Why I Love Being a Clinical Dental Hygienist

We are so lucky to have Sharon Coombs, RDH, BSDH reflects on why she loves dental hygiene for our Hygiene Edge Blog! We love dental hygiene and love hearing how the profession has changed people's lives! Thank you so much Sharon! 

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My name is Sharon Coombs and I have been a clinical dental hygienist for four and a half years.  

My dad is a dentist and growing up I spent a lot of time in his office doing odd jobs.  When I was about 15 years old his hygienist needed a little bit of help while recuperating from a surgery, so he asked me to come in after school to help out a little bit. I began to train in the office to be a dental assistant and I found that I really enjoyed seeing patients every six months and feeling like I somehow made their lives better.  

My choice to be a part of the health field was definite when I had a life changing experience interning as a CNA at the LDS hospital in Salt Lake City in the post op ward.  There was an elderly woman who was NPO (nothing through the mouth). I remember being in her room when she asked me to take a sponge and just wet her mouth down a little bit. It doesn’t seem like an epiphany moment, but at that moment I realized that I was doing something for this woman that she could not do herself. I went home that day determined to be a part of the medical field and serve my patients in order to improve their lives. 

I have chosen to practice dental hygiene in the clinical field because it is in the clinic that I can treat patients and see the difference oral health has made in their lives. I love being able to teach my patients how to take better care of themselves, starting with their teeth and mouth. In the office, there is nothing more exciting than a patient coming in for their continued care appointments and being able to measure their improvement.  In contrast, it can also be very disappointing when things are getting worse, but that is when I get to continue to educate and help them to realize why they need to take charge of their health.  

Another reason I have chosen to work as a clinical hygienist is the benefit of having my own schedule. As of now, my full-time job is taking care of my two little girls. I tell my patients that I come to the office on my day off.  I enjoy being able to take a break for a day and talk with adults about a subject I am passionate about. I work in the office only two full days a month, but occasionally pick up days temping for other hygienists or coming in for an hour or two if a patient needs urgent care. I love the flexibility of creating my own schedule because I know that, right now, my girls need me at home with them. I am grateful that I can work with a dentist that is willing to work with a schedule that I feel is best for me.  I plan to pick up more hours/days once they are in school, but for now, this works perfectly for our family.  

I love the continuing education courses available to us.  I feel that as hygienists we are the face of the office and patients have the first opportunity to get to know the office through us. As such, we have the responsibility to create a relationship of trust from the very beginning.  Patients trust our opinions and should always feel that we will help them to receive the best care possible, and help them make the difficult decisions that are often related to dental care.  In order to do so we must be educated and up on all things “dental.”

My dad used to ask me if I would ever consider going to dental school, and after 4 years of practicing dental hygiene I can answer him with a resounding “No!”. I love the diagnostic, restorative and surgical sides of dentistry, but I love being able to take time treating my patients and really getting to know them. Our office gets very busy at times, but I feel that the (ideally!) 50 minutes I get with each patient can make or break their experience in our office. I always try to make them feel like there is no other patient in the office but them.  I always hope that they leave feeling like they had my full attention for the entire length of the appointment. I enjoy getting to know each person that sits in my chair. I love having time to converse with them and really figure out what works best for their individual home oral health care.

I love, love, LOVE dental hygiene!!  This is the perfect career for me and my family.  I love walking into the office each time I work and feeling the familiarity of it all. The people I meet, treat, and work with make being a dental hygienist so much fun. I enjoy the continued education courses because you can never have enough learning. The people, the schedule and the further education makes dental hygiene MY career choice and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Sharon has been practicing Dental Hygiene for 4.5 years in Utah. She began working in her office when she was 15 years old as an odd job helper. In her spare time, Sharon loves to be with her family, husband, and 2 girls, as well as cook and try new recipes. 

