What do you do if your patient reports halitosis-with ToKii's 2 in 1 Brush and Tongue Cleaner
Tokki All in 1 Tongue Cleaner
What do you do if your patient reports halitosis? As you know, there are a number of potential causes for this condition, such as food, tobacco use, dry mouth, medications, and more. Lucky for us in the dental profession, we can be a safe space for patients to chat with you about their concerns and help improve their quality of life. Let’s break down a few of the causes of bad breath, what we can do as professionals to help, and how patients can manage their symptoms at home.
Necrotizing Periodontal Disease (NPD formerly known as NUG/NUP) is a condition that can be very painful, life altering, and can greatly affect halitosis. In this condition, the tissue is dying and decaying which creates a malodor in the mouth. Luckily with therapy of improved home care and stress reduction protocols, full mouth bacteria reduction through full mouth debridement or periodontal therapy, and proper tongue cleaning at home, we can help the patient with their condition which will improve their halitosis.
Another possible cause of halitosis is a digestive issue such as GERD, acid reflux, peptic ulcers etc. Consider a referral to their physician and a registered dietitian if the halitosis continues and all dental issues have been resolved; as well as their tongue, teeth and gingival care at home are being done well.
With any of causes of bad breath the first place to start is usually to have the patient start cleaning their tongue. We all know that the tongue can trap high levels of bacteria, and maintaining the flora of the tongue is key to decreasing halitosis. Making tongue cleaning easy for your patient is critical to make sure they actually follow through with your recommendation. Enter Tokii- an all in 1 system to help your patients keep their teeth, gingiva, and tongue clean at home.
Have you been educating your patients about bad breath and tongue health? What has worked/hasn’t worked for you?
Learn more about proper tongue cleaning techniques to teach your patients in our latest video that features the Tokii 2 in 1 toothbrush and tongue cleaner.
Need Free CE Credits? Look No Further.
I'm not going to lie. I love CE's. I love going to classes, learning new ideas, and being inspired. Even with my love of classes, I've still found myself scrabbling for a few extra credits right before license renewal. After having my daughter, getting out of the house for a couple days or even a couple hours is tricky! We've compiled a list of websites so you will never get find yourself in that situation again!
Before taking any online course, I would recommend contacting you State Dental Licensing Board to see their regulations on how many online credits you can take for each renewal period, how many have to be in different topics, and if "live" classes held online can count toward your "live" credits for renewal. Each state is so different, so always double check. To make it even easier, sign up for CE Zoom to help track your credits and to have them double check to see if they're count!
Dental Care by Crest is regularly adding new classes to their long list. These are self study courses, so if you are an audio learner, this might not be the best option for you.
Colgate sponsors live webinars a few times a month. What I love about it is they vary times. Lots of webinars are always held at the same time (8 PM eastern) which doesn't always work for my schedule. So, having them mix it up with times, even having some during the day for hygienists outside of the US, is great! Sign up for their emails to keep updated on their class schedule.
Viva Learning offers several live classes a week, plus keeps these webinars on their website to watch later. This is one of my favorite websites for both dental and dental hygiene topics. Their classes are always 1 hour long and require a little quiz after the webinar is complete.
Hu-Friedy offers classes both on demand and live. Sign up for their emails to know when the class live classes will be held. I recently watched one on subgingivial air power polishing that was very interesting.
These self study courses cover a varitey of topics. One that caught my eye was "Successful Appointment Transitions for the New Dental Hygienist".
Though most of their CE's are paid, they will sometimes offer free classes. They also have great articles to keep up with the latest in dental hygiene.
American Eagle offers a 1 CE credit course on instrumentation and offer it regularly. Keep an eye on their website to find out when the class is held.
Good luck getting that CE, guys!
Where are you favorite places to get CE? What has been your favorite class recently?
Hygiene Hack: Floss Circle Technique
Have any of you ever tried this? Another hygienist mentioned that they do this all the time in practice and even tell patients to do it this way for their home care. Give it a try and see what you think.