Where Do I Start?

Posted on August 14, 2020May 20, 2021 by Diane Larson RDH, BSDH

When health care professionals finish their schooling, they take a professional oath before beginning the practice of their chosen field. The words in each oath may be different, but the premise is the same. For example, in the dental hygiene oath, there is a pledge to continually improve my professional knowledge and skills and to uphold the highest standards. I worked in private practice dental hygiene for 7 years and through continuing education seminars, I realized I was not stepping ...

Interview with Shira Newman RDH

Posted on August 7, 2020May 20, 2021 by Shira Newman RDH

Dr. McGlennen: Tell me how you use OralDNA® salivary diagnostics. Shira Newman RDH: Testing establishes a baseline for every patient's overall oral health. I cannot imagine practicing without it. Dr. McGlennen: What are the top two things to consider when you select a patient for testing? Shira Newman RDH: Honestly, I would test everyone if they are willing. A person could present looking perfectly healthy: no bleeding on probing, no buildup, nice firm pink gum tissue, but still h...

COVID-19 RT-PCR testing in dentistry

Posted on July 24, 2020May 20, 2021 by R Bruce Templeton DMD

As a dentist, seeing patients during this pandemic of COVID-19 is a challenge. The measures put forth by the CDC and updated guidelines for infection control have added a sense of security for the entire team, along with present and future patients. Personal protective equipment (PPE) aids in protecting the clinical team. However, we now know that the droplets generated from aerosol-generating procedures (AGP), which are inherent to dentistry, stay in the room for longer than originally thou...

Reduce Dental Benefit Hassles and Help Your Patients Say “YES”

Posted on July 3, 2020May 20, 2021 by Tanya Brown, DMD

Wouldn’t it be great if you never had to deal with a denied claim again? One way to help prevent these hassles is by having more diagnostic information from the beginning! The quantitative results that you receive in a salivary diagnostics report gives you a measurable overview of a patient’s bacterial profile as well as risk level—both of which provide crucial evidence for your best chance at insurance coverage. (You’ll also have a great baseline from which you can assess the effi...

Take Control & Sense of Security

Posted on June 26, 2020May 20, 2021 by Traci Warner, RDH

As your dental practice opens its doors, answering questions of safety can be one of the many stressors on your mind. This blog will highlight ways to help take control and provide a sense of security. For example, during the mandated shut down dental practices were diligently working, securing limited personal protective equipment (PPE), and studying the ever-changing guidelines. Obtaining the appropriate PPE and conducting necessary training is one way of taking control and providing a sen...

Connecting the Mouth and the Brain Through Bacteria

Posted on June 12, 2020May 20, 2021 by Angie Stone BS RDH

There are many diseases that people never want to hear they have. Cancer is a gut-wrenching diagnosis and with it comes images of enduring chemotherapy and/or radiation. For many decades having cancer meant a probable death. Medicine has come a long way in cancer treatment and many who receive treatments become survivors. In addition to better survival rates from certain types of cancer, deaths from heart disease and stroke have also been reduced in recent years. One diagnosis that has no...

COVID-19: A Primer for the Dental Professional, Part 2

Posted on June 5, 2020May 20, 2021 by Ronald C. McGlennen, MD

Tools for the Dental Professional: Testing for SARS-CoV-2 In response to the pandemic, the community of laboratories from across the globe have worked to develop new tests to diagnose COVID-19 and to identify persons who have successfully survived the infection. There are then 2 types of tests for these two conditions. To diagnose COVID-19 a sample of nasal or oral secretions are collected to look for viral RNA, evidence of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in that person. In short, laborat...

COVID-19: A Primer for the Dental Professional Part 1

Posted on May 29, 2020May 20, 2021 by Ronald C. McGlennen, MD

The pandemic caused by the virus, SARS-CoV-2, has descended upon us with a speed and seriousness unprecedented in our modern history. The virus causing the disease called COVID-19 has been revealed to be both stealthy as well as terribly dramatic. The virus and the disease have taken not only the health and lives of many in our country, but also, in the effort to stem the pandemic, our economy as well. As we look forward to an ebb in the number of newly afflicted persons, it is important to ...

A Progressive Oral Wellness Center in Rural America

Posted on May 22, 2020May 20, 2021 by McCreight Progressive Dentistry Team

In our rural practice (McCreight Progressive Dentistry) in Northwest Colorado, we see periodontal disease on average in about one of every two patients, or around 46%. This is representative of the CDC statistic as posted in the May 2015 Journal of Periodontology. Whenever we read these statistics, we are puzzled. In an industrialized nation where home care tools and dental technologies are readily available, how can there be so much disease? Here are some measures (newer technologies) we ha...

Communication is Key

Posted on May 15, 2020May 20, 2021 by Traci Warner, RDH

Periodontal disease is one of the most prevalent chronic inflammatory diseases in the United States and it is a key indicator of other systemic diseases. Dentistry has a significant role in reducing the impact of chronic disease in patients who trust their dental teams to guide them to total body health. From the first call and through every step of the patient experience, such as reviewing the medical history, the conversation should include the oral systemic connection. Dental teams a...