Stuck in the Hygiene Rut?!
I found myself two years into my hygiene career not loving it. Have you been there? Are you there right now?! You are not alone! For me, I was working 5-6 days a week, long hours, no assistant with double or accelerated hygiene. I would get asked to work through lunch or stay an hour late to accommodate a new patient. I was new to the hygiene world and the market for hygiene was so different! There were not a lot of hygiene opportunities and I felt as if there was not another option other than sticking it out, proving myself and just pushing through. Heck, I had made it through dental hygiene school, so I knew I could do hard things. I was in the career I had spent year working hard towards and I was not feeling fulfilled. My body was in pain, I didn’t have any energy to do anything after work like work out or do much other than go home, sit on the couch, and just get ready to go to sleep, wake up and do it all again. I had vented to my mom on the phone and one day she had just spoken to her hygienist and that hygienist had given my mom some advice to pass along and that advice changed everything for me! Disclaimer: that this did not happen all at once. But the pieces of advice I slowly implemented, and I truly feel it changed me into a different hygienist and person all around.
The first thing she said was, “Yes- what your daughter is going through what a lot of hygienists go through. That is normal but she needs to get involved!” The first way she recommended getting involved was going to continuing education courses and try to constantly take as many courses as she can. Continuing education courses not only help us keep our licensure and keep up us to date but kind of refresh us as hygienists and motivate us to be better. I come out of most CE courses ready and excited to implement what I have learned; it helps with the monotony of 1-hour patients back-to-back to back, right?! I also recommend that you take classes throughout your renewal period so that you are consistently feeling refreshed with new information or new motivations/tips and tricks to try. You can learn about so many new products to try as well.
The second thing she recommended was getting involved with my own body. She recommended taking time to do yoga for my body. Now, I have tried yoga and I am not great at it but stretching and breath work is so beneficial for not only our bodies but our minds. I have also implemented strength training into my work-out regiments and that has helped my back and neck tremendously. Strengthening my core has made a huge different in the pain I used to have in my back. A quick side story to combine these first two ways of getting involved. I was at an in person continuing education course and met a hygienist who had been a hygienist for 42 years. She was vibrant and so healthy and fit. I asked her what her secret was, and it was YOGA!
The third thing she said was “to get involved in changing my frame of mind”. I asked my mom what that meant, and my mom responded, “I don’t know what exactly she meant but that was the last thing she told me.” So, I have now had a few years to ponder that and here is what I have come up with. First, I had been in this mindset of oh my 2:00 o’clock patient didn’t show…. Do you see what I was doing there?? I wasn’t thinking of my patient as a patient I was thinking of the patient as a one-hour block of time to hurdle through before the next hour block of time etc., until I got to go home. Later I found out that the 2:00 o’clock patient had been in a car accident on her way to our office. I felt horrible that I had thought of the patient as a block of time and not as a human. (Let me be clear yes, I know we as hygienists all have a set amount of time to see our patients and that time is not unlimited so yes, we do see patients in blocks of time. But I am speaking to the way we think and treat patients.) So, I started really focusing on my patients, really getting to know them, asking them more questions about themselves as I was waiting for a sensor or doctors’ exam. I focused on trying to relate and really connect with each patient. Are there patients I clicked with much better than others? Yes of course! Are there some patients who I could tell would rather not talk much at all? YES! But 8/10 patients, I would say most patients wanted to converse and we would laugh, talk about tv shows or podcasts we were watching or listening too. I truly worked on relating to my patients and in time I would look at my schedule for the next day and I would see patients’ names and I was excited to see and visit with as I helped care for their oral hygiene. I would look at my schedule and I would say to my manager so many amazing fun patients are coming in tomorrow it’s going to be great. And those days and patients helped me change my mindset.
