Cleaning Those Teeth with Crowns
Do you remember in hygiene school when your instructor taught about scaling around crowns? I remember distinctly hearing, “don't touch veneers, they WILL eat you,” and, "If you touch the porcelain, the tooth WILL explode." Then, the very next day, you get a patient with crowns on every tooth and you start planning your funeral. Let me assure you that crowns will not harm you in anyway. :) Caring for the supporting structures around crowns is VERY important. Thus, our top 5 tips on caring for crowns.
#1-Probe it like you would a regular tooth. I have found that the margins of crowns are great spots for that evil bacteria to hide and have parties when you are not looking. Thus, they can easily develop pockets and caries if not properly cared for.
#2-Feel free to scale around it with hand instruments and power driven scalers, just stay down around the margins. Check out our clinical video on this technique below.
#3- It may be difficult to detect if you removed that big piece of calculus or cement around the crown, that presented on the radiograph. Feel free to take a post op radiograph to double check your work.
#4- It is not recommended to polish crowns with regular prophy paste. I know what you are thinking, “I just do it anyway.” Well, textbooks now teach that we are not supposed to. Have you ever polished a gold crown with prophy paste and saw some of the gold come off as a dark gray slurry on your cup? Ya, that is why it is best not to polish them and luckily manufactures are with the times and have invented paste just for crowns. Check with your supply company to get some.
#5- Make sure your patient knows they can floss it because I hear all the time from patients that they don’t floss it as they don’t want it to come off. If they are nervous about it then have them pull the floss out through the side. Also, review how to brush it; gently, right along the margin.
Now get out there and become the best!
Tooth Eruption Chart
Today, we wanted to say THANK YOU for supporting us here at Hygiene Edge! We have learned and grown so much over the past year, and we hope that we've been able to help inspire you in your career! To say thanks, we have a new tooth eruption chart that's easy to read and logical for both you and for your patients. Keep one on hand for yourself as a reference and add a few copies to your OHI packet to hand to new moms!
Happy Thanksgiving!
PDF Download HERE
Hygienist Spotlight- Ashley Church
We're excited about our 2nd Hygienist Spotlight on Hygiene Edge! Today we are featuring Ashley Church, creator and owner of HYbands!
Ashley Church, RDH
Where you went to school: Southwestern College in San Diego
Where you practice now: San Diego
What type of setting do you practice in: Private Practice
Why did you get into dental hygiene: I have always had an interest in the field of dental hygiene! It wasn't an easy road, there were some bumps in the road and set backs but I was able to stick with it and now that I am a dental hygienist I am so thankful!
What do you love about hygiene now? I love working with my patients! Helping to ease my patients dental anxiety, educating, providing quality hygiene care, and witnessing the before and after is so rewarding to me!
The history of your company: The idea for HYbands™ started in hygiene school. I partnered with my sister Natasha and together we made it grow. We wanted to be more than just a product and wanted to find a way to give back to the community so we partnered with Smile Train- an international childrens charity to help repair cleft lip and palate. We are very excited to see what the future holds for HYbands™!
If you could give advice to a hygiene student, what would it be? Study hard, give as many injections as you can, see as many tough patients as you can, and challenge yourself in clinic because things move much quicker in the "real world" and the more experience you can get in school, the more prepared you'll be when looking for jobs! But just keep going! School is going to be tough but nothing worth having comes easy! (Oh, and watch Hygiene Edge videos! They helped me!) ;)
UPDATE! The winner of the 2 HYBands is Brette Martinez! Please email us @ hygieneedge@gmail.com with your mailing address!
Know a dental hygienist that would perfect to highlight? Email us at hygieneedge@gmail.com!
10 Tips For a Pain Free Cleaning
One of the most common reasons a patient will leave a practice is because their "cleaning" hurt. No hygienist wants to hear the words, "She really hurt me today. Will you schedule me with the other hygienist?" We want all hygienists to feel valued and like they can provide the BEST comfortable care for patients. Thus the purpose of our latest video "10 Tips For a Pain Free Cleaning". Do you have any other suggestions to provide care pain free?
