds, and self esteem. It can also be one of the most rewarding professions by helping so many people smile, so don’t throw in you scalers just yet! Follow these quick tips to help recharge your hygiene spark. 

1.     Get a Mentor. Do you know any Dental Hygienists that you admire and are interested in their life? Having these connections and learning from your colleagues can help inspire your career, learn from their mistakes and grow from their experiences. It also can be great to bounce dental hygiene ideas off of, ask hygiene related questions, or even vent about  a hard work day with. No one can relate as better as friend that knows your dental hygiene world.

2.     Go to a dental convention. Going to a dental convention or class does cost money, but in the long run, it could help make you money. It will help renew your love of dental hygiene, become inspired by other hygienists to improve your workspace, and show your employer you are committed to your career. In turn, being educated and expanding your knowledge of dental hygiene skills could be a good bargaining tool when the time to ask for a raise arises. Also, being inspired can make your practice of dental hygiene more enjoyable and keep you motivated to work those long hours. Don’t go for the CE’s- just go for yourself and learn for the fun of learning! Some options of sessions this summer: RDH Under One Roof is in Las Vegas this summer July 15-17, and ADHA Annual Session is in Nashville Jun 17-23.

3.     Read Dental Hygiene Magazines and Blogs. If going to a convention is out of the question, get inspired with all the free dental hygiene publications. In them, you can learn about other dental hygienists experiences from all over the country. You can read about the latest products, request samples, and learn about the newest techniques. Dimensions of Dental Hygiene is a free monthly magazine that is full of great information on clinical skills, business how-to's, workplace relationship improvement ideas, and everything else dental hygiene related. Subscribe to the free publication HERE.

4.     Get a new pair of scrubs, new shoes, a new headband, anything. Sometimes having something new, even if its small, will help motivate getting to work in the morning. That morning boost can help keep your spirits up all day.

We love dental hygiene and want you to feel the love for this amazing profession. The little steps listed seem minor, but they could help in a major way. Anytime you are feeling a little down with dental hygiene, try to switch it up with a tip and see if it helps! 

The Most Important Instrument

It was a Monday afternoon and I had settled into my daily routine. I was sitting on the edge of my chair, legs crossed, torso twisted just finishing up on the towards surfaces on the mandibular anteriors when I my coworker chided me "You don't teach your students to sit like that, do you?" She rightfully doesn't have sympathy for me when I have a sore back. I have only met one hygienist in my entire dental career whom has claimed to not have had any musculoskeletal symptoms resulting from time spend in the dental operatory chair. She was also very dedicated to her yoga practice. I thought to myself "Ain't nobody got hime for dat!" I then came across a survey that was conducted in 2012 of more that 1100 dental hygienists. In it, 51% of respondents self-reported either single or multiple workplace injuries.1 The study indicated that hygienists manage musculoskeletal disorders by stretching, core-fitness training, medications, therapeutic massage, or chiropractic treatment. Even  with that care, 27% have temporarily and 38% have permanently reduced work hours. We can often forget that it won't matter how sharp our scalers are, how expensive the equipment we use, or how much we get paid if our more important instrument is being neglected day in and day out. So next time you think to yourself "Ain't nobody got time for day" remember you won't have time for a job if you don't take time for your body. I will be focusing my next few posts on what you can do to ensure job security for yourself an your most important instrument- your body. The first step for me was to be kinder to my internal dialog about my body. When I am feeling my muscles in a knot, instead of complaining first, I express gratitude for my muscles. My body is what allows me to have this AWESOME career. Being more grateful has helped! Be grateful and stay tuned, I will be posting a video about clock positions now that I have repented of my harmful ways.

1Guignon AN, Purdy CM. Stop the pain! Greater Cleveland Dental Society website. www.gcds.org/Upload/Documents/Guignon%20-%20Stop%20The%20Pain.pdf. 2014. Accessed June 25, 2014 - See more at: https://www.dentalaegis.com/id/2014/08/protecting-your-most-valued-investment#sthash.0nMpmiD1.dpuf

Tips for a Dental Hygiene Working Interview

You’ve nailed your first interview with a potential employer, and you’ve been asked back for a working interview! This can be a little overwhelming, but if you apply these little tricks, it will make a big impression that will definitely help get you hired.

