5 Things No One Ever Tells you About Dental Hygiene School
Whether you’re just starting out in school, or getting ready to jump into a dental hygiene program, get ready for the ride of your life. You’ll learn a lot, realize many things about people and yourself, and find out how tricky but exciting this profession really can be. Have you chatted with your dental hygienist before about their school experience?
Here are a few things that your RDH may not have told you about before jumping into your school applications:
1. Blood, sweat and tears will go into your degree- and it’s not just from you. Working in dentistry can be tricky because of the patients feelings about being in your chair. I still can’t get over how so many people sit down in my chair, and the 1st thing they say is “I hate being at the dentist or I hate the dentist”. Do they say things like that to other people and professions? Because of this, sometimes appointments have a bit of anxiety around them. But, you are the provider, the patient trusts you, and you got what it takes for the appointment to go smoothly.
2. Your instructors want what’s best for you. I’m not going to lie- being graded on work you’re doing is hard, especially getting feedback right away that may not be want you want to hear. It’s difficult! But, instructors want you to succeed! They want you to learn, grow, and become your best. Unfortunately, sometimes there’s a grade attached to that growth.
3. You’ll make lifelong friends in school. No one really understands what it’s like to go to dental hygiene school unless you’ve been through it. Your classmates will become like family to you over those 2 years- someone who can listen and commiserate with you. Even when you see each other years after school and life has changed, you’ll still be instant friends.
4. Start saving now for boards. To get your license as a dental hygienist in many states, you’ll need to take a written and clinical board exam. Unfortunately, they aren’t cheap, and aren’t part of your school tuition. Start saving now since you’ll need at least $3000 for these exams, to pay your patient, get new instruments if you choose to, etc, in your last semester of school.
5. You’ll get tired of your assigned scrub color real fast. I’m not going to lie- it’s been 12 years since I graduated dental hygiene school and I just bought myself a pair of royal blue scrubs. I couldn’t bring myself in buying them again, especially since the last time I owned a pair of royal blue scrubs, I burned them on the last day of school in a class bonfire. But, wearing them definitely brings back fond members of school, the patients that I met and treated, the lessons I learned from my instructions, and the friends I made while in school.
So, if you’re just jumping into school, or in the thick of if as the semester is winding down, you’ve got this! You will definitely learn more than you ever though and come out of the program stronger than before starting.
Thoughts about Washington's Teeth
Last year, when we could travel (anyone else missing traveling?!), I headed to Washington DC to see 1 specific thing- Washington’s “wooden” teeth. Of course, we travelled all over the city and area to site see, but definitely checking out this set of dentures at Mount Vernon was at the top of the must see list.
Some fun facts about these teeth:
1. They weren’t made out of wood. Though they were stained over the years which makes them have a wood grain look, they’re actually made out of ivory, teeth (human and horse), brass, copper and lead.
2. Washington was aware how having ill fitting dentures changed the shape of his face. He noticed how his mouth seemed wider, bigger, and didn’t look like him.
3. He hired dentists from all over to work on his teeth. The farthest was a dentist from France in the US working on soldier’s teeth.
As I was looking at them and the exhibit surrounding these dentures, I kept thinking how important teeth and a smile are to a person. Washington spent so much time, money, and thought on his teeth, constantly having them fixed and adjusted. He had the best professionals look into his oral health, and try to have the best second option in the country as his second set of teeth. This powerful leader was concerned about a “small” part of the human body.
And look at us! We are lucky enough to work with these precious patients and this important part of the human body and care for overall health every day. Just like Washington put so much care and though into his mouth, we get to work with people who also care, and get to be part of that care.
Next time I jump into a saddle stool, I’ll definitely be thinking about the importance of the patient, their teeth, and how their happiness can be tied to this short 1 hour appointment.