Since my mom’s hygienist left “change the frame of mind” open to interpretation I will also associate it to the pressure of being perfect. I don’t know about you as a hygienist, but when I left school, I felt this immense pressure to be the perfect hygienist, to say the right things and to always do everything perfect, perfect, perfect! I have learned to give myself grace. No one is perfect. We can try every day to do our best and of course treat our patients with the standard of care, but we are not perfect and that is okay. If you have worked in an office that has a morning huddle (which I think are great), when has the day ever gone as you planned in that morning huddle? NEVER!!!! There are so many things that are out of our control as a hygienist. Waiting for a doctor’s exam, a patient arriving late, technology issues, operatory issues, the list goes on and on, you know this! But what helped me in those times of looking at the clock and thinking oh my gosh I have seven minutes left in the appointment…. I still need the doctor to come in here and not chat my patients ear off…. I still need to place fluoride varnish AND flip my operatory over….. how am I going to do all of that?! Well, the thing is that I didn’t have control over some of that. My best advice is to remember that and to focus on the patient in your chair. If the patient in the chair feels like you are going to be rushing them out the door, or that you are frustrated with the doctor or whatever circumstance that is out of your control, the patient will not want to come back and be seen by you or maybe that office again. It is okay to apologize to the patient and let them know the doctor is coming, and that they know we are ready for the exam. While you wait for the doctor spend time educating, scheduling their next appointment, getting to know them, and connecting with them. Then when you bring the next patient back make sure to say thank you so much for waiting, it’s great to see you again or it’s so nice to meet you, let’s get you back! If you make each of your patient’s time with you feel valued and appreciated, you can have patients who are happy to come back and see you.
I would also like to recommend two things that also helped me out of my rut- education and community. I had the opportunity to become a clinical instructor at a dental hygiene school about 3 years into my dental hygiene career I truly feel that I became a better hygienist by being able to explain and teach students. I felt that explaining how to do instrumentation techniques, or explaining why I do something helped me solidify the things I knew. Being at a college also helped me stay very up to date and continually learning other tips and tricks from other hygienists! You may be reading this thinking; well, Sarah, I don’t have that same opportunity to teach at a college. That is okay. Maybe something you can do instead, is to ask yourself the why you do the things you do during your appointment. Why is the OCS so important? That can open a door to you doing research on nodes, muscles joints etc. and can help you learn. Deep dive into the things that aren’t your favorite things to do or skills you don’t feel as confident in and try to immerse yourself to become an expert in those things!
Community! I do hope that you are a part of your association, within our dental hygiene association we have components that meet, and you literally be among other hygienists that are in your physical area, and you can network. You can make new friends and meet up with old friends and really get to talk to other hygienists, that may have similar feelings of being a rut too. Being able to bounce ideas and get advice from others who truly understand situations you may be in, is so helpful. I hope this has helped you if you are stuck in a rut. If you are in a rut, you are the only one who can get yourself out. You can do it and feel excited about your career again. You have got this!
xoxo, Sarah Bateman, RDH
Sarah has been a dental hygienist for eleven years and has been in the dental field for 17 years. She lives on a ranch with her husband and their little boy who is almost a year old. Sarah has worked private practice and was a clinical instructor and professor at the Utah College of Dental Hygiene for 8 years before she had her baby and moved to their dream ranch in Idaho. She still temps in private practice two times a month right now while enjoying baby cuddles.
Dental Hygienist Spotlight: Helen
Name: Helen
Currently going to school where? When are you graduating? Seattle Central College, June 2018
What do you love so far about dental hygiene? I love interacting with patients and providing them with the best care possible.
Your favorite subject in hygiene school? My favorite subject in hygiene school is local anesthesia.
What do you love (qualities/style of teaching, etc) in a professor/clinical instructor? I am a visual learner so I enjoy powerpoint presentations. I like having demos at the start of clinical sessions and hands on practice so I can have the actual experience during clinical sessions.
What are you hoping to do after you graduate (like where you want to work/what kind of practice?) I am hoping to work at my private practice that I have been working as a dental assistant for the past 5 years. I would also like to try temping around at other offices to see what other offices are like.
Any funny stories from hygiene school? I cannot remember any funny stories so far but if I do, I’ll make sure to share it on my page.
What interested you in starting a DH school vlog? I started dental hygiene school by creating an Instagram account to document my journey throughout the program but as I entered my 2nd year I thought it would be great to show others who are interested in the profession to see what dental hygiene school is like through vlogs of dental hygiene school and parts of my daily life which I post weekly videos on YouTube. I am hoping to spread the awareness of the profession and hopefully create videos to give tips and advice in the near future to those who are interested in becoming a dental hygienist too! My Instagram account is _dentalhygiene and my videos can be viewed through the link in my bio.
Any advice for a hygiene student just starting out? Dental hygiene school can get pretty overwhelming with the amount of course load and clinical hours to fulfill. Try to balance your life out and take it day by day. Find time for yourself to keep doing the things you enjoy and everything will be ok in the end. Teamwork is key so make sure you are always communicating and helping your classmates out.
Do you know a hygienist that is amazing and should be spotlighted? Email us @ hygieneedge@gmail.com.