1.     Before you start the day, look at the schedule. If you notice you have a new patient, make sure you know the office’s periodontal protocol. Do they want to focus on education after diagnosing periodontal disease and schedule the SRP for another day, or at least start one quad at that appointment? Where are the anesthesia and syringes? If your state doesn’t allow hygienists to give anesthesia, what is the system for getting patients numb in that office? These tips will make the transition from new patient to perio patient less stressful and have you look professional and hirable.

2.     Look the part when you show up. Make sure your scrubs are ironed, your shoes are clean, and make up is professional. Keep jewelry simple. You never know the office environment, so underdressed with jewelry is always better than overdressing. Bonus points in this area: Wear a nametag with credentials- these can be made online for about $10.

3.     Make sure your tray is clean and organized for the dental exam. This seems obvious, but when you’re in a new environment it can be a bit stressful, this little habit is easily be forgotten. Put the cleaned mirror, explorer and a fresh 2x2 together on one side of the tray and all the scalers, probes, and syringes on the other side. Throw away all trash, and wipe off the mirror so there are no visible streaks. It makes a huge impression on the dentist that you value his or her time by not wasting it by having them search through contaminated 2x2's and prophy paste to find the mirror and explorer.

4.     Have a pair of gloves out for the dentist at the exam. Again, huge time saver and makes a great impression.

5.     Have all the radiographs you need for the exam, and most importantly make sure they are diagnostic. You could spend hours making sure all the subgingival calculus is removed, but if a bitewing has overlapping contacts or cone-cuts, that is what the dentist will remember most. Make sure to ask the patient while taking bite wings if they have any problems, concerns, or toothaches to get a PA right away to save time and be ready for the exam.

6.     Be friendly to the other staff. Lots of offices ask assistants and receptionists after interviews who they think will work well with the office dynamic. If you didn’t introduce yourself, they may not even remember you, let alone recommend you for the job.

7.     Send a thank you to the office a day or two after the interview. It could be in the form of a note, flowers, donuts, or whatever you feel comfortable with. This will remind the office of who you are and that you’re serious about the position.

Now get out there and find your dream job! 

Could a Pillow Change Increase Your Hygiene Career Longevity?

About 1 year ago I woke up with a kink in my neck that prevented me from turning my head to the right without experiencing a lot of pain. Have any of you had a similar experience? It took several visits to the chiropractor to get me functioning again. I vowed to have better ergonomics, use my loupes and light and do daily stretching. A massage therapist, turned dental hygienist, recommended to me to use the tri-core pillow. She mentioned that the positions we sleep in have a lot to do with how our body functions during the day and through out our lives. The longer I am a hygienist the more I realize that I need to take care of my body in as many ways as possible.

My personal review of the tri-core pillow is that it gives great support to my neck while sleeping on my side and back. I ordered the medium one but wish I had gotten the large. I Hope this small change can help increase the longevity in your career and prevent neck pain.

Click the image bellow to check it out for yourself!

                                                           TRI-CORE PILLOW

DRY Tooth Brushing

Most of us tell our patients that they need to brush twice a day... And if we're feeling extra ambitious we might even teach them the Bass technique. 

With our recommendation are our patients actually removing plaque?  When our patients typically brush their teeth they feel the mint, they feel the foam and 17ish seconds later they are done!  

Dry brushing is where you have the patient start on the lingual without any toothpaste (right handers on the right lingual and left handed people shout start on the left lingual).  The patient brushes his/her teeth until the mouth feels super clean and fresh and THEN the patient adds toothpaste and brushes again.  

Patients actually brush longer and more effectively. The November 2013 Perio Report  said:

"Research published in the JADA in 1998 confirms this.  Patients instructed to dry brush their teeth, beginning on the inside of the bottom teeth first and brushing until the teeth felt and tasted clean throughout before adding toothpaste showed significant benefit after six moths.  This resulted in 63 percent reduction in lingual calculus and a 55 percent reduction lingual bleeding."

Read more about dry brushing here. (http://www.dentaltown.com/media/interactive/341/magazine.pdf)

Also, want some tips on how to instruct your patients on this technique? Watch our short, helpful video below.