Ways to Support Dental Hygienists Right Now with Crest + Oral-B
Happy National Dental Hygiene Month! This is definitely our favorite month for so many reasons. Celebrating some of our favorite people, dental hygienists, is definitely one of the highlights! We believe it’s so important to celebrate our profession and colleagues, so we’ve compiled a few ideas that we’ve been doing this month:
Call a mentor and express your gratitude for them. This call may be very short, but it definitely can make a big impact on a dental hygienist in your life. Celebrate them and how they’ve helped you accomplish your career and life goals through their guidance and example.
Take a CE course created by a dental hygienist. We all know how smart dental hygienists are. Let’s learn from each other by supporting and celebrating each other. Did you know that Crest and Oral-B offer free CE courses on dentalcare.com - including dental hygienist created content! Choose from more than 150 FREE dental continuing education courses. DentalCare.com also offers a variety of educational resources and new product information to enhance your career.
Support a dental hygienist owned company. There are several amazing RDH run companies that could use a little love right now. It has been a hard year for everyone, so making a purchase from them could definitely turn their month around.
Make a daily commitment to the oath we made at graduation and be a bit better each day. We all stood up at our dental hygiene graduation and recited the Dental Hygiene Oath committing ourselves to helping patients and our communities improve their health, keep learning, and to do no harm. Print off the oath and hang it in your operatory as a daily reminder to be a bit better each day.
We can definitely make it through this tricky time by supporting each other. We want to say thank you to all of you, our amazing friends and community members, for supporting us as well! We have been so grateful for you for helping us and all RDHs through a crazy time we never imagined in dentistry. Knowing we have such an amazing community makes us #hygienistproud.
And a big thank you to Crest + Oral B for supporting dental hygienists with Hygienist Proud! Learn something new this month through www.dentalcare.com where you can find hundreds of free CE classes and professional resources.
*This post was in sponsorship with Crest and Oral-B
How to Let Your Practice Know You're Leaving
Recently we’ve received this question from a friend, and wanted to include our response here since we’re sure other hygienists are experiencing similar situations! It has definitely been a weird year for dentistry and as a dental professional. Just know that we are here to support you through this crazy time!
Question: When you’ve had to change offices how have you found it goes best when you tell them you’re going someplace else?
Answer:
This is a great and very tricky question! We all go through this situation at least once in our career, and it is never an easy conversation to have. But, you can do it! The buildup to having the conversation is usually worse than the actual conversation.
Here are a few ideas and questions to think about to help make the best decision for you and your employer:
1. What are your states labor laws? Do they require a 2 week notice, 1 month, or doesn’t require any? Even if you state doesn’t have an labor laws with needed time after submitting notice, you’ll want to feel out the relationship between you and your office. If you have a good relationship with your office, at least 1 month notice would be great for them to find a replacement for you.
2. How does your office usually communicate? Through email? In person meetings? Messages? You can mirror the same communication styles for your news of leaving. However, in person is always the most professional.
3. Set up a time to meet with the HR manager, dentist, or office manager who is over the office staff. Take the time to sit down and let them know you’re leaving your office, instead of hoping to have a second to fit it in. Nothing is worse than having a serious chat in sterilization in the middle of a busy day with everyone, patients and employees, listening in.
4. Try not to tell anyone in the office or patients you’re leaving until you tell your manager/dentist. Good word travels fast, especially in a small office. It is better to hear the news of you leaving than hearing it through the grapevine. Keep it profession and respectful by waiting to spread the word until the proper people know.
5. Be open to the fact that they may have you not work your last 2 weeks/1 month/4 months/whatever. Changing employees, especially in a small business, can be stressful. Don’t take it personally if they let you know they found a replacement before you were ready to leave. Business owners can sometimes be fearful of not having the proper employees, and go into survival mode when someone quits. They quickly try to find the best replacement for you, and may forget proper communication in the process.
Have you left an office before for a new opportunity? What worked for you, and what didn’t?