What to Wear To a Dental Hygiene Interview

First impressions are usually made in the first 30 seconds of meeting someone. Before the first impression timeline is up, you haven’t even opened your mouth to tell your future employee how perfect you are for the job! That’s why what you wear and how you present yourself is critical in an interview setting. Here are a few wardrobe tips to help you land your dream job.

Tops: Lindsey Shores, professional stylist, recommends "wearing a classy blouse- something that's suiting to you, but doesn't have too bold patterns or colors as to distract from what you're saying." Have your resume, your confidence, and your experience do the talking instead of your shirt.

Bottoms: There are lots of options you can wear when it comes to bottoms of your outfit. Slacks and shirts are usually best for interviews. If you decide to wear a skirt, stick to a pencil skirt. "Skirts with too much flare can easily make you look young and you want to stay with looking professional while confident," recommends Lindsey.

Accessories: Keep accessories to a minimal during an interview. Too much jewelry can come across as cheesy, so one or two simple pieces worn as an accent to your outfit is key.

Hair and Makeup:  We loved Lindsey’s advice with hair: “For hair and makeup, keep things more natural looking and don't put your hair up in any sort of braid or updo. Keep your hair down with a bit of wave or no wave at all, OR pull it up in a professional bun (but stay clear from a top knot, it's too trendy for an interview).” Make up should be professional and simple as well. Stay away from make up trends, even though you love to wear them on a regular basis. Keep your lip color more neutral and whiten your smile to make you stand out as a candidate.

Colors: There are several colors to stick to, and lots to stay away from. First, try to wear a neutral color that isn’t too bold. Stick with black, navy, grey, white, and brown. A pop of red in an outfit can be smart, but having the majority of your outfit red may come across as too bold and too distracting. Definitely stay away from orange and yellow.

A final note: Make sure your outfit is pressed, steamed, or ironed. Even the smallest wrinkles can make a big impression in a negative way to a potential employer.

With these simple dressing tricks, you’ll definitely ace your next interview. Good luck!

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Have any more fashion questions? Check out Lindsey Shores website www.lindseyshores.com to sign up for her newsletter or ask her a question!

Implant Care

With so many dental implants being placed, it's sometimes hard to know what is the best way to take care of them. In our latest video, we explain how to clinically take care of these implants to ensure they last a lifetime for your patients.

Dental Hygiene Resume Elements that Matter Most

Guest Author Doug Perry from Gethiredrdh.com

So I’ve been doing dental hygiene resumes for several years now and have found that a handful of elements matter more than others.

The feedback has been good – there’s a steady stream of clients who are reporting back to me that they get lots of compliments on the resumes I help them with.

So this week let’s go over some of the dental hygiene resume elements that seem to really matter.

Resume Format
There are three kinds of resumes – reverse chronological, functional and combination.

Reverse chronological is the most popular format for most professions because there’s a bigger variety of skills, responsibilities, and results from job to job. But in clinical dental hygiene there isn’t as much variation from one office to another. So to save space and reduce redundancy on your dental hygiene resume, go with a functional style – it will give you more room to really sell yourself.

A functional resume begins with your name and contact information, then a short summary about you (I call it the About Me section). Next, you create a large section that focuses on results, skills, and experiences which is a summary of your career, not just one particular job. The next two sections Work History and Education History are short and sweet – just the details like, name of employer, location, job title, and years you worked there.

If you still have room, fill it with other meaningful dental-specific information. This could be community service, participation and leadership within your local component, licensure and certification – things like that. Hobbies or personal information would be a no-no here.

Resume Length
With very few exceptions I always recommend a one-page resume. More than that just isn’t necessary and if you design it well you it can easily fit, too.

You would never put your most important, interesting, or compelling information on the second page so the content that gets you an interview is going to be found on the first page.

But there’s another reason. Whenever a dental hygiene job opening is announced, offices get dozens and dozens of applicants. Studies show employers spend less than 10 seconds reviewing each resume on the first round. So they won’t read the second page anyway. Keep your dental hygiene resume simple for you and employers and hold it to one page.