How To Clean a Denture With An Ultrasonic Scaler

We have several new videos up that may be helpful to you. One of my favorites is the one on how to clean a denture with an ultrasonic scaler. YES, even dentures can build up calculus. This is something I never learned in hygiene school, did any of you?  I did learn to put the denture in 2 Ziploc bags, fill it with tartar cleaner and place it in the instrument ultrasonic for 15 mins. However, I noticed that most often the calculus was still present on the denture after this process. Luckily,  as an assistant, I worked for a dentist that gave me some instruction on how to remove the calculus from a denture. Check out the video below to see how to do it for yourself. Let us know how it goes in your daily practice.  

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Check out some of our other new videos on our channel HERE.

Becoming an INVESTED Dental Hygienist

Simon Sinek, author of “Start With Why “, tells a story about a lady named Christina Harbridge who was a debt collector. She realized one day that she was behaving like all of the other debt collectors- badgering people to pay their debts. 

 She did not like the way she was treating people and the way she was feeling so she decided to open her own debt collecting firm- based on treating the debtors with kindness and respect. The firm was named Bridge Point Financial. As you can imagine no one thought she would make any money this way.  

 She measured the employees success NOT on how much money they collected but on the amount of THANK YOU NOTES that were written. In order for a thank you note to be written the employees had to really build rapport and get to know the debtors in a short amount of time. Bridge Point Financial ended up collecting 300 percent more than the industry standard.  

I worked in an office where we were required to write at least one thank you note a day and I will say there was a tangible difference in the atmosphere of the office and patient loyalty to the office.    

I've noticed a shift in myself since I've made an effort to write thank you cards. I'm more actively engaged and finding more about the patient.  I noticed I intentionally point out more positive things they are doing in the appointment. Some days each patient will get one.  Other days I might only have time to write one.  But one thing is for sure there is something magical taking place.   

Here are some sample letters loosely following the layout picture. 
 

ADULT:
Dear Mrs. Jones,

Thank you for letting me take care of you on Wednesday.  I always feel happy when I see your name on the schedule.  I am so excited about the progress you have made with your oral health!  The dedication you have had coming to your three month appointments and the adjustments you’ve made with your home care have NOT gone unnoticed. Great job!!  Smile Works Dental Office is lucky to have you as a patient.  Please let me know if you have any further questions about the information that was discussed at your appointment. 

 Sincerely,

Candi Kidd, RDH

P.S.  I hope that you have fun on your trip to Disneyland with your grandkids!

CHILD:

Dear Julie,

            Thank you for doing such a GREAT job at the dentist!!  You held so still when I took the pictures in your mouth!   I couldn’t believe how big you opened your mouth during the cleaning.  Your teeth sure looked sparkly!  I hope that you have fun at the princess party that you told me about.  Don’t forget to keep up the great work!!
 

Sincerely,
Candi Kidd, RDH


TIP 1:  In the family chart under the "notes" put the date and that you wrote a card.   This will help you remember the next time you see the patient if you need to write a thank you note or not!

TIP 2:  For thank you cards for children always make sure the sibling that was a patient the same day (even by another hygienist or the dentist) gets one too!  I like to put stickers in each of the child’s thank you cards!!

Tip 3:  Buy bulk thank you cards.  Even if you have to bring them initially I think eventually the office will jump on board. If they don't, it's okay because investing in your relationships with your patients will only make work that much better to go to!

Always remember that in hygiene it’s all about doing the things that are super easy to do…but also super easy NOT to do that give you the Hygiene Edge. 

Naturopathic Remedies for the Oral Cavity

Ever have a patient mention a new oral hygiene technique that you have never heard of? With the increasing popularity of naturopathic remedies, we explain some of the popular techniques that are circulating the internet right now.

Colloidal Silver

Colloidal Silver has been used for 200 years to help fight infection and inflammation all over the body. The idea first was presented because royalty used silver utensils to eat and rarely became sick. Now, Colloidal Silver can be ingested in a capsule, used as a topical lotion or spray, or rinsed in a liquid.  The most common method to use Colloidal silver for gingival or tooth infection is a three step process. First, a small amount of liquid silver is brushed on the infected area. If there is generalized bleeding present, the entire mouth is brushed with it instead of just the localized area. Next, a 10-minute rinse of fresh colloidal silver is used. If the patient is having pain or visible exudate is present, then the patient increases their oral dose until the pain is gone.