Ways to Support RDHs in a time of Change featuring Colgate Professional Direct
So, here we are, months into a global pandemic with changes in PPE, how we practice, how we talk to patients, how we update their health histories, how we think about dental treatment, and more. Who would’ve thought just a few months could disrupt the way we’ve been working for years? But, one of the biggest things I’ve learned throughout the last few months is how important it is to support one another as dental hygienists and dental offices and support our patients. It may take a bit of creativity to show our support now since hugs, handshakes, and meeting up is off the table, but there are lots of ways we can support and show how much we care.
Show patients you care by following up with their home care and your recommendations by using Colgate Professional Direct. This is an amazing resource for dental professionals to be able to recommend products straight to a patient’s phone, and then have an easy way to order them to help improve their overall and oral health. Plus, you as a recommending clinician can receive 10% of the sales that your patient purchases, or you can donate that percentage to Colgate’s Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program, which helps kids receive needed dental care. Donating is just another way to support our communities and patients.
Support your local ADHA component. This is a weird time for all, especially being able to connect with other dental hygienists. Reach out to your local component to see if you can help with their social media or website to help build a community right around you. You could take on a simple project of making videos for other RDHs to share on their social media accounts.
Support your dental office by keeping an open mind. I’m not going to lie-working right now is tough! But, being positive can hopefully keep spirits up as you work throughout the day. Bring in donuts one day, offer to help with sterilization or cleaning other ops, whatever you think you office would love.
And don’t forget about supporting one of the most important people- YOU! Take time to rest and recharge, especially when we don’t have a lot of time during our clinical day. Do something you love just because you deserve it!
So, how are you supporting others, and yourself, at this crazy time?
A huge thank you to Colgate for supporting us at Hygiene Edge! You’ll definitely want to sign up for the Colgate Professional Direct website to start recommending specific products to your patients. After registering, you can easily pick products for a patient, then email or text them your recommendations. Then, the patient can purchase whatever you’ve recommended right from the site, and have it mailed straight to them, making a trip to the drug store after their appointment a thing of the past. You can also follow up with patients after the 1st recommendation, and see who has purchased products and who hasn’t. Let us know when you register! We’d love to know your experience!
An Analogy Roundup
Getting a patient to comprehend, and then accept, a treatment plan is a very important aspect of our jobs as dental hygienists. If a patient doesn’t accept a treatment plan, it benefits neither party. The patient doesn’t receive the necessary dental care, and the office doesn’t receive the production to support their employees.
Increasing case acceptance is something that is usually learned as you go in dentistry and catered to each patient. It is very important to be able to explain treatment needs in an efficient manner. One technique I find useful is using simple analogies to create a comparison between two things. This typically helps to clarify the treatment plan and create a better visual for the patient. For example, in my practice I state:
“You have a (Mild, Moderate, Severe) infection in your gums where bacterial toxins have caused your body to destroy the bone that holds your teeth in.
ANALOGY TIME: Think of your teeth like a fence post, you want a lot of dirt around that post to keep it strong and sturdy. If you lose some of the dirt, or bone, then the tooth can become mobile and possibly be lost.
To prevent this from progressing you will need a therapy (avoid saying deep cleaning) where we remove all of the toxins off of the teeth so that the disease doesn’t progress.”
From there I then go on to explain that the patient needs each quadrant treated with specialized therapy, instruments, and products to stop the progression. My hope in using the analogy is to streamline the patient's ability to understand that they don’t want to lose any more “dirt/bone” around their teeth and therefore accept the treatment plan. In discussing this with other hygienists I found that we all use several analogies to all get to the same result of case acceptance.
Below is a list of many analogies used by hygienists that you may feel helpful in incorporating into your practice. If you use a different one that works well let us know.
PERIODONTITIS
Periodontitis is like diabetes; it can only be controlled but not cured, so it's important to do perio maintenance appointments and practice good home care to keep it under control.
Periodontal disease is like a termite eating away at the bone. You don't know you have it until it's too late
Explaining periodontal therapy like weeding a garden-the calculus is the weeds and you can't have a good looking garden with weeds everywhere.