Resume Design and Color
I’ve written many times about how important it is to include a design and color scheme. It’s amazing how few people will actually do it.

Probably, it’s because text-only, black and white resumes were how they were done for so long. And it was for good reason – no one owned a typewriter or printer that could do anything different. But today we can create a beautiful resume design on our computers at home.

And now’s the time to do it – with so few take advantage of this “new” technology your resume can really pop and grab the attention of employers, ensuring you get more of their time. If you want some examples, take a look at the resume templates we sell at GetHiredRDH.

White Space
I love extra white space on a resume – it points to clean and organized (what dental hygienist doesn’t want to be thought of as clean and organized?). It’s also easier to navigate and find things for the employer receiving it.

You can easily create extra white space by changing the line spacing between lines of text from single space to 1.15 or 1.25. To do this, don’t be afraid to pull the margins of your document out a bit, too. Don’t simply use the default settings – change things around, this is a marketing document not letter so the rules for margins and spacing are much different.

Good Font
Times New Roman might be okay for a boring letter, but again this not a boring letter. Your dental hygiene resume is a marketing document designed to sell YOU.

So don’t settle. Pick a font that is different. Don’t go crazy with it (there are lots of crazy fonts out there), just keep it conservative, simple and different. One great one I like to use that comes standard with Microsoft Word is Calibri.

If you avoid Times New Roman you will stand out because most dental hygiene resumes (and I see hundreds of them) use it. It gives the appearance, whether conscious or sub-conscious, that you went above and beyond most other candidates. And being different is the name of the game, right?

Summary
Assembling the elements of a great dental hygiene resume need not intimidate you, but it does take some time. You really need to do what others won’t do by getting the format right, keeping it to one page, utilizing a design and color scheme, adding some white space and choosing the right font. Take care of those things and your opportunities for dental hygiene job interviews will increase dramatically.

Five Simple Marketing Tips that Take Less Than an Hour

Feeling overwhelming with marketing your dental or dental hygiene practice? Though hours and hundreds of dollars can be spent on marketing, here a few quick tips to get you started.

1.     Get rid of the “Dental Smell”. It’s hard to pin point exactly what the smell is, especially since we are so immune to it. However, one of the biggest complains of patients is the smell of the dental office. To help, try putting a mild air freshener in the front room and bathroom. You could also go latex free since the smell of latex is associated with medical procedures and pain. Or, get rid of the cold sterile since it has such a strong odor and pretty much everything that isn’t single use can be autoclaved. Air conditioning filters being changed regularly can also help limit the "dental smell".

2.     Hang up diplomas and recent CE certificates. Having these on the walls show patients how educated you are and how you’ve made it a priority know the latest techniques and technologies.

3.     Whiten your teeth. As the hygienist, you’re a walking billboard for the office you work for. You could even bring it up with your dentist, and maybe they’ll get on board with whitening or ortho for the entire office.

4.     Make sure your paperwork looks professional. If your health history paperwork looks like its been photocopied 100 times, is grainy, or has spelling errors, your patient’s won’t take the paperwork as serious has it should be. Thorough health histories are important for dental treatment, so make sure they look as important as they are. If needed, create a new form and add your office logo at the top. Bonus points here if you add color to your forms.

5.     Make sure your information on Google is correct. Now this seems simple and silly, but so many numbers and addresses are incorrect online. Since most patients get their information off the internet, it's crucial to have this vital information correct. To check, Google your office and see what presents. If the information is incorrect, contact Google to have it changed.

These are simple steps to change in the office, but will make a big impact on current and new patients.

