Grandma Calls Me A "Tooth Picker"

One time when I first graduated from dental hygiene school my sweet grandma introduced me to her friends saying that I was one of those…. “tooth pickers.” Then she made little tooth picking motions with her hands, and her and her little friends laughed. It was all in jest at the time, but I feel like we get this in our profession A LOT! Oh yes, you will be called a dental hygeeeenist, be asked if you went to school for this, be told from your patient that their daughter is one of these, but they really are a dental assistant. You may hear, “Can’t you just clean my teeth? It isn’t that hard, is it?”  I therefore would like to stand on my soap box for just a moment and shout out to the world just a FEW of the things I have to know/do as a dental hygienist.

1. The upper lip fuses at just 6 week when you are about 2-5mm in height.

2. There are about 500 abnormalities of the mouth and teeth that I had to memorize, recognize and know how to detect during an oral cancer screening.

3. There is a science to where I sit to work on you, how I hold the instruments, and the clothes I wear.

4. I have to know about film development and all the parts of the x-ray unit. Don’t get me started on the electron, protons, the tungsten target, or how to increase or decrease the kvp and my tube head angles to get a beautiful x-ray of your teeth.  

5. I had to know all of the nerves, blood vessels and muscles of the face so that I can get your need numb when you have an infection in your gums that you think I created.

6. I risk my life every day from potentially being exposed to diseases you may transfer to me or that may be caused by the repetitive motions that I have to do while working on you.

7. I had to take a national written board that is 8 hours that cost around $300.

8. I took special courses on how to treat children and geriatric patients, along with the oral health of the community.

9. I have to learn how to do and read research so that I can interpret it and better treat you. The p-vales, mean, median, modes, hypothesis and summary are our friends, or our enemy such as in the latest fiasco in the flossing debate!

10. I took several semesters of a class we call Perio, where I learned the names of hundreds, of the millions of bacteria in your mouth. Such as: Porphyromonas gingivalis, Streptococcus mutan , Granulicatella elegans, Neisseria subflava, S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and Rothia dentocariosa and my favorite, Adiacens actinomyces, just to name a few.

11. I also had to take 1-2 clinical boards where I must find a patient with heavy chunks of black calculus that will flip up into my hair and clog my suction for the 2 hour allotted time.

12. I will have to find about 120 of my own patients, for 3 hour appointments, to learn on including kids, adolescents, geriatric, healthy and periodontally involved patients. So that when I graduate I can do everything in a 30-60 minute appointment.

Wow, my list can go on and on. So next time you show up to get a check up and preventive cleaning from your dental hygienist, please educate yourself, be respectful, and remember that we are educated and licensed professionals. Okay, I will step down now:)

Ways To Hold The Prophy Cup

There are many ways to hold the prophy cup. Try something new and find out what works best for you. 

Meals for Sustained Energy for the Dental Hygienist

We invited Lauren Fowler, RDN and creator of the popular blog Mindful Meals to write out an ideal menu for dental hygienist to keep our energy up!  

The key is to having a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats in your meals for sustained energy for your body and brain throughout the day. Having fruits and veggies will also provide antioxidants and fiber.

 Breakfasts:

- Eggs, veggies, avocado, and fruit - Saute some veggies like peppers, onions, or mushrooms with scrambled eggs. Top with avocado. Add a side of fruit. The protein, healthy fats, and fiber in the meal will create sustainable energy and keep you satisfied longer.

- Smoothies with protein and/or healthy fats. Having a smoothie with fruit, as well as protein and healthy fats is a great, easy and convenient breakfast or snack idea. Adding greens will also boost the fiber and antioxidant content. One of my favorites is banana, almond butter, handful of spinach, almond milk, and hemp seeds. Using ingredients like a nut butter, chia, hemp, or flaxseeds, a good quality protein powder, or unsweetened coconut products are great additions.

- Avocado on whole grain toast and a hardboiled egg. Smash avocado on 1-2 slices of toast, using the avocado as a spread.

