Rethinking the Dental Examination

Posted on November 9, 2018May 20, 2021 by Susan Maples DDS

It’s 2018 and I am dumbfounded by the number of adult new patient appointments that begin in the hygiene chair. We all recognize this is an ‘old school’ practice, but maybe we still secretly believe it’s the right thing to do for our patient. Maybe we somehow believe it’s financially beneficial to the practice. Neither of these could be further from the truth. The dental examination of today is all about the patient of today. From a health standpoint, the patient of today is more complica...

When to Administer the Systemic Antibiotic…..

Posted on November 2, 2018May 20, 2021 by Diane Larson RDH, BSDH

The use of systemic antibiotics as an adjunct to periodontal disease have been utilized for decades1. With the emergence of systemic antibiotic stewardship, a responsible approach to administering a systemic antibiotic with periodontal care is warranted. The overall “cocktail” approach-selecting a systemic antibiotic to blanket everything-could be contributing to rise in antibiotic resistance. However, a systematic approach of testing and utilizing an evidence based recommendation helps you ...

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...

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 ...

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...

Life & Death and a Saliva Test

Posted on August 10, 2018May 19, 2021 by Chris S Kammer DDS

Sometimes I get so frustrated with the profession of dentistry. Here is my case in point: Five oral originating pathogens have been identified as causative in the development of atherosclerosis by the BaleDoneen™ peer reviewed study published in the British Medical Journal. Wait a minute, so they concluded that these oral bacteria are causative of atherosclerosis? Seriously? Yes!! And in the last one hundred years, atherosclerosis has killed more Americans than any other disease. Atheroscler...