Hygienist Spotlight- Mark Frias
We are so excited to announce our first Dental Hygiene Spotlight on Hygiene Edge! Here on Hygiene Edge, one of our goals is to inspire dental hygienists become their best. Hopefully we can be inspired from one another's experiences.
Mark Frias, RDH
Gradated from: Bristol Community College in Fall River, MA in 2007
Setting you Work in: full-time clinical, mostly pedo, mostly Medicaid patients. I also invented and the sell the Kona Adapter and blog weekly at http://MarkRDH.com.
What interested you about going into dental hygiene? I became interested in the medical field way back in 1995. It then slowly evolved into dental and then into dental hygiene. I like working with people one on one and dental hygiene is perfect for that.
To you, what’s the best part of dental hygiene? This might sound silly, but I just love to debride, especially perio patients. To me, it's like a form of meditation because I'm so focused. I love it. I may write a book someday called "The Zen of Scaling" : ).
Funny Story while working/practicing? The dental hygiene instructors were so accustomed to working with female students that for two years they would constantly address the class as "ladies" and I would raise my hand and they would respond "and gentleman".
One piece of advice I wish I could give myself while in Hygiene School? Do not waste your energy on maintaining high grades. It only gets in the way of actual learning.
Have a hygienist that would love to share their story and be spotlighted? Let us know at hygieneedge@gmail.com and we'll contact them!
Mirror Retraction Tricks
One of the common complains of patients coming to the dental office is the mouth mirror. Nothing is more painful than the pinch of the side of a mirror on the attached gingiva! Out latest video give you a few tricks to help prevent the uncomfortable placement of the mirror.
What do YOU do to prevent pain from the mirror?
5 More Marketing Tips that Take Less Than an Hour
Many hygienists think that dental marketing is out of their control and not in their job description. However, with the changing job market, knowing about all aspects of a practice is crucial. If an office has to let go one of their hygienists, would they let go the one that is actively trying to grow the practice, or the one that okay with doing prophies and only worrying about that aspect of the business?
Here are a few tips that you can implement in your office over a lunch break or two.
1. Sit in your own dental chair and take a look at what the patient sees. Does your operatory look clean and neat from the dental chair viewpoint? When you are lying back, is the light clean and dust free? Are the ceiling tiles clean and no wires are showing? These will make a big impression to the patient since they see an entirely different view of the practice then we do as we are working.
2. Update your magazines in your office. Having 5 year old golf magazines in the waiting room is boring! If you are running behind, they may not even notice if they are caught up in the latest gossip magazine. Keep your patients in mind while they are in the waiting area.
3. If you give anything away to a patient, make sure it has your office name, phone number, and logo on it. Toothbrushes shouldn’t be the only thing imprinted. Bags that toothbrushes go into, post op instruction papers, anything that walks out of the office should have your logo tastefully placed on it. You never know who will see these items and call to schedule an appointment.
4. Make sure your office's phone skills are on point. If you have multiple people answer the phone, have a script written out to effectively and personally answer the phone. Since this simple call is the first contact with the office, it should be to the point, professional but warm. At the end of the conversation, ask the person if they have any other questions. This is huge! They usually do, like what is the exact location of the office or their current bill, and completely forget to ask once they start chatting about something else. Opening up the conversation to questions shows how much you care for your patients.
5. Make birthdays a priority. Even if it’s just big birthdays, like 30, 40 or 50. Send them a little something in the mail. If you can, send them flowers or treats to their office. When coworkers ask the birthday girl or boy who their gift is from, they will definitely be impressed that their gift was sent from a dental office.
What do you do to help your practice grow?
American Eagle Implant Instrument Winner
Thank you everyone for entering our last American Eagle Implant Instrument giveaway!
The winner is Tycy Berry! Please email us at hygieneedge@gmail.com with your shipping information!
Happy last few days of National Dental Hygiene Month!
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!
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!
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.
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
What you wear to an interview matters! We have professional styling tips to help you dress reflect your confidence and have you land the job.
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!
Have any more fashion questions? Check out Lindsey Shores website www.lindseyshores.com to sign up for her newsletter or ask her a question!