 Lunches:

- Soup or chili. These are great to cook up a big batch for the week and bring in for lunches. Some of my favorites are sweet potato black bean chili or a butternut squash coconut soup (I like to top this with pumpkin seeds).

 - Salads. Having a big green salad with veggies, a protein like hardboiled eggs, chickpeas, chicken, or tofu, and a fat like a olive oil salad dressing or avocado. You could also top it with some raisins or nuts/seeds.

 - Mexican Bowls. Make a bowl with brown rice or quinoa, black beans, sauteed peppers and onions, avocado, and salsa. You can make a batch of these at the beginning of the week for lunches, and vary the veggies or protein you want to add. 

Snacks:

- Carrots/peppers or whole grain crackers + Hummus - I like Mary's Gone Crackers brand

- Hardboiled egg

- Piece of fruit

- Trail mix with nuts/seeds and dried fruit - Trader Joe's has bunch of them, or you can make your own. 

- Smoothie

- Energy Balls (homemade) - There are a bunch of recipes here, and these are great when you're in a rush for time to pack a few of these for the day and grab one in between patients. My favorite store-bought bars are Kind and Larabars as well.

The key really comes in preparing for the week by making food ahead of time to pack for lunches and snacks, as well as making time for breakfast in the morning. Then, it's about reminding yourself that taking time for lunch or a quick snack helps re-energize you, so you have the energy to give your best to patients throughout the day too.

Getting To Know Us Here At Hygiene Edge

                                      Candi Kidd

We decided as a team that we should let you know more about those who run Hygiene Edge behind the scenes. So, it is my pleasure to spotlight one of our 4 founders- Candi Kidd. Candi wanted to be a dental hygienist when she was young because of her dental hygienist, whose name was also Candi. She would tease, "This Candi is good for your teeth," and that sealed the deal.

She attended the Utah College of Dental Hygiene from 2009-2011. At this time, it was my pleasure to be one of her clinical instructors. I could tell that she was going to be an amazing dental hygienist. How did I know? Well, because she had to fight for it. She had several hurdles come up while in school and I saw that with each one, she was determined not to let it get the best of her. One piece of advice she'd give herself if she was still in dental hygiene school is, "I would tell myself to get a routine for my day! To have a set time when I exercised, studied, cooked, and cleaned. I felt like I was in a constant "crisis" state in hygiene school and I know that systems and routines would have helped a lot."

When she graduated, she had to get creative in finding a job in a saturated market. I watched as her used the tips from the website Get Hired RDH to create an amazing online portfolio/resume to find her first hygiene job. At the same time, I received the opportunity to teach a Practice Management course for dental hygienists, in which Candi became a great resource for. She also became a huge advocate for xylitol and was able to present information on it on Good Things Utah, a local TV show. Candi's favorite part of being a dental hygienist is, "hands down, patient education."

Over the years, we stayed in touch. I saw how dedicated she was to the profession, so I told her, "Someday, we should write a book together," in which her reply was, "What has already been done." Her bigger views led us to dream up Hygiene Edge.

Even thought she is a successful dental hygienist, her most important work is being a mother. She has 3 beautiful children and is currently practicing mommyhood full time.

The Proper Way to Remove a Cotton Roll

Student Article Contest Winner

Congratulations to Liezl for winning this year's Student Article Contest! See her article below about effective study habits while in dental hygiene school. 

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Hygiene school may be the best years of your life because you can finally see the light on the other side of the tunnel. You know that if you are successful in this program, there is an end result, becoming a Registered Dental Hygienist. I can also say it may be the worst years of your life because it tests every ounce of your sanity, and studying to the point where you can't absorb anymore information. For me, it has been that but is has also been the best two years of my life because we all grew into one big family. This was our biggest support system because we were all in the same shoes and knew what we had to do. That being said, I have just began my journey of becoming a Registered Dental Hygienist. For the chapter I have recently closed, Hygiene School, there were many things I had to change in order to become what I, as well as my hygiene family, have successfully accomplished and I hop these tips will help you on your journey as well!

ORGANIZATION, NO PROCRASTINATION!