PERIODONTAL PROBING
Perio pockets are like cleaning under fingernails. 1-3 is normal fingernails and 4+ is when you start getting into the long fake ones.
Explain probing depths by referring to my hand in a fist as a tooth, and my sleeve is the gums.. and use my finger to act as a probe to show how we measure/what we're measuring
PERIODONTAL POCKETS
Perio pocket is like gutters on a house and they need the leaves cleaned out
When measuring perio pockets for perio charting, I explain that it's like wearing a turtleneck sweater. You can put your finger in the first inch or so because it doesn't fit tightly around your neck, but further down, the turtleneck is hugging your neck more snugly. Your teeth and gums are sort of like that. There is a pocket around each tooth that should normally be 1-3 mm deep, then your gums are attached to the tooth. Then I go on to explain how cleaning pockets deeper than that is difficult etc.
Teeth are little castles and the motes are the pockets where all of the BAD nasty critters live
SENSITIVITY AFTER PD
Sensitivity after calculus is removed is like someone ripping a blanket off of you....you get that initial cold shock and then you get used to it.
CALCULUS
Calculus acts like a sliver under your tissues. If you had a sliver in your hand and you left it in there, your hand would get red, irritated and start bleeding. Same thing happens under your gums if plaque is left behind to harden.
Calculus is like barnacles stuck on the teeth.
RADIOGRAPHS
When patients deny X-rays, I ask them "Would you let a mechanic fix your car without lifting the hood? They can't see through the hood and we can't see through the teeth to diagnose."
BRUSHING TECHNIQUES
Brushing your teeth is like cleaning fine China. Clean them gently with a soft brush, not scrubbing aggressively with a hard brush.
When brushing, imagine you are jeweler shining pearls & diamonds. The softer the brush, better the shine.
Brushing "hard " is like using an eraser. Scrub too hard-the paper gets all torn up…go gentle and it gets the job done!
Does your scalp bleed when you brush your hair? Uour gums shouldn't bleed when you brush your teeth either.
Tell them when you dry brush with the toothbrush it's like "sweeping before you mop".
Don't rinse with water after brushing with toothpaste you don’t want to wash away all of the product. Would you moisturize your skin and then take a shower?
FLOSSING
When a patient complains that they don't floss because they bleed, I say it's like going to the gym for the first time in a long time. At first you're sore (like your gums bleeding) but when you do it like you're supposed to, you're not sore (and your gums don't bleed).
Flossing is like washing your hands without cleaning between your fingers and once you start the habit, it's like working out. I demonstrated with my hands and the faces I see are priceless!
Flossing is like cleaning the space between their finger and nail... and it gets just as dirty.
Starting to floss is like learning to play the guitar. Your gums/fingers will be sore at first but will toughen up the more you practice.
WATER PIK
Waterpik vs flossing: Waterpik is like washing your car with a hose, flossing is like taking a sponge to your car which will remove dirt better? Both together leaves it squeaky clean!
SEALANTS
Sealants are like putting grout on flooring, you use it to seal the cracks so no trash gets in them, we seal the teeth so no bacteria or foods get caught on the pits and fissures (little cracks).
CAN’T YOU JUST DO THE FREE CLEANING?
If you work on the crowns of the teeth before addressing what's going on UNDER the gumline, it's like putting a nice, pretty house on a shoddy foundation!
Compare it to trying to rinse a bowl you have used to microwave oatmeal- there is a sticky film that has to be scrubbed- teeth are smooth like the bowl, plaque is sticky like the oatmeal and must be mechanically removed with specialized instruments.
Doing a prophy instead of periodontal therapy is like going to a salon and only getting your ends washed and not your scalp and roots.
In your case, having a “regular cleaning" is like painting over rust.
It’s like you have a broken foot but you are asking me to give you a pedicure.
ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSHES
Use electric brushes slow and let it do the work like driving a car slow through cars wash... if you drive through fast (like long swipe brushing), car doesn't get clean.
Have you ever mixed a cake mix by hand? It takes twice as long, and there is still lumps left behind, versus if you use a hand mixer. Power toothbrushes do a superior job in less time than a manual.
Would you rather wash your clothes by hand or with a washing machine? Teeth are the same.
IMPLANTS
Think of a bone graft as pouring cement for the foundation of a home; before getting a dental implant.
CROWN OVER RCT
Root canal tooth needs a crown: a tooth with a root canal is like a tree that has died. It still stands but it's no longer living and is weak and brittle. The crown is required to strengthen and protect it. (Or an apple without the core.)
ARESTIN
It's like trying to scrape ALL the peanut butter out of the jar, no matter how much you scrape you will never be able to remove every bit of it, the same goes with periodontal therapy, no matter how much I scale, irrigate, and clean below the gums, I'll never be able to remove all the bacteria. I explain how Arestin will continue to kill the bacteria causing the infection for an additional 21 days after treatment.
It's like taking out the extra full trash bag that has sat for however long they haven't been to the dentist. After you take the bag out, you need to bleach the can to get rid of the germs causing the smells. Without the Arestin, you haven't treated the entire problem.
LASER
Explain the laser by comparing their necrotic tissue to a bacteria harboring dirty kitchen sponge. I'm gonna get rid of the sponge! Or leaving a band-aid on a wound for months.
DENTURE CARE
Not taking dentures out at night is like never taking off your shoes. Eventually your feet would get nasty and infected, the same thing happens with your mouth
CARIES
Your tooth is like a peanut M&M. You have a hard outer shell (enamel) and inner softer chocolate center (Dentin) and the peanut is like a pulp or nerve. A cavity progresses slowly through the outer candy shell, but once it gets into the soft center it moves quickly to the peanut and needs attention before it reaches the peanut center.
We’d love to your know favorite analogy you use regularly! Which one’s work for you?
Dental Hygienist Spotlight: Patricia Blundon
We love learning about dental hygienists and how they can fix a problem! Dental hygienists are definitely some of the smartest people we know, and Patricia is no exception. She noticed a problem of the difficulties of seeing while using a mirror and suction, and decided to combine them with the Clip Mirror. Learn more about Patricia in our interview below!
Where did you go to hygiene school? I graduated from the Dental Hygiene Program at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada in 1992 and previously from the dental assisting program at the same college in 1988 so I am almost 30 years in the dental field.
What inspired you to go into dentistry? I decided on the Dental Hygiene program in my last year of high school and dentistry has been my passion now for almost three decades.
Why did you decide on developing the Clip Mirror? The Clip Mirror idea came to me about ten years into my career. I was working on a patient with a super strong lower lip and a protruding tongue. With the Cavitron in one hand and mirror in the other and the patients tongue pushing out the saliva ejector, I thought to myself “why did this need to be so hard?”. I then imagined having a mirror clipped directly onto the saliva ejector to free up a hand. The usual question is “So why doesn’t someone invent this?” then I thought to myself, who better to invent a dental tool than a dental hygienist? So then it began, I decided I would learn everything I needed to know to become an inventor. I went to the library and gathered and read all the books I could find on inventing, patents, licensing and intellectual property. I started by searching for prior art which is just a fancy term for has anyone else made something like this. I learned to navigate the USPTO (patent and trade office) and read and researched every patent possibly similar to my own invention. I had binders of patents printed off, progress notes and alike and read so many patents that I actually learned to proficiently write my patent application for the Clip Mirror. So after more reading I did just that and with a few hundred dollars for drawings and a reduced small entity filing fee, I was on my way. I then decided to put to use the information I learned on licensing and royalties and tried to find a partner to co-create the Clip Mirror. I hit one road block after another. One company would not sign a confidentiality agreement thus protecting my intellectual property while others were not willing to invest or take a chance on me. I became discouraged until one day out of the blue, I received a phone call from a dental hygienist who told me that I needed to just go ahead and start manufacturing because the larger manufacturers in her experience