Dental Hygienist Spotlight
Name: Rebecca Comstedt
Graduation: I graduated from Missouri Southern State University in 2006.
What are you doing now?
I am currently working 4 days per week for a general DDS. There are three hygienists in the practice, and the DDS is looking to hire an associate in the near future. I am passionate about patient education, presenting a simple (yet accurate) message to the patients, and creating a system/process to improve oral health. I want to change the oral health conversation and improve oral health understanding. We are seeing periodontal disease in younger ages (just as we are seeing more chronic systemic disease in younger ages); if we can change the condition of the mouth, we can change the condition of the body. This happens when we address Biofilm, Bacteria and the Body. When it comes to addressing the body, nutrition is the foundation, so we need to be informed on basic nutrition (I've come to love the Juice Plus supplement, and the research they have on improving gingival health). RDH Companion is a resource that provides the RDH with patient education materials that connects oral/systemic health, and offers a variety of methods to improve the biofilm, bacteria and body. We also seek to present this information in a language the patient can understand and appreciate.
Any advice for dental hygiene students?
You are entering a field that is on the cusp of great change. The medical community can no longer ignore how the bacteria in our mouth relates to the body; as a hygienist, you are on the front line of teaching the patient how to kill the bugs and heal the seal! Connect with your ADHA association to stay in the know and in relationship with other RDH's, be confident in your education (you are more that a teeth scraper!!), and take care of your body!
If you have an amazing hyginenist you'd love highlighted, email us their info @ hygieneedge@gmail.com.
Hygienist Spotlight- Krystal Frankfurt
Name: Krystal Frankfurt
From: Grew up on a dairy farm in Gibbon, MN. Lived in Australia, Germany, Nevada, and currently; Montana.
Where and when you Graduated DH School: Minnesota State University, Mankato -May 2012. Studied abroad in Australia and got to visit the “Crazy Dentist” of Australia
Favorite Part of Dental Hygiene: Knowing that I can help someone and make a difference in their life and health!
Funny story from school or practice? Oh boy, which one! I will start with the most recent. I was doing my chart notes when I noticed my patient from earlier that day was checking out at the front desk. I saw their date of birth on the top of my chart read todays date, so I exclaimed “[Patients name]! Happy 48th birthday! Hope you have a great birthday!” and their blank expression turning into a confused looked smiled back with no words exchanged. As I turned back and continued in my chart notes, I thought to myself “that’s weird they didn’t say anything, maybe I did the math wrong”. I continued writing when I realized I had someone else’s chart! It was at that point I completely turned red because I not only called my patient the wrong name/age but gave them a “happy birthday wish” that turned out to be 8 months ahead.
In the military I was instructed to called my patients by their rank and last name. I had been working for about 3 months mind you, calling them by their rank and last name. Well one day, the patient I called back started laughing. When we got to the patient room and they informed me they had to tell me something. I was shocked to find out SSG wasn’t pronounced S-S-G but STAFF SERGENT! (and you can imagine all the other ranks I butchered.) It all made sense why sometimes my patients were unsure when I was calling them back and received lots of smiles.
One day when I got home my husband informed me his tooth just “fell out!” I looked inside his mouth and indeed he did lose something, but rather than “his tooth”, it was a crown. Coincidently it was hailing out and we were about to get in the car to head to the dentist. I asked if he had remembered to bring his crown. He dug in his pocket grabbing his white crown to confirm he had it and then accidentally dropped it on the ground. WHILE it was hailing. We spend hours digging, sorting, and deciphering what could be a crown or hail. After hours of only finding hail, we gave up and spent a big chunk for a new crown.
Last one is the greatest memory from hygiene school. I laugh every time I tell this story! I placed fluoride varnish on my patient and told them not to eat or drink for 8 hours. Later I ran into their mom I thanked her for her son helping me out. That’s when I found out it all went well except he was starving! I had accidentally told them 8 hours instead of saying nothing hard or crunchy for 4-6 hours. At least we know the fluoride was absorbed!
Eight grade I knew I wanted to go into dental hygiene. My dad went to the dentist for routine care and they found a lump on his jaw. After referring him, he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He was able to catch it in Stage 1 and after going through chemo and radiation, he is now 13 years cancer free! That’s when I knew I wanted to pursue hygiene.
Any advice for a dental hygiene student? Stay positive and keep working! Be proud of the things you’re learning—everything you learn will help you to help others!