Professors will usually give you the syllabus of each of your classes before they start. Make sure you read this and know the important dates of tests, clinical, volunteering, ect. Keep an organizer you can write in and refer to when you need to. For the one that likes to be digital, I always added them to my calendar on my phone, along with other important personal dates/appointments outside of school so I knew if I had to study earlier due to an event, or I knew what I needed to read for a specific class. iCALENDAR for iPhone or iMac is a good way to organize these dates, and they can be color coded so you are able to see what is school/personal/work related.

STUDY SMARTER, NOT HARDER!

In the beginning, I used to read word for word the chapters we were assigned before doing anything else, but I would get frustrated and I really didn't have the time to do this for every subject. I had to find an easier way to study. I looked at the questions at the end of the chapter and then briefly read through the chapter to see if I was able to answer them. There are also objectives in the professor's syllabus of what they expect you to know during their lectures. I take this and use it as a guideline to make sure I know these objectives. When lecture time came, most of the time the information they presented answered the questions I couldn't find. If it didn't, or I wanted to learn more about a subject, I asked during that time.

BOOKS ARE YOUR FRIEND!

Make sure to look at all of your books and they almost ALWAYS have a link to register your book for supplemental materials. I highly advice you do this to be able to get more study material and to be ready for tests! It is very useful and helpful. I used this many times and did the tests (as well as the questions in the physical book) with my friends and study group so we were able to explain to each other our process of thinking for the correct answer, which helped when it came to test day! Some books don't have answers to the questions at the end of the book to cross reference if you are correct. SOMETIMES, if you register for the supplemental material online (should be free) they have the answers there. This may be helpful for you too!

Example of Evolve Website for supplemental information.

Also, if you don't want to carry heavy books around and are computer savvy, you can always buy the digital copy of a book (doesn't go well if you plan to sell your books though). PageBurst is an app from the company Elsevier for many hygiene books we use during hygiene school, and I was able to copy the photos to use in my Quizlets/Microsoft One Notes to refer to- very helpful also!

Example of Pageburst app

FLASHCARDS

This was always a good way to study for other because studies show that you retain more information if you write it out. To each his own! But for me, I disliked flashcards. I hate lugging them around, losing cards, and having piles of them in a box or desk to refer to later. A friend introduced me to a simpler way of writing information out with using a piece of paper, which I then did so that I kept a notebook with me to keep them all in the same place. I had a notebook for each subject.

Keeping the paper inside the notebook, you crease the paper in half, then with the right side of this paper, you would half it once more. One side would be a question and the other side would be the answer. When I studied, I would read the question on the left side with the right covered, then I would open that side to see if my answer was correct!

For the one that likes to be digital, I set up a table on a Microsoft One note and had on the left side a term or objective I needed to know, with the right side being the answer and/or a picture that can help me visualize the concept if it was needed. 

Example of One Note

To go even further, I also used a program called QUIZLET. This was a digital flashcard app I used for learning concepts and using it on the go. You can use this on your computer while you are studying, and then download the app on your phone. In this way, you are able to bring your information anywhere with you and test yourself when you aren't by your computer/physical flashcards. You can organize your "flashcards" by subject or concept. In this app there are others that share their digital flashcards, and sometimes they are questions in the books that we used for that class. Again, very helpful!

*If you pay their yearly fee, an added BONUS is that you are able to include pictures to the answer side. 

Example of Quizlet Layout (There is an automatic flashcard layout as well)

MICROSOFT ONE NOTE

For anyone that likes to be organized, and does not like lugging around notebooks, THIS IS THE BEST APP TO ORGANIZE YOUR NOTES! Bonus: You are able to download this app on your phone (beware: eats up memory, refer to Quizlet) and you can refer to your notes on this if you need it! This is an app that holds notebook you can customize for basically your LIFE. I made a "hygiene" notebook that contained all of my notes. In this notebook, you have "tabs" in which I used these tabs for every subject I was studying. In each tab, I had every chapter/concept that I was assigned to learn, homework I had to complete for reference if I needed it, and the lecture notes I took during class. It kept everything in one place, other than individual files on my computer. It was the best thing I have discovered. You won't be disappointed! Did I say that this is FREE?