Tried & True Ways To Empower Patients

I think above EVERYTHING in dental hygiene- Oral Hygiene Education is by far my FAVORITE thing to talk about. Unfortunately, no one is willing to pay me to just talk… ;)  I, like everyone else, don’t have a lot of time for OHE so I’ve had to, through trial and error, make sure My OHE is focused and that I’m discussing the right things at the right time and in a way that will make sure my patients feel empowered and not guilty! I have a little rule that I try to live by, 

EVERY ONE OF CANDI KIDD’S PATIENTS WILL EITHER:

1. LEAVE WITH A NEW IDEA OR TECHNIQUE

And/Or

2. WILL LEAVE WITH A NEW PRODUCT

The CRITICAL time to open up the brushing and flossing conversation is BEFORE you are in their mouth.  This allows you to know if you need to focus on adjusting the technique of an already existing habit or gaining a habit. I used to probe and then talk to a patient about how they need to floss only for the patient to be defensive because they were flossing, just not effectively.  Or I would discuss brushing and flossing technique to someone that doesn’t do either very regularly, they needed to gain the habit.  

When I’m taking radiographs I open up the conversation like this. “Tell me about your brushing habits?  How often do you brush? Do you use a manual or electric?” (make sure if they say electric that they aren’t talking about a spin brush.)  “Tell me about how you clean in-between your teeth?  Do you use floss or toothpicks? How  often?” If they have good habits I will wait until after I’ve probed and then see if their technique needs any “adjustments”. If they ARE brushing and cleaning in-between regularly but still have bleeding, inflammation and plaque I will usually follow the, “COMPLIMENT, CORRECT, COMPLIMENT”  rule.

I will usually say something like: “John,  it looks like you have a really great habit of brushing (compliment) I’m going to “ADJUST”  the way you’re holding your toothbrush a tiny bit to make you more effective (correction). You’re so proactive that I’m sure that we will see good results. I found that saying words like “adjusting” or “tweaking”  don’t make the patient feel dumb!  I even had a dentist tell me that with all of the “adjustments” I do that I should have been a chiropractor!! Ha!

The second part is gaining the habit!  Oral hygiene is one of those tricky things.  Usually people KNOW they should be brushing and cleaning in-between their teeth.  The actual doing is the hard part. I have had the MOST success with teaching something called “Tiny Habits”  created from famous habit researcher BJ Fogg.  PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO to fully understand it. 

I might  say something to my patients like: “You have a great habit of brushing (compliment).  You have “X” amount of bleeding areas between your teeth.  Most people know how to clean in-between the teeth but it's just gaining the habit.  I want to focus on just gaining the habit. A lot of my patients have been successful using tiny habits (social pressure helps!)  

Then I go on and explain tiny habits.  A tiny habit is where you have an ANCHOR->TINY HABIT-> REWARD. So  if the patient has the habit of brushing (ANCHOR), then I would have them floss one tooth, and then say “I’m awesome”. Patients laugh when you explain this .  I always tell them that it's not about flossing all 28 teeth but doing such a tiny thing that they go from brushing  and then flossing automatically!!  Don’t let them floss more than one tooth to start off with!!

The last part is to REINFORCE!  Either have a hand out or sometimes I like to put a sticky note in their bag that says their name, the products or idea we discussed, and then something on the lines of “have fun on your vacation to California!”  Candi Kidd, RDH

It's something small that goes a long way!!

Cocofloss Winner

Thanks to everyone for entering our latest giveaway! The winner is:

Please email us at hygieneedge.com with your info so we can get you your prize!

New Floss Spotlight-COCOFLOSS

Cocobox is on a mission to transform flossing into a more rewarding and delightful experience. The company’s first product, Cocofloss, is a soft, textured dental floss that is infused with flavor and has the ability to remove bacterial plaque. Patients and professionals love, and even crave, the squeaky, after-Cocofloss clean. They also love the Caribbean blue Cocofloss color that contrasts clearly with plaque removed. Patients feel and see progress flossing with Cocofloss.

Cocofloss is available via subscription to help patients build healthier habits. Flossing daily, patients should finish their 32-yard Cocofloss in two months. Cocobox also offers a variety of educational articles on oral hygiene with fresh, colorful illustrations. Topics range from “How to Floss” to “Those Stubborn Stains Explained.”

