Things your Patients are Talking About: Smile Direct Club

We all know the ins and outs of Invisalign- initial radiographs, follow up appointments, impressions, photos, post op instructions, oral health education. This list goes on and on. And because of that, it can be pricey. And as we all know, patients love the cheapest options for their oral health.

In comes Smile Direct Club- an affordable option to Invisalign. Sounds perfect, right? Though it is cheaper and sounds like the dream treatment, it definitely is not.

First, the patient never has to set foot in a dental or orthodontic office. Sounds perfect, right? This can cause MAJOR problems for the patient since they never have to have their periodontal health checked, radiographs exposed and roots evaluated, or decay treated that could worsen with any kind of orthodontic treatment. Instead of going to an office, the patient takes their own photos with their phone and take impressions with a mail in kit. They do not require a bite registration with their evaluation.

Second, it is the same price for everyone. After the impressions and photos are sent to the company, they evaluate if the patient is a candidate for their treatment for a fee of $95. If the patient does qualify for the treatment, is it a flat fee of $150, no matter how many trays they need. Also, if only the maxillary qualify, it is the same price.

Third, occlusion and TMJ issues are not included in the treatment planning. This could cause major problems down the road, and cost a lot more money to fix the problems than the original price that an orthodontist would charge.

And fourth, the company does not directly work with insurance. The patient is responsible for all the upfront costs. Then, they are are to work with their insurance for reimbursement. Since they are a few company and not a typical way for orthodontic treatment, there is no guarantee insurance companies will pay anything for the treatment. 

So, if a patient brings up an "teeth straightening procedure that they saw on Pinterest", you'll hopefully know a little bit more about how to educate your patients on this new company.

What are your patients talking to you about? Let us know below!

Winner of The Double Gracey Anterior

Please send us your address to hygieneedge@gmail.com so we can send you your instrument. 

Double Gracey Anterior Instrument

This Double Gracey Anterior is a game changer for hand instrumentation in the anteriors. Check out our latest video to learn how to use it. Also, win your own by sharing this video from our Facebook page.

Grandma Calls Me A "Tooth Picker"

One time when I first graduated from dental hygiene school my sweet grandma introduced me to her friends saying that I was one of those…. “tooth pickers.” Then she made little tooth picking motions with her hands, and her and her little friends laughed. It was all in jest at the time, but I feel like we get this in our profession A LOT! Oh yes, you will be called a dental hygeeeenist, be asked if you went to school for this, be told from your patient that their daughter is one of these, but they really are a dental assistant. You may hear, “Can’t you just clean my teeth? It isn’t that hard, is it?”  I therefore would like to stand on my soap box for just a moment and shout out to the world just a FEW of the things I have to know/do as a dental hygienist.

1. The upper lip fuses at just 6 week when you are about 2-5mm in height.

2. There are about 500 abnormalities of the mouth and teeth that I had to memorize, recognize and know how to detect during an oral cancer screening.

3. There is a science to where I sit to work on you, how I hold the instruments, and the clothes I wear.

4. I have to know about film development and all the parts of the x-ray unit. Don’t get me started on the electron, protons, the tungsten target, or how to increase or decrease the kvp and my tube head angles to get a beautiful x-ray of your teeth.  

5. I had to know all of the nerves, blood vessels and muscles of the face so that I can get your need numb when you have an infection in your gums that you think I created.

6. I risk my life every day from potentially being exposed to diseases you may transfer to me or that may be caused by the repetitive motions that I have to do while working on you.

7. I had to take a national written board that is 8 hours that cost around $300.

8. I took special courses on how to treat children and geriatric patients, along with the oral health of the community.

9. I have to learn how to do and read research so that I can interpret it and better treat you. The p-vales, mean, median, modes, hypothesis and summary are our friends, or our enemy such as in the latest fiasco in the flossing debate!

10. I took several semesters of a class we call Perio, where I learned the names of hundreds, of the millions of bacteria in your mouth. Such as: Porphyromonas gingivalis, Streptococcus mutan , Granulicatella elegans, Neisseria subflava, S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and Rothia dentocariosa and my favorite, Adiacens actinomyces, just to name a few.

