Ivividly remember my interview, first job and very first day. I thought outside of the box to secure my first job. Writing my resume was a challenge being a new graduate without any dental experience. Unlike some of my 2007 graduates, I wasn’t a dental assistant first, and aside from having a dentist of my … Read more
The dental patients we once knew are a thing of the past – much like your old flip phone. Today’s patients are tech savvy, well educated and likely to have researched all of their symptoms and dental treatments prior to arriving in your chair. In today’s competitive landscape, dental care professionals need to inform and … Read more
As a practicing dental hygienist, I focused on the delivery of patient-centred care, avoided the financial and operational aspects of a dental practice, and had no need for business acumen. Over time working in dental clinics, my interests and horizons expanded, and I became more and more fascinated by the economic underpinnings of an oral … Read more
When we graduate from dental hygiene school and enter the workforce, it is the skills that we attained and the desire to help people that drive us. We do not think when we meet a potential employer to ask about workplace dynamics, ethics, and values. We talk about office hours and salary. We do not … Read more
What is the number one reason why patients do not return for their hygiene visits? Doctors and team members: if you don’t know, you need to find out! We’ve all heard the excuses; illness, my boss called a meeting, my kids have sports practice after school, I’m stuck in traffic, I can’t pay for it…..the list goes … Read more
Dental hygienists and therapists have been empowered by legislators in Canada, the UK and increasingly in the US to deliver dental services outside of the dental practice. There has been a boom in independent hygiene and this will only grow as patients seek more affordable preventive care. In the UK, for example, the reformed National … Read more
More studies are showing that a small segment of the community needs medical care on an ongoing basis. This pattern is called persistent care and it seems to be associated to those with more than one chronic condition. It may well apply to the chronic diseases in the mouth too. Our surveys report that 1 in … Read more
This was a recent headline in the Los Angeles Times. The article outlines a new California law that authorizes dental hygienists to treat cavities without a dentist on site by placing low-cost, temporary fillings. The temporary fillings applied by the hygienist are called interim therapeutic restorations. They require no drilling or anesthetic and can be … Read more