Modern Hygienist | Patient Care

The dental team is in a position to make a difference to those affected by cancer. Prehabilitation is comprehensive, anticipatory care for oral issues surrounding cancer before debilitating side effects of the disease or treatment develop.

As the founder of dentalhygieneanswers.com, Kara Vavrosky has heard a lot of questions this month. Here are some more of the ones that stuck out the most to her.

Have you ever had a tough time convincing your patient to brush and floss? After this week’s recent debacle about no flossing, I think we can all agree, improving oral hygiene is a challenge for most patients. With anti-flossing ads stringing across every media site, let’s review seven ways you can increase oral hygiene in your orthodontic patients.

In modern dental practices, a well-trained hygienist can have the greatest influence on the strength, depth and continuity of relationships with patients.

Where did doctors and team members learn to communicate? Certainly not in school! Ultimately, understanding how to effectively communicate with patients and even your team members can make or break any practice.

You walk out to the reception area to greet your next patient for their prophy. Due to your attention to detail, as the patient approaches, you notice an active herpes simplex lesion on their lip (herpes labialis). Should you treat this patient?

Kara Vavrosky shares five more interesting questions she's been asked by hygienists recently, along with her answers.

Imagine my surprise when I heard someone talking about an interdisciplinary team comprised of the receptionist, dental assistant, practice manager, dentist and dental hygienist. I suppose that’s right but a true interdisciplinary team refers to medical disciplines, like dentistry, cardiology, respiratory, chiropractor, oncology and pediatrics to name a few. That’s the best way to treat the whole patient.

April Sluiter shows how dental assistants can manage difficult patients without losing their minds.

The new Sugi Butterfly from Kettenbach LP of Huntington Beach, Calif., is a nonsterile cotton fiber and cellulose barrier that is available in two sizes-small and large.

One doctor shares her views on the importance of oral systemic health and how it effects the way she works with patients.

When you understand that there is an ethical way to set the stage for more patients to follow your treatment recommendations, you’ll not only be giving them the best possible service, but also making it a win-win scenario for you both which will build a long, lasting relationship.

Going to a dental practice is an intimate experience. It is one fraught with pain emotionally and financially. Dentists need to look at why people leave and fix what they can so they don't lose patients.

As a well-known and accomplished dental hygienist, Kara Vavrosky often gets asked for advice. Here, she shares five more interesting questions she's been asked recently, along with her answers.

As a well-known and accomplished dental hygienist, Kara Vavrosky often gets asked for advice. Here, Vavrosky shares five more interesting questions she's been asked recently, along with her answers.

Vibrant, energetic and fitness-conscious, Sandy Wexler, a pediatric nurse who appeared to be in perfect health, was shocked to learn during her routine dental check up that she had a large suspicious lump on the right side of her neck. Sandy had not noticed anything different about her neck until that moment and thought it must be simply a swollen lymph node due to a subclinical infection of some kind. She assumed a course of antibiotics would easily remedy the situation.

As a well-known and accomplished dental hygienist, Kara Vavrosky often gets asked for advice. Here, Vavrosky shares five more interesting questions she's ben asked, along with her answers.

Is it possible that our patients would be better served if we observed characteristics we assess on a daily basis through a fresh, clear lens? With the beginning of the New Year, we can achieve this one goal as a team of dental professionals.

As we enter the fall season, chances are that you have patients with remaining dental benefits who also require dental care. According to Forbes, only three percent of patients use all of their benefits in a given year.

When dental teams begin tracking total treatment presented to patients and the amount of treatment accepted by patients, they often discover their true treatment acceptance is much lower than they thought. And they uncover opportunity to help their practice and patients get healthier.

More than 600 dentists and hygienists from across the U.S. gathered together to learn about the latest perspectives on evidence-based dentistry, making Colgate®’s first “Science to Cities” five-city educational lecture tour a huge success. 

DUX Dental has introduced a tray cover with secure seal to its line of office organization products to help oral care professionals create a safe environment for practitioners and patients.

A trip to the dentist can be a stressful experience for many people – but to some children on the autism spectrum, it can be beyond frightening. With more and more children being diagnosed as on the spectrum, it’s more important than ever for dentists to have strategies in place for dealing with autistic patients who are overwhelmed by the experience.

 “Immune Response” can easily be defined as the immune system attacking microorganisms that cause disease in our bodies.

It’s good to be prepared for the unexpected every day. Did you know that fainting is the most common medical emergency in dentistry affecting patients? But the good part is it’s also easy to handle and manage … if you’re prepared.

Practicon celebrates its 30th anniversary on Sept. 13, 2012. The company was founded in 1982 and has worked since then to help healthcare professionals improve patient care and professional success with distinctive products and services.

November 2, 2010  | dentalproductsreport.com Editor's Note: This article is in no way, shape or form an endorsement of any system of belief.

The dental profession certainly knows what goodwill is and what the general understanding of its value means to the dental practice and its owner. Most experts allocate high percentages of the value of the dental practice as a whole to goodwill, compared to equipment, supplies and other items in the sales agreement or valuation report. Goodwill is a method of choice for allocation when a seller looks at tax implications from his or her sale compared to other sources of designation of assets or service and administrative charges for their sale.

It’s easy. It’s painless. It doesn’t cost your patients anything extra, but this simple test can tell you so much about what is going on with them-both in their mouth and their entire body-so you can determine the best way to treat any problems. Chicago dentist Dr. Raymond Hatland has used Kinesiology as a guideline for diagnosing and treating his patients for 36 years. We recently talked with him about what it is, how it can be used in a dental practice and how it can benefit patients. Here’s what he had to say: