Interview with Tonja Willey RDH, MS–Dental Hygiene Instructor

Posted on October 26, 2018May 20, 2021 by Tonja Willey RDH, MS

Dr. McGlennen: Tell me how your students use OralDNA® salivary diagnostics. Tonja Willey RDH, MS: Our students’ select one patient with moderate to severe periodontitis for a special program called Senior Capstone project; Perio Project. The goal of this project is to have the student follow one patient from the New Patient Consultation through all the steps of therapy in hopes of improving health or finding a more stable condition. The program fee ($175) includes several types of tests i...

Type II Diabetic and Periodontal Disease

Posted on October 19, 2018May 20, 2021 by Debbie Bickford RDH

Challenge: A Type II Diabetic patient, who has been a long term client, has uncontrolled periodontal disease and a history of not responding to previous periodontal treatment. Background: This 73 year-old female with Type II Diabetes has been a patient in our periodontal maintenance program for years. She has had several courses of active periodontal therapy never achieving complete periodontal remission. In the past year, our team has been upping our game by studying under Dental Hygien...

Dental Hygiene Excellence: A Personalized Treatment Approach

Posted on October 12, 2018May 20, 2021 by Patti DeMatteis, RDH, AS

Personalized care for dental patients is more important today than ever! Oral inflammation has been established as the driver for many systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases. Periodontal disease is one of the most prevalent inflammatory diseases and does not always respond well to “cookie cutter” treatment. We now know, treatment must target the bacteria that cause the patient’s infection, and every patient is different. Dental Hygiene Exc...

OraRisk® Caries: Identifying Bacteria for Risk Assessment

Posted on October 5, 2018May 20, 2021 by Matt Smith MS

Dental caries is defined as the progressive destruction of a tooth and is considered a major health issue in both adolescents and adults, in which reportedly 90% of the population is affected(1). Cavities are formed when acid erodes the hard tissues of the teeth (enamel, dentin and cementum). Acid is produced in the mouth when certain bacteria, such as Streptococcus mutans, ferment sugars into acid. For decades, S. mutans was believed to be the main bacteria involved in caries initiation ...

Interview with Adrian Fitts RDH & Gerald Smith DMD

Posted on September 28, 2018May 20, 2021 by Adrian Fitts RDH, BSDH

Dr. McGlennen: Tell me how you use OralDNA® salivary diagnostics. Adrian Fitts RDH & Dr. Gerald Smith: When we see a patient that isn’t “normal.” Many patients are routine with regard to their oral hygiene/plaque/calculus. The vast majority of patients respond to usual measures, debridement, and diligent oral hygiene. However, some patients don’t fit this. For example, we see a relatively “clean” mouth but we are finding increasing pocketing/bleeding. The OralDNA® tests are perfe...

Implants, Biofilm, & pH!

Posted on September 21, 2018October 27, 2021 by Susan Wingrove RDH, BS

Today, dental professionals need to look at professional maintenance in a whole new light. A paradigm shift in professional maintenance and home-care recommendations for patients with tooth-borne and implant-borne restorations is occurring. I would refer to this as ‘mixed bag’ patients with natural teeth, restorations, and implants. We see these ‘Mixed bag’ patient every day. An additional resource to provide the best maintenance would be The American College of Prosthodontists guidelines fo...

What does it mean when the report says “QNS”?

Posted on September 14, 2018May 19, 2021 by Dana Willard

QNS is the abbreviation for Quantity Not Sufficient or Quality Not Sufficient. When referring to molecular testing, i.e. nucleic acid or DNA based tests; a final result of QNS is given when the laboratory cannot amplify the submitted sample acceptably. In the case of insufficient Quantity, this typically means that not enough human cells were collected or submitted in the sample to amplify the internal control for at least a negative test result. The internal control monitors sample colle...

Patient with Chronic Gingivitis & Oral Candida

Posted on September 7, 2018May 19, 2021 by Kathleen Nichols, DDS

Challenge: Patient presented with chronic gingivitis and oral Candida symptoms Background: A 64-year-old female sought treatment from a medical doctor for a “thrush-like” infection. The medical doctor then referred the patient to an ENT. However, this patient was already of our record and decided to start with our office. The chief complaint is a “thrush-like” infection in the mouth, throat and lips. The clinical assessment confirmed generalized white patches. Upon periodontal assessment,...

Sick & Tired of Patients Being … Sick & Tired?

Posted on August 24, 2018May 19, 2021 by Machell Hudson RDH

Me too! Day after day, patients dismiss their oral health, writing it off as “My gums have always bled.” Inside, my head was exploding, but outside my heart was opened. I knew that I had a chance to educate my patients to a whole new level of health. One where their energy would be boosted, risk to coronary heart disease would be lowered, and the chance of them developing diabetes would be significantly reduced. I became a hygienist on a mission. I instinctively knew that if things were t...

JP Institute TRANSFORMED! — My New Life As A Hygienist

Posted on August 17, 2018May 19, 2021 by Liz Lundry RDH

I have been a clinical hygienist since 1979. When I earned my degree in Dental Hygiene, I was very happy, idealistic and excited about caring for patients. I felt I was on a mission to improve people’s lives through better oral health. Being young and starry-eyed , I was not prepared for the reality of working in a dental practice. I found, to my great surprise, that most of my patients were not interested in the education about their oral health that I had been trained to provide. They just...