I began my journey into pediatric dental hygiene in 2015, before we were aware of our son’s diagnosis. I had always been drawn to working with children and I quickly found my niche while working in a pediatric clinic in…
A smile can open the world, in love, with friends, and at work. But statistics are grim. 48% of young American adults untagged themselves from a photo on Facebook because they were not happy with their smiles. 57% of Americans…
Still confused about the 2018 AAP Periodontal classification. Never fear! The next few monthly columns will review some of the most important updates made to the industry’s global periodontal guidelines to help hygiene teams achieve the highest level of care.…
While viruses might be on everyone’s mind because of the Covid-19 pandemic, let us not forget about other microscopic creatures that can influence our health, namely bacteria. Just the thought of bacteria makes many people cringe due to their associations…
You are a dental hygienist. You went to school, you graduated, wrote the national board exam, found yourself a job and now you scale likely somewhere between 160 to 256 teeth each day, four days a week or upwards of…
Still confused about the 2018 AAP Periodontal classification? Never fear! The next few monthly columns will review some of the most important updates made to the industry’s global periodontal guidelines to help hygiene teams achieve the highest level of care.…
By now you would have seen or heard of the new classification of periodontal and peri-implant diseases, which replaced the previous (1999) classification system and addressed most of its limitations. Research indicates that 80% of North American adults have some…
As we try and get used to our new normal, we need to look for ways to make our days run more smoothly and more efficiently. We need to implement processes to make our days run a little easier in…
As a clinical dental hygienist for 30+ years, it pains me to say this, but exceptional hygiene departments are not the norm in the dental industry. What do I mean by exceptional? I mean utilizing “best practices” in the treatment…
The hygienist plays such an integral role in the overall success of our relationship with our patients. From the work we provide directly with the patient, to the role we as hygienists play in passing the baton of goodwill to…
Welcome back to part three of my article series, where did we leave off? In 2019, I shared the first steps that should be considered when opening a practice, a little sneak peek into the world of @Toothlife.Irene and the…
An Updated Look at Options for Setting Our Patients at Ease Two of the main culprits that prevent our patients from seeking care are fear and anxiety. Dentophobia (or odontophobia) is defined as “the extreme fear of going to the…
I had virtual coffee with my former classmate last week. We’ve been having coffee nearly every month since we graduated from dental hygiene school together in 2007. We chat about dental hygiene, what’s new in our offices, cool things we’ve…
Did you know that acronyms are actually very modern inventions? They were found to be in existence around World War 1, but were still not used very much until World War 2. The word “acronym” did not even come into…
Amid our present-day pandemic, the disease of oral and oropharyngeal cancer once again has a much larger adversary. April has come and gone with very little focus on it being Oral Cancer Awareness Month. All attention understandably has been on…
It was in March of 2019 that my daughter was diagnosed with autism at a support level 3, just before her 3rd birthday. This means that she requires substantial support in order to get through her day. Since then, I…
Dentistry is a very socially interactive profession. COVID-19 has changed our abilities to interact completely. Never in our wildest dreams would any of us ever predicted to be in this circumstance today. It would be impossible to predict exactly how…
Many of us only think of getting fit and healthy to look good for college reunions or to rebound after the failure of a relationship (the proverbial “revenge body”). It’s beyond just looking good; it’s about creating a body that…
Catherine Wilson was a British serial killer who was hanged for one murder, but was generally thought at the time to have committed six others. She worked as a nurse and poisoned her victims after encouraging them to leave her…
As I’m writing this editorial, it happens to be the 10th #BellLetsTalk day. The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is honouring Bell Canada for its visionary leadership on mental health and is urging everyone across Canada to join this…
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