The thing about colloidal silver is that it’s silver! It can cause dark rings of stain along the gingival margin, as well as generally turning the teeth blue or brown.  It is strong too, and usually becomes intrinsic and can be hard to whiten over. Based on these risks, discouraging patients to use this method and try other natural methods is always recommended.

Tea Tree Oil

Tee treat oil has been used for hundreds of years due to properties that are antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral. It can be found in toothpastes and mouth rinses, with the most common being Therabreath. To use the oil to treat gingivitis or periodontitis, patients put 1 drop of oil on their toothbrush and brush for 2 minutes. This oil is strong, and can cause numbing in the gingiva and tongue.  It also has a very strong clove flavor, so it takes the right type of patient to use this technique regularly.

doTerra OnGuard Toothpaste

doTerra is an essential oil company that specializes in already combined oil mixes to make using essential oils easy. One of their biggest selling products is their OnGuard Toothpaste.  It contains wild orange, clove, cinnamon, eucalyptus, rosemary, peppermint, and xylitol. These essential oils have been known to help decrease inflammation, improve breathe, and increase circulation.  It does not contain any fluoride.

Oil Pulling

Oil Pulling is a technique that comes and goes every few years but has been in practice for hundreds of years. Traditionally the technique used sesame oil but with the increasing popularity of coconut oil, most patients today use that. The technique of oil pulling is simple- swish with 1 tablespoon of oil for 20 minutes at least 2 times a day. Some patients think that this is enough, and brushing and flossing are completely stopped as the oil pulling routine is started. Some use it as an addition to their regular oral hygiene techniques.

Now the next time a patient mentions their new oral hygiene routine, you can have the perfect background information to help educate!

Have you heard of any other naturopathic remedies that your patients use? Have you tried any yourself?

Hygiene Bingo

Need a Tuesday Pick Me Up? We have the perfect solution! HYGIENE BINGO!

How to Play:

1. Print off a Hygiene Bingo card for yourself and your hygiene coworkers. There are five different cards for you to choose from. 
2. Keep an ear out in your office for common saying that patients mention during the day.
3. Cross out each box as you hear them!
4. After you have a BINGO or a black out, upload a photo of your card to our Facebook (www.facebook.com/hygieneedge) or tag it (#hygienebingo) on Instagram for a chance to win a PRIZE!

Now let's have some fun this week playing HYGIENE BINGO!

Bingo Card 1

Bingo Card 2

Bingo Card 3

Bingo Card 4

Bingo Card 5

Whitening Post Op Instructions

Even if a patient hasn’t been to the dentist in 20 years, or comes every 6 months, they always seem to have the same question- Can I whiten my teeth? 

There are hundreds of whitening products on the market, and each office recommends their own. But one thing that each product has in common and needs is good post op instructions. These instructions are so important to have the best outcome for the patient.  What to eat, what to stay away from, and possible sensitivity after treatment should all be included.

First, dark colored foods, drinks, and sauces should be avoided for at least 24 hours after whitening procedure. Teeth are susceptible to pick up stain after whitening has occurred since tubules in the teeth are now exposed. Avoiding these foods, such as dark sodas, sauces, red wine, grape juice, and coffee, will greatly increase the effect of the whitening treatment.

Next, patients should know that sensitivity after whitening is very common. This is so important to tell patients, especially if they have never whitened before. The last thing your doctor will want is a panicked phone call in the middle of the night because your patient has woken up with throbbing teeth! Explain to your patient that this can be normal, and over the counter pain medication and sensitive toothpaste can greatly decrease the pain.

Lastly, stress the importance of good oral hygiene after whitening. If teeth are sensitive, brushing and flossing may be the last thing they want to do. But helping keep bacteria off will help the new shade stay and help heal the gingiva faster if it happened to burn.

What are YOUR post op instructions that you recommend to your patient after whitening?

We’ve included a PFD of our post op instructions for you to save and print! 

Also, do you want to win a FREE Go Whitening System from Opalesence ? Head over to our Facebook (www.facebook.com/hygieneedge) or our Instagram (instagram.com/hygiene_edge) to find out how to win!

Printable Instructions HERE