YOUTUBE

Any concept or subject I had difficulty on (especially clinically), I always went to see if there were educational FREE videos that can break it down for me further, whether it was memorizing the B vitamins, to learning what area I had to be in for administering anesthesia. This is the best reference tool you can have when you are a visual learner.

DROPBOX

This app is an online storage website where it saves all your files you upload. I Loved this app because, again, you are able to acccess it with your comptuer. Our class made an account (FREE!) and created different folders for each semester, and each class. There we would save anything we had to download from each class and wanted to share (syllabuses, PowerPoints, ect.) That way, if I needed it when I haven't have my computer or I wanted to access a PowerPoint from my phone, I had it right in the app to see it. If I needed my group to see a file when doing group projects, we would upload them to this website and it was easily accessible. Since we did a lot of teaching in different subjects to each other, we would upload our PowerPoints here so we all had access to them. It was a very useful tool!

Example of DropBox

STUDY GROUPS

This is probably a big reason why I was able to pass the program. I had a couple of friends I always went to, to study anything and everything! We met in study rooms at school, outside of school, etc. to study for tests or explain our way of a concept if we didn't understand it. WRITE IT OUT! It was easier to see the big concept with little information on each one. It took a long time, but it was worth it! It was very helpful in getting another's point of view to understand the concept fully. I highly recommend finding two other people to study with. More than that it's just a party and it will not help you.

My study partner Rahim when we studied for a big test in Perio!

One last thing I will say- YOU WILL PASS! There will be a time (or many times) where you will question if you want to keep going of why you are in this program. Just keep telling yourself, YOU WILL PASS! Take the time to stop, breathe, and enjoy everything around you. It goes by quick! Hope these tips helped. Good Luck!

Arm Stretches For The Dental Hygienist

Check out Jessica's arm stretches for a healthy hygienist. 

"Does Flossing Really Work?"

As I’m sure you’ve read, seen, and been told about, news stations all over the county reporting that flossing is no longer needed, per the Dietary Guidelines for Americans by the U.S. departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture. We’ve seen it and our patients have seen it. Tonight on a walk around my neighborhood, 2 people stopped me and asked if the reports were true. If people are asking on the streets, it is guaranteed that you’ll be asked several times a day for the next month or so by patients in your operatory chair.

So, how should you answer patients when they ask, “Does flossing really work?”

First, explain that the Cochrane review used for the research in the new guidelines reviewed only 12 short term trials. These trials only lasted 1-3 months, where periodontal disease can more than 3 months to manifest. Some of these studies did show a decrease in bleeding gums or gingivitis, but not a decrease in caries. Again, caries can take more than 3 months to manifest intraorally. Unfortunately, long term studies take money and not many people are willing to pay for a study to span several years.

Second, explain that from your personal experience with patients, you do see regular flossing and brushing improve oral health. It can help break up biofilms, which are live microorganisms, that can harm both your gums and your overall health.

Third, show your patient the proper way to floss in a mirror with the show, tell, do method right when they ask the question, even if it is before you begin anything. When a patient actually sees biofilm removed interproximally, it can be a big learning tool to the important of interproximal cleaning. I personally like using blue Cocoa Floss or black POH Floss since the color of the floss highlights the biofilm removal. Or, if your patient shouldn’t even be using floss due to large embrasure spaces, educate them on something else that will help with the biofilm break up. Softpicks by Gum have new curved handles, making it easier for patients to use in posterior teeth.

Finally, show the patient how much you care about their overall and oral health by explaining flossing instead of lecturing. Patients are looking for any excuse not to floss, and this news is the perfect out for them. Keep this is mind with your explanation, and hope that it will all be forgotten in a few weeks and they will be back to their regular oral hygiene routine.

How are you fielding the questions about flossing from recent news articles?

Boge 513 Winner

Congratulations Courtney Barber Rios! You are the winner of our recent give away of a Boge 513 from American Eagle Instruments and a special treat from Hygiene Edge. Email us at hygieneedge@gmail.com with your contact information. We want to thank ALL of our viewers for sharing the good news!!