11. I also had to take 1-2 clinical boards where I must find a patient with heavy chunks of black calculus that will flip up into my hair and clog my suction for the 2 hour allotted time.

12. I will have to find about 120 of my own patients, for 3 hour appointments, to learn on including kids, adolescents, geriatric, healthy and periodontally involved patients. So that when I graduate I can do everything in a 30-60 minute appointment.

Wow, my list can go on and on. So next time you show up to get a check up and preventive cleaning from your dental hygienist, please educate yourself, be respectful, and remember that we are educated and licensed professionals. Okay, I will step down now:)

Ways To Hold The Prophy Cup

There are many ways to hold the prophy cup. Try something new and find out what works best for you. 

Meals for Sustained Energy for the Dental Hygienist

We invited Lauren Fowler, RDN and creator of the popular blog Mindful Meals to write out an ideal menu for dental hygienist to keep our energy up!  

The key is to having a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats in your meals for sustained energy for your body and brain throughout the day. Having fruits and veggies will also provide antioxidants and fiber.

 Breakfasts:

- Eggs, veggies, avocado, and fruit - Saute some veggies like peppers, onions, or mushrooms with scrambled eggs. Top with avocado. Add a side of fruit. The protein, healthy fats, and fiber in the meal will create sustainable energy and keep you satisfied longer.

- Smoothies with protein and/or healthy fats. Having a smoothie with fruit, as well as protein and healthy fats is a great, easy and convenient breakfast or snack idea. Adding greens will also boost the fiber and antioxidant content. One of my favorites is banana, almond butter, handful of spinach, almond milk, and hemp seeds. Using ingredients like a nut butter, chia, hemp, or flaxseeds, a good quality protein powder, or unsweetened coconut products are great additions.

- Avocado on whole grain toast and a hardboiled egg. Smash avocado on 1-2 slices of toast, using the avocado as a spread.

 Lunches:

- Soup or chili. These are great to cook up a big batch for the week and bring in for lunches. Some of my favorites are sweet potato black bean chili or a butternut squash coconut soup (I like to top this with pumpkin seeds).

 - Salads. Having a big green salad with veggies, a protein like hardboiled eggs, chickpeas, chicken, or tofu, and a fat like a olive oil salad dressing or avocado. You could also top it with some raisins or nuts/seeds.

 - Mexican Bowls. Make a bowl with brown rice or quinoa, black beans, sauteed peppers and onions, avocado, and salsa. You can make a batch of these at the beginning of the week for lunches, and vary the veggies or protein you want to add. 

Snacks:

- Carrots/peppers or whole grain crackers + Hummus - I like Mary's Gone Crackers brand

- Hardboiled egg

- Piece of fruit

- Trail mix with nuts/seeds and dried fruit - Trader Joe's has bunch of them, or you can make your own. 

- Smoothie

- Energy Balls (homemade) - There are a bunch of recipes here, and these are great when you're in a rush for time to pack a few of these for the day and grab one in between patients. My favorite store-bought bars are Kind and Larabars as well.

The key really comes in preparing for the week by making food ahead of time to pack for lunches and snacks, as well as making time for breakfast in the morning. Then, it's about reminding yourself that taking time for lunch or a quick snack helps re-energize you, so you have the energy to give your best to patients throughout the day too.

Getting To Know Us Here At Hygiene Edge

                                      Candi Kidd

We decided as a team that we should let you know more about those who run Hygiene Edge behind the scenes. So, it is my pleasure to spotlight one of our 4 founders- Candi Kidd. Candi wanted to be a dental hygienist when she was young because of her dental hygienist, whose name was also Candi. She would tease, "This Candi is good for your teeth," and that sealed the deal.