Dr. Chrystle Cu founded Cocofloss with her sister, Catherine, to inspire people to take better care of their smiles. As a doctor who is passionate about prevention, Dr. Cu hopes to inspire her friends and patients to floss daily so that they can keep their “teeth for life” (#teeth4lyfe). The company has also partnered with the non-profit organization Philos Health to provide oral health supplies to kids in Bohol, Philippines where over 80% of children have untreated cavities.

Cocobox invites everyone to join the “floss party revolution” and to keep their teeth for life.  

Check out our helpful floss tips video to see Cocofloss in action. 

To win your own Cocofloss to try out, comment below on your current favorite floss or interdental aid! 

Ways To Stay Positive In Dental Hygiene School

Hygiene Edge is excited to announce the winner of our 1st Student Essay Contest- Taylor Robell! Taylor is currently a second year dental hygiene student at Fortis College in Phoenix, Arizona. We've included her essay "Ways to Say Positive in Dental Hygiene School" below for both students and current hygienists to learn from.

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I look back on my first week of dental hygiene school with a sort of fond envy. I was so full of excitement and energy, two things which are hard to come across as a second year dental hygiene student. I will admit that the stress and demand of school has taken a toll on my sanity and my social life, but I’ve found little ways to cope and keep my chin up:

1.       Do something simple and fun. Doing small things that interest you has been proven to help boost positivity and productivity. It’s science! I like to do small crafts and DIY projects that I can use around the house. Online shops like Darby Smart have tons of simple and easy project ideas. If you’re on a budget, Do it on a Dime is a great YouTube channel for projects using items found at the dollar store.

2.       Start a motivational Pinterest board. It might sound cheesy, but never underestimate the power of Pinterest. There are tons of motivational quotes and stories on Pinterest that you can reference. There are also plenty of dental hygiene memes which are good for a laugh when you need it most!

3.       Set short-term goals. We all know that graduating and passing boards is the end goal, but long-term goals don’t do much for present day positivity. It doesn’t have to be anything major to have a big impact. My current goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day. Setting measurable and attainable goals can be huge for your happiness.

4.       Start a thought journal. One of the things I struggled with the most initially was bringing my stress home and letting it rub off on my family. Instead of venting about how miserable I was at school that day, I write it down and let it exist only on the pages of my journal. It’s made me a happier person and helped my relationships as well.

5.       Try a new recipe. Think back to anatomy and physiology and release those endorphins by eating something delicious! The All Recipes app is a great tool for discovering new recipes. The “Dinner Spinner” feature allows you to select recipes that take a certain amount of time. It’s perfect for busy college students who don’t have hours to spend making food!

6.       Build a support system. The one redeeming factor about dental hygiene school is that you’re not alone. Simply surrounding yourself with like-minded people can be a gratifying tool for coping with stress. If you haven’t already, get together with classmates outside of school. Try new things and enjoy the moment you’re in.

7.       Do something nice for someone else. One thing that never fails to recharge my passion for life is helping others. But you don’t have to donate hours of your time at the local food bank to accomplish this. Simply buy a stranger’s coffee or help an elderly woman with her groceries and I promise you’ll feel the difference almost instantly.

8.       Remember that it’s okay to ask for help. It is so important to constantly evaluate your well-being and mental health. Dental hygiene school can be a major life-changing event, so know the symptoms of anxiety and depression. If you feel that way, you’re not alone. Roughly 30% of college students report feeling so depressed that it’s difficult to function. Know the signs and know when to get help.

It’s no secret that dental hygiene school is a constant battle. But with the right tools and an army of support, you won’t have to fight alone!

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Thank you to all the students who entered! We loved each essay and how personal and pertinent the topic is to current dental hygiene students. 