Hygienist Spotlight- Sarah Theil

Name: Sarah Theil

Dental Hygiene School: San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico

What got you interested in Dental Hygiene? I wanted to be a photographer. I moved up to Provo and was all signed up to attend at the time it was called Utah Valley State College. I was driving down the road and saw a sign for a Dental Assisting school. I remember calling my mom and telling her I unenrolled from UVSC and signed up for dental assisting school, all within a matter of an hour. HAHA. I was a dental assistant for 4 years before I realized how awesome dental hygiene was. I wanted to be able to make my own schedule and see my own patients. Most importantly, I knew one day I wanted to be a mom and I wanted to be able to make enough money in a few days that I could stay home and raise my family the rest of the time. So off to hygiene school I went! That was 11 years ago.

What do you do for work now? I work clinically one day a week. I still have those few patients left that threaten to never get their teeth cleaned as long as they live if I don't do it. I am a secretary on the Dental Hygiene Committee of the NM Board of Dental Healthcare. I am a dental hygiene examiner for two different examining companies. And most recently, I started a company called CE Zoom!

What is CE Zoom? CE Zoom is the only fully automated CE management platform. From one website, a person can be notified of a course, register for it, verify their attendance, take a mandatory survey, receive a digital copy of their CE certificate, track that course against their individual state's rules and regulations, and in participating states have their completed CE transcript submitted straight to the state for license renewal or and audit. This is a great tool for a dental professional, however, it's even better for a company or conference to help manage their presenters, registration, surveys, and certificate distribution! AND from a state dental boards viewpoint, it's a fantastic way to do an audit. The system separates everything into different categories based off of what each individual state's rules are so when the person doing the audit receives a transcript, they don't have to think about what course goes into which category. It is all done and separated out for them. If the person doing the audit relieves a transcript, they don't have to think about what course goes into which category. It is all done and separated out for them. If they person doing the audit doesn't feel like a course was good for that state, they can deny the course and the system will automatically recalculate knowing if that individual passed their audit or not. This is a very basic description of what CE Zoom can do. If you want to know more, get on the site and sign up for a free account!

What is one piece of advice that you'd give yourself as a dental hygiene student? Everything you learn in dental hygiene school IS and could be useful to you at some point! I remember we had to give so many presentations and I could not figure out why and hated every second of it! Now, I know why that was so important and am so grateful that I learned how to do that! I have to stand in front of group of people all the time now and present my company and I honestly feel because I was forced and taught how to do it so early on that this is now very easy for me to do. Also, I wish I had started networking and being more involved in the American Dental Hygiene Association sooner in my career. I could know and could have made so many more connections if I had been networking and volunteering since the day I graduated rather than for the last 5 years.

What is one thing you would want to tell a dental hygienist who is interested in starting their own company? It's not easy. I could count on my hands and feet how many times I wanted to give up. This is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. It's kind of funny- the reason I was really gung ho about starting CE Zoom and making this work is because I wanted to be able to stay home full time with my kids. The COMPLETE opposite has happened. Now I'm gone even more because I have to travel so much to teach people on how amazing this program is. I know though that in a few years things will change and I will be able to to be home more with my kids. However, I absolutely love the opportunities I have gained from all of this! I would have never met all the people I have and made the connections I have if I never started this! I would still be working my 2 days a week and filling in for hygienists when they go out of town, which would have been fine. I remember in February I was in Ohio at dinner with some "big dogs" of a company and I remember just sitting there thinking "Wow! Two years ago I would have NEVER imagined I would be at dinner with these two guys talking about our families like we are old friends." Now I have been invited to be a member of the Crest Smile Council and I get to spread my voice about the importance of CE and why it's important for dental professionals to care about the continuing education they are going to. 

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Thank you Sarah for letting us highlight you in our latest Hygiene Edge Hygienist Spotlight! If you know a hygienist worth spotlighting, email us at hygieneedge@gmail.com.