She attended the Utah College of Dental Hygiene from 2009-2011. At this time, it was my pleasure to be one of her clinical instructors. I could tell that she was going to be an amazing dental hygienist. How did I know? Well, because she had to fight for it. She had several hurdles come up while in school and I saw that with each one, she was determined not to let it get the best of her. One piece of advice she'd give herself if she was still in dental hygiene school is, "I would tell myself to get a routine for my day! To have a set time when I exercised, studied, cooked, and cleaned. I felt like I was in a constant "crisis" state in hygiene school and I know that systems and routines would have helped a lot."

When she graduated, she had to get creative in finding a job in a saturated market. I watched as her used the tips from the website Get Hired RDH to create an amazing online portfolio/resume to find her first hygiene job. At the same time, I received the opportunity to teach a Practice Management course for dental hygienists, in which Candi became a great resource for. She also became a huge advocate for xylitol and was able to present information on it on Good Things Utah, a local TV show. Candi's favorite part of being a dental hygienist is, "hands down, patient education."

Over the years, we stayed in touch. I saw how dedicated she was to the profession, so I told her, "Someday, we should write a book together," in which her reply was, "What has already been done." Her bigger views led us to dream up Hygiene Edge.

Even thought she is a successful dental hygienist, her most important work is being a mother. She has 3 beautiful children and is currently practicing mommyhood full time.

The Proper Way to Remove a Cotton Roll

Student Article Contest Winner

Congratulations to Liezl for winning this year's Student Article Contest! See her article below about effective study habits while in dental hygiene school. 

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Hygiene school may be the best years of your life because you can finally see the light on the other side of the tunnel. You know that if you are successful in this program, there is an end result, becoming a Registered Dental Hygienist. I can also say it may be the worst years of your life because it tests every ounce of your sanity, and studying to the point where you can't absorb anymore information. For me, it has been that but is has also been the best two years of my life because we all grew into one big family. This was our biggest support system because we were all in the same shoes and knew what we had to do. That being said, I have just began my journey of becoming a Registered Dental Hygienist. For the chapter I have recently closed, Hygiene School, there were many things I had to change in order to become what I, as well as my hygiene family, have successfully accomplished and I hop these tips will help you on your journey as well!

ORGANIZATION, NO PROCRASTINATION!

Professors will usually give you the syllabus of each of your classes before they start. Make sure you read this and know the important dates of tests, clinical, volunteering, ect. Keep an organizer you can write in and refer to when you need to. For the one that likes to be digital, I always added them to my calendar on my phone, along with other important personal dates/appointments outside of school so I knew if I had to study earlier due to an event, or I knew what I needed to read for a specific class. iCALENDAR for iPhone or iMac is a good way to organize these dates, and they can be color coded so you are able to see what is school/personal/work related.

STUDY SMARTER, NOT HARDER!

In the beginning, I used to read word for word the chapters we were assigned before doing anything else, but I would get frustrated and I really didn't have the time to do this for every subject. I had to find an easier way to study. I looked at the questions at the end of the chapter and then briefly read through the chapter to see if I was able to answer them. There are also objectives in the professor's syllabus of what they expect you to know during their lectures. I take this and use it as a guideline to make sure I know these objectives. When lecture time came, most of the time the information they presented answered the questions I couldn't find. If it didn't, or I wanted to learn more about a subject, I asked during that time.

BOOKS ARE YOUR FRIEND!

Make sure to look at all of your books and they almost ALWAYS have a link to register your book for supplemental materials. I highly advice you do this to be able to get more study material and to be ready for tests! It is very useful and helpful. I used this many times and did the tests (as well as the questions in the physical book) with my friends and study group so we were able to explain to each other our process of thinking for the correct answer, which helped when it came to test day! Some books don't have answers to the questions at the end of the book to cross reference if you are correct. SOMETIMES, if you register for the supplemental material online (should be free) they have the answers there. This may be helpful for you too!

Example of Evolve Website for supplemental information.

Also, if you don't want to carry heavy books around and are computer savvy, you can always buy the digital copy of a book (doesn't go well if you plan to sell your books though). PageBurst is an app from the company Elsevier for many hygiene books we use during hygiene school, and I was able to copy the photos to use in my Quizlets/Microsoft One Notes to refer to- very helpful also!