Hygienist Spotlight- Sarah Theil
Name: Sarah Theil
Dental Hygiene School: San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico
What got you interested in Dental Hygiene? I wanted to be a photographer. I moved up to Provo and was all signed up to attend at the time it was called Utah Valley State College. I was driving down the road and saw a sign for a Dental Assisting school. I remember calling my mom and telling her I unenrolled from UVSC and signed up for dental assisting school, all within a matter of an hour. HAHA. I was a dental assistant for 4 years before I realized how awesome dental hygiene was. I wanted to be able to make my own schedule and see my own patients. Most importantly, I knew one day I wanted to be a mom and I wanted to be able to make enough money in a few days that I could stay home and raise my family the rest of the time. So off to hygiene school I went! That was 11 years ago.
What do you do for work now? I work clinically one day a week. I still have those few patients left that threaten to never get their teeth cleaned as long as they live if I don't do it. I am a secretary on the Dental Hygiene Committee of the NM Board of Dental Healthcare. I am a dental hygiene examiner for two different examining companies. And most recently, I started a company called CE Zoom!
What is CE Zoom? CE Zoom is the only fully automated CE management platform. From one website, a person can be notified of a course, register for it, verify their attendance, take a mandatory survey, receive a digital copy of their CE certificate, track that course against their individual state's rules and regulations, and in participating states have their completed CE transcript submitted straight to the state for license renewal or and audit. This is a great tool for a dental professional, however, it's even better for a company or conference to help manage their presenters, registration, surveys, and certificate distribution! AND from a state dental boards viewpoint, it's a fantastic way to do an audit. The system separates everything into different categories based off of what each individual state's rules are so when the person doing the audit receives a transcript, they don't have to think about what course goes into which category. It is all done and separated out for them. If the person doing the audit relieves a transcript, they don't have to think about what course goes into which category. It is all done and separated out for them. If they person doing the audit doesn't feel like a course was good for that state, they can deny the course and the system will automatically recalculate knowing if that individual passed their audit or not. This is a very basic description of what CE Zoom can do. If you want to know more, get on the site and sign up for a free account!
What is one piece of advice that you'd give yourself as a dental hygiene student? Everything you learn in dental hygiene school IS and could be useful to you at some point! I remember we had to give so many presentations and I could not figure out why and hated every second of it! Now, I know why that was so important and am so grateful that I learned how to do that! I have to stand in front of group of people all the time now and present my company and I honestly feel because I was forced and taught how to do it so early on that this is now very easy for me to do. Also, I wish I had started networking and being more involved in the American Dental Hygiene Association sooner in my career. I could know and could have made so many more connections if I had been networking and volunteering since the day I graduated rather than for the last 5 years.
What is one thing you would want to tell a dental hygienist who is interested in starting their own company? It's not easy. I could count on my hands and feet how many times I wanted to give up. This is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. It's kind of funny- the reason I was really gung ho about starting CE Zoom and making this work is because I wanted to be able to stay home full time with my kids. The COMPLETE opposite has happened. Now I'm gone even more because I have to travel so much to teach people on how amazing this program is. I know though that in a few years things will change and I will be able to to be home more with my kids. However, I absolutely love the opportunities I have gained from all of this! I would have never met all the people I have and made the connections I have if I never started this! I would still be working my 2 days a week and filling in for hygienists when they go out of town, which would have been fine. I remember in February I was in Ohio at dinner with some "big dogs" of a company and I remember just sitting there thinking "Wow! Two years ago I would have NEVER imagined I would be at dinner with these two guys talking about our families like we are old friends." Now I have been invited to be a member of the Crest Smile Council and I get to spread my voice about the importance of CE and why it's important for dental professionals to care about the continuing education they are going to.
Thank you Sarah for letting us highlight you in our latest Hygiene Edge Hygienist Spotlight! If you know a hygienist worth spotlighting, email us at hygieneedge@gmail.com.
Dental Hygienist Spotlight
Avalene Roberts has been in the dental field for over 19 years. She is a mom of two little ones, is the head hygienist for a busy New York practice and is the CEO of DDS Connections, a nation wide dental employment web site. She is one busy lady. She thought of everything when creating DDS Connections for dental professionals. The website gives an interactive experience where dental professionals can search for employees by years of experience, zip code, pay rate, languages spoken, full/part time or temporary work and of course position. Some unique features about DDS Connections are that it allows you to upload a personal professional photo, post case pictures and add video references from past teachers or employers. You can become part of the DDS Connections community at www.ddsconnections.com. We here at hygiene edge are happy to support a fellow hygienist as she helps hygienists reach their employment goals!