Keeping Your Dental Hygiene Career Healthy with Zyris
I can’t believe that I will be 16 years as a dental hygienist this spring. 16 years?! Honestly, when I was in dental hygiene school, I didn’t think I could last 2 years in private practice. I Still remember being in the very back corner operatory of my dental hygiene program, seeing a very difficult periodontally involved patient that has been coming in for 3 hours appointments every week. I was working on the last quad (finally) and was instrumenting Quad 4. As I was working with the patient, I specifically remember thinking “Is this it? This is what I’ll be doing for the next 40 years of my life?”
Well, I’m happy to stay that I am still a dental hygienist, still seeing patients, and still loving the dental field. If I could go back and talk to myself as a dental hygiene student, I would definitely give myself some advice.
Focus on your ergonomics from day one. In the last year, I have noticed some pain in my nondominant hand, especially when using a mirror or retracting tissues with the low volume suction while using the ultrasonic scaler. If I focused on using the correct techniques and correct instruments for retraction and water management, I may not be having this hand pain. I wish I started using the Zyris Isolite system earlier in my career! This technology not only helps the patient stay open with a bite block, but also helps with water management as it connects to the high volume suction. Not only has it helped my left hand prevent injury, it helps proper operator positioning since the patient can stay open and the extra light on the system.
Keep learning. Nothing prevents burn out more than learning. We know that dental hygiene can get repetitive and we tend to do similar procedures each hour. However, learning new techniques, new technologies, and the latest research to help patients keep each appointment interesting and increase patient care. Making time to attend continuing education courses and conferences is key to being the best dental hygienists for both yourself and for your patients.
Keep a network of dental hygiene friends. This group of RDHs is key to having professional discussions, work through difficult cases, and just relate on living a dental life. I love catching up with other dental hygienists since it shows how we are all in this together and reignites the passion for what we do every day.
What advice would you give if you could talk to you as a dental hygiene student?
A huge thank you to Zyris for supporting Hygiene Edge, dental hygienists, and promoting amazing patient care. We love their goals of empowering clinicians since we have the exact same goal. To learn more about the Zyris Isolite, check out our latest video and visit their website.
xoxo Melia Lewis, MEd, RDH