Example of Pageburst app

FLASHCARDS

This was always a good way to study for other because studies show that you retain more information if you write it out. To each his own! But for me, I disliked flashcards. I hate lugging them around, losing cards, and having piles of them in a box or desk to refer to later. A friend introduced me to a simpler way of writing information out with using a piece of paper, which I then did so that I kept a notebook with me to keep them all in the same place. I had a notebook for each subject.

Keeping the paper inside the notebook, you crease the paper in half, then with the right side of this paper, you would half it once more. One side would be a question and the other side would be the answer. When I studied, I would read the question on the left side with the right covered, then I would open that side to see if my answer was correct!

For the one that likes to be digital, I set up a table on a Microsoft One note and had on the left side a term or objective I needed to know, with the right side being the answer and/or a picture that can help me visualize the concept if it was needed. 

Example of One Note

To go even further, I also used a program called QUIZLET. This was a digital flashcard app I used for learning concepts and using it on the go. You can use this on your computer while you are studying, and then download the app on your phone. In this way, you are able to bring your information anywhere with you and test yourself when you aren't by your computer/physical flashcards. You can organize your "flashcards" by subject or concept. In this app there are others that share their digital flashcards, and sometimes they are questions in the books that we used for that class. Again, very helpful!

*If you pay their yearly fee, an added BONUS is that you are able to include pictures to the answer side. 

Example of Quizlet Layout (There is an automatic flashcard layout as well)

MICROSOFT ONE NOTE

For anyone that likes to be organized, and does not like lugging around notebooks, THIS IS THE BEST APP TO ORGANIZE YOUR NOTES! Bonus: You are able to download this app on your phone (beware: eats up memory, refer to Quizlet) and you can refer to your notes on this if you need it! This is an app that holds notebook you can customize for basically your LIFE. I made a "hygiene" notebook that contained all of my notes. In this notebook, you have "tabs" in which I used these tabs for every subject I was studying. In each tab, I had every chapter/concept that I was assigned to learn, homework I had to complete for reference if I needed it, and the lecture notes I took during class. It kept everything in one place, other than individual files on my computer. It was the best thing I have discovered. You won't be disappointed! Did I say that this is FREE?

YOUTUBE

Any concept or subject I had difficulty on (especially clinically), I always went to see if there were educational FREE videos that can break it down for me further, whether it was memorizing the B vitamins, to learning what area I had to be in for administering anesthesia. This is the best reference tool you can have when you are a visual learner.

DROPBOX

This app is an online storage website where it saves all your files you upload. I Loved this app because, again, you are able to acccess it with your comptuer. Our class made an account (FREE!) and created different folders for each semester, and each class. There we would save anything we had to download from each class and wanted to share (syllabuses, PowerPoints, ect.) That way, if I needed it when I haven't have my computer or I wanted to access a PowerPoint from my phone, I had it right in the app to see it. If I needed my group to see a file when doing group projects, we would upload them to this website and it was easily accessible. Since we did a lot of teaching in different subjects to each other, we would upload our PowerPoints here so we all had access to them. It was a very useful tool!

Example of DropBox

STUDY GROUPS

This is probably a big reason why I was able to pass the program. I had a couple of friends I always went to, to study anything and everything! We met in study rooms at school, outside of school, etc. to study for tests or explain our way of a concept if we didn't understand it. WRITE IT OUT! It was easier to see the big concept with little information on each one. It took a long time, but it was worth it! It was very helpful in getting another's point of view to understand the concept fully. I highly recommend finding two other people to study with. More than that it's just a party and it will not help you.

My study partner Rahim when we studied for a big test in Perio!

One last thing I will say- YOU WILL PASS! There will be a time (or many times) where you will question if you want to keep going of why you are in this program. Just keep telling yourself, YOU WILL PASS! Take the time to stop, breathe, and enjoy everything around you. It goes by quick! Hope these tips helped. Good Luck!

Arm Stretches For The Dental Hygienist

Check out Jessica's arm stretches for a healthy hygienist.