SOAP-TOPE Notes

The SOAP Note is a format of writing medical records that started in physician’s offices, but was quickly adopted into the dental field. Do you work in a practice that requires using the SOAP Note technique? If not, give it a try. Let's break it down.

SOAP is an acronym- Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan.  This system was created to help prevent charting mistakes or information from being left out. Just like each patient is unique, each chart in unique with information and length of notes.

Here is an example what each letter of SOAP includes:

S- Subjective

This section starts with the chief concern of the patient and any reported symptoms, such as when the pain started, how long it’s been happening, when and where the pain happens, etc. This section also includes health history notes of a new patient and health history updates on current patients.

O- Objective

This next section tells about the patients current health- blood pressure reading, extra and intra oral exam findings, which radiographs were exposed and findings based on them, any mobility or furcations, any symptoms to in office testing like percussion or cold tests, gingival descriptions, and a brief description of periodontal probing findings.

A- Assessment

This is where the dental hygiene diagnosis is recorded based on all previous findings.

P- Plan

Now we finish off with the treatment plan that needs to be carried out. In dental hygiene this could be completed at that day or over several appointments.

If you decide to use SOAP Note technique or if your office requires it, I’d recommend adding a few more letters to the acronym. Since hygiene appointments include so much information, use SOAP-TOPE. It’s definitely not as catchy, but it includes a little more information that we need.

T-Treatment

In hygiene, many appointments have us diagnosing, treatment planning, starting and finishing treatment all in the same day. Here you would include what treatments were completed at that appointment- full mouth prophy, fluoride, radiographs, and periodontal debridement quads with what anesthetic and how much was used.

O- Oral Hygiene Education

Here we would chart current habits, goals made, products recommended, and techniques taught at that appointment. Explanation of periodontal health and the importance of regular recall appointments would be written here too.

P- Personal Notes

Jot down just a few notes of what you talked about with your patient that appointment. It could be an upcoming trip, work or school information, family happenings, or important events coming up. This will make the next appointment in 6 months more personal for both the patient and you. Building meaningful relationships with patients is one of the best parts of dental hygiene!

E- Exam

Chart everything the dentist talks about with the patient. And I mean EVERYTHING! Of course, we always chart restorations that need to be completed, but be sure to chart conversations on whitening, night guards, headaches, areas to be watched, or any other possible treatment options that could be brought up in the future.

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Real Life Example of SOAP-TOPE:

S: Patient is interested in whitening options. No toothaches or sensitivity today.

0: No changes to medical history per patient. Blood Pressure: 124/74. Healthy bone levels visible on radiographs, with generalized 1-3mm pocketing (see perio chart). Localized BOP on buccal of 2, 3, and 4. No mobility or furcations present.

A: Generalized healthy with localized marginal gingivitis due to pt missing brushing area.

P: Adult prophy, FL2 Tray

T: Adult prophy hand scale only- patient did not tolerate ultrasonic well. Polish with fine paste. Floss. APF FL2 tray placed for 1 minute with post op instructions of no eating or drinking for 30 mins. Pt agreed to post op ins.

O: Brush 1x day. Floss 1x day. Explained to patient area on buccal of 2, 3 and 4 that presented with heavy biofilm. Recommended pt close partially to brush that area, or switch to a smaller head toothbrush. Goal: Start brushing on the buccal of Quad 1 each time he brushes. Explained whitening procedures and post op sensitivity that may occur. Recommended at home FL2 treatment of Clinpro 5000 to prevent sensitivity. Disp: Soft TB, Glide Floss, Sensodyne Samples

P: Pt is getting married next month which is why he is interested in whitening. Wedding will be held at his grandparent’s farm. Met his fiancé in college.

E: Per Dr. Harris: Decay present #3-O, #14-DO. Explained Zoom Whitening to patient, procedure, cost, and post op pain and instructions.

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Great charting habits will make your life, your dentist’s life, and your office manager’s life flow much smoother. Try out the SOAP-TOPE charting method and see how it works for you!