did not want to fairly compensate independent inventors. This one phone call changed everything and I began to delve into manufacturing mode. I knew the design I wanted and began to phone anyone and everyone who would talk to me about dental mirror manufacturing. The steel for the clip had to be medical grade 400 series so it would not rust and the clip itself would be designed to snap securely to the saliva ejector while still allowing a clinician to rotate it if they needed. The rolled clip ends would allow a line of floss to be secured as an added precaution. I began the manufacturing process, building my website and all the small business essentials including a Medical Device Establishment License with Health Canada. I then began market testing and research for a few years until introducing the Clip Mirror by DH Essentials at home and across the globe in January of 2017. Then 2020 and Covid-19 changed the face of dentistry forever. So much uncertainty and the realization that dental aerosols were more dangerous than we could ever have imagined, I was thinking of redesigning the Clip Mirror for the HVE but with my clinical work shutdown and a huge financial investment required, I was nervous. So, I did nothing until one day I received a call from a fellow RDH and educator who loved The Clip Mirror for SE and had been using it with her students. She said “the Clip Mirror is amazing and you need to make it to fit the HVE. Once again, I jumped back in to full production mode, thanks to Marcy.
What is the role of ergonomics for dental hygienists? Since I myself struggled to provide treatment for some patients, I designed the Clip Mirror to make the job of the Dental Hygienist/Clinician easier on the body and with greater ease and efficiency. As the population ages, a dental clinician may find oneself using less than ideal posture while craning their necks and contorting their bodies to complete necessary treatment. I would encourage dental care providers to try all available ergonomic products to find what works best for them to help maintain proper posture. As we all know dentistry takes a huge toll on your body. For those who have struggled in the past like I have, the Clip Mirror has been a great body and time saver. Many comment on the brightness and clarity of the Ultravision mirror from Germany and users report they find it very helpful when they have a patient who cannot recline and need to Cavitron the maxillary lingual.
What are the pro/cons of owning your own business? User feedback has been great with the Clip Mirrors and I love corresponding and meeting Dental Professionals from all around the world. I enjoy reading and analyzing all the information available and there is plenty to decipher. For example, there are many products that claim to reduce aerosols but lack the requirements that science has shown to be effective like a large 8mm open ended HVE must be used and it must be used close to the area generating the aerosols, not stationary.
What advice do you have for others who are interested in inventing? I have to admit it is super exciting when one dreams of something and then through hard work and dedication it actually comes to life. I would love to help others attain their dream and know this excitement. It is so important to believe in yourself and that anything is possible with hard work and dedication. I totally believe in paying it forward and helping others. I would not be where I am today without the help of others and kindness of strangers.
A huge congratulations to Patricia for all her hard work and dedication to helping dental hygienists! Check out the Mirror Clip today!
Dental Social Media Hand Out, Just for YOU!
We are loving being back in clinic, seeing patients, and working with students. But secretly, we’re kind of missing the hours of CE classes being offered online for free while we were all home. We were lucky enough to even present some!
One class was all about Social Media for your office. We’ve shared some content ideas that you could be working on right now for your office, but now we’re including our quick hand out with more ideas for you to think about! It also includes steps to think about before posting anything. If you can’t answer YES to all the steps, it may not be the best idea to post it.
Download your own free HANDOUT right here!
Let us know your office’s social media, especially if you help run it! We’d love to check it out and support. Let us know your handle below!
Healthy People 2030 just released
Have you seen the new Healthy People 2030? If not check out the oral health objectives on the Healthy People website. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/oral-conditions
Several objectives are listed and are similar objectives we work on every 10 years. I sometimes wonder if we are making even small improvements. When I read through these objectives, I am reminded of the many barriers that we have as hygienists to preventing oral health diseases. I know that we are a key workforce in reaching these objectives though prevention. Prevention is more cost effective than restoration.
Sitting in an operatory and educating only 8-10 patients per day on proper home care in my limited amount of appointment time has always been a struggle for me. I have always had a desire for ALL to receive oral health education on a regular basis. Just as we see smoking cessation commercials everywhere, I have a dream to see oral health recommendations everywhere. Sadly in our system, oral health care seems the first to go when there are tight budgets.
One thing I do know is that a cost effective solution to better those objectives would be to better utilize the workforce that we do have of highly trained dental hygienists. If the barriers are reduced or removed it would increase access to care and lower overall costs.
I have listed a few of the objectives below where the dental hygiene workforce would be a cost effective way to improve oral health.
Adolescents
Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents with lifetime tooth decay
Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents with active and untreated tooth decay
***Allow dental hygienists to work in collaborations with dentists in school settings.
Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Reduce consumption of added sugars by people aged 2 years and over
**Allow dental hygienists to work in alternative settings such as pediatric physician offices, under a physician, to provide FL2 treatments, referrals and education to parents.
Older Adults
Reduce the proportion of older adults with untreated root surface decay
Reduce the proportion of adults aged 45 years and over who have lost all their teeth
Reduce the proportion of adults aged 45 years and over with moderate and severe periodontitis
**Allow dental hygienists to treat the home-bound population in collaboration with dentists.
Preventive Care
Increase the proportion of low-income youth who have a preventive dental visit
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who have dental sealants on 1 or more molars
***Allow dental hygienists to work in collaborations with dentists in school settings.
We don’t have a perfect system, but I do know that we can make small improvements to it. My hope is to see more legislation throughout the states to allow dental hygienists to better work with dentists to increase access to care.
A Letter to the Dental Hygiene Class of 2022
To the Class of 2022
Welcome to the best profession. And we’re not going to lie, can be one of the hardest.
This is definitely an interesting time to start hygiene school. Honestly, no one has ever started school at a time like right now. There have been lots of changes to your program, updates in protocols, and new ways of doing things that no many people have done before. Lots are for the better. Some you may not love, but that’s ok. We’re all trying to navigate the longevity of these changes.
Here is some advice as you embark into this new world of dental hygiene school.
1. Get a great planner or utilize Google Calendar like crazy. There will be lots of assignments in the first few weeks that will have due dates weeks out. Write then down immediately on the date they are due. Having them written down gets them out of your head and feels so much more manageable to see them on a calendar.
2. Be patient with your instructors and professors. This is the 1st time they’ve had a class start in the middle of a pandemic, and they’re getting new information from your institution, administrators, and the government each day. They may change policies in the middle of the semester or even after the first week, which isn’t want they want to do. Changing things last second is no fun for anyone! As changes come, you’ll be feeling them and it may be frustrating. But, please, be open minded to these changes and roll wit the punches.
3. Stay healthy! We know there is so much going on- reading, watching videos, study groups, and practicing instrumentation. However, it’s going to be so important to stay healthy, especially this semester. Make sure you’re drinking tons of water, sleeping as much as you can, and taking your vitamins. It’s going to be so important to be healthy to stay activity engaged in your classes and in clinic.
4. Stay positive. It’s so easy to go to class and feel everyone’s stress or negativity. We as instructors can totally feel it. And it spreads like wild fire. I remember in school, I didn’t feel to stressed at home in the evenings or on the weekends, but my stress was through the roof when I was around my classmates. Strive to be the one who sees the positive in each situation, learn from each failure, and keep things light when you fine your classmates start thinking or talking with negativity.
You’ve got this! We’re rooting for you and want this to be the best experience for you. Have a question, or need some support? Watch our videos and reach out to us. We’re here for you.
With so much love from some seasoned RDHs and instructors,
Jessica, Melia and Shelley, the Hygiene Edge Team