What is a Dental Hygenist?

What Is a Dental Hygienist? Dental hygienists are licensed oral health professionals who focus on preventing and treating oral diseases-both to protect teeth and gums, and also to protect patients' total health. They are graduates of accredited dental hygiene education programs in colleges and universities, and must take a written national board examination and a clinical examination before they are licensed to practice. In addition to treating patients directly, dental hygienists may also work as educators, researchers, and administrators. What Do Dental Hygienists Do?

Each state has its own specific regulations and the range of services performed by dental hygienists varies from one state to another. As part of dental hygiene services, dental hygienists may:

• perform oral health care assessments that include the review of patients' health history, dental charting, oral cancer screening, and evaluation of gum disease / health;
• expose, process, and interpret dental radiographs (x-rays);
• remove plaque and calculus (“tartar”) from above and below the gumline using dental instruments;
• apply cavity-preventive agents such as fluorides and sealants to the teeth;
• administer local anesthetic and / or nitrous oxide analgesia;
• educate patients on proper oral hygiene techniques to maintain healthy teeth and gums;
• counsel patients about plaque control and developing individualized at-home oral hygiene programs;
• administer smoking cessation programs; and
• counsel patients on the importance of good nutrition for maintaining optimal oral health. 

Where Do Dental Hygienists Work?

Clinical dental hygienists may work in a variety of health care settings such as private dental offices, schools, public health clinics, hospitals, managed care organizations, correctional institutions, nursing homes or in a corporate environment. In addition to the clinical role, dental hygienists may also work in an administrative capacity in any of the above locations.

 

What Does the "RDH" Designation Mean?
The "RDH" means Registered Dental Hygienist. The RDH credential identifies a dental hygienist as a licensed oral health professional. State licensure requirements typically indicate that a dental hygienist must graduate from an accredited dental hygiene education program, successfully pass a national written examination and a state or regional clinical exam. (In Indiana, the designation LDH [Licensed Dental Hygienist] is used instead of RDH.)

The Three "F's" of Good Dental Care

Many people have heard that children no longer have cavities. It is true; many children do not have cavities, but 50% still do. In fact, 80% of the cavities nationwide are found in 20% of children. In many children, the first cavities occur at about 6 years of age when the first permanent molars erupt and the spaces close between the back teeth. Suddenly, the teeth contact, food collects, flossing is not done, and cavities start.

 

We have found cavities on your child?s teeth. These cavities are either in the grooves on the biting surfaces or in between teeth as noted on the cavity decaying x-rays. The tendency to develop this type of cavity can be a life long problem. There are numerous factors that contribute to the development of cavities.

 

Many of these factors are out of control; for example, the makeup of your child?s saliva, the shape of their teeth, and the type of cavity producing bacteria in their mouth. However, a number of contributing factors can be controlled. These include the amount of plaque buildup on the teeth, the types of food that are consumed, and exposure to fluorides. In order to minimize or prevent these cavities from continuing to develop, we recommend the following; the 3 F?s:

 

1) Flossing - this should be performed EVERY NIGHT after brushing. Most children are unable to perform this adequately without your assistance. Floss aids such as Johnson & Johnson?s Wild Flossers, Oral B Floss Aid, Butler Flossmate, or the Glide Flosspick make it fun and easy to perform.

 

2) Fluoride - rinse with a topical fluoride rinse such as ACT or Fluorigard or brush on a prescription high-potency fluoride gel after nighttime brushing and flossing. Also, apply fluoride containing sealants on the surfaces of the permanent molars.

 

3) Foods- avoid in between meal snacks that have high sugar content and are sticky. Many snacks that are thought to be ?healthy? such as raisins, Fruit Roll-ups, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fun Fruits, etc. are actually candy due to their tackiness and high sugar content. Of course, candies such as Skittles, Starbursts, Gummy Bears, Gummy Worms, and Blow Pops are extremely sticky and can result in dental decay. The use of prepackaged juices as between meal drinks also exposes your child to the risk of cavities. Remember, the frequency of consuming foods, especially sugary ones, can be as important in producing cavities as the sugar content of the food. Keep snacking to a minimum and offer your child healthy snacks such as fruits and vegetables.

 

Having regular 6-month check ups and periodic bitewing x-rays will help to prevent and detect these problems in the future, but remember prevention starts at home!

Do You Really Need to Visit Your Dentist Every 6 Months?

Have you ever wondered why the American Dental Association and your dentist recommend you come back every six months? It’s because regular dental visits are essential for the maintenance of healthy teeth and gums. And in between those examinations, it’s important that you work to keep your teeth and gums clean and healthy. If you need additional help, your dentist may even suggest more frequent visits.

What Goes On During A Regular Visit

Checking your teeth for tooth decay is just one part of a thorough dental examination. During your checkup appointment, your dentist (or dental hygienist) will likely evaluate the health of your gums, perform a head and neck examination (to look for anything out of the ordinary) and examine your mouth for any indications of oral cancer, diabetes or vitamin deficiencies. Don’t be surprised if your dentist also examines your face, bite, saliva and movement of your lower jaw joints (TMJs). Your dentist or dental hygienist will then clean your teeth and stress the importance of you maintaining good oral hygiene at home between visits.

Many dentists will pay special attention to plaque and tartar. This is because plaque and tartar can build up in a very short time if good oral hygiene is not practiced between visits. Food, beverages and tobacco can stain teeth as well. If not removed, soft plaque can harden on the teeth and irritate the gum tissue. If not treated, plaque can lead to gum disease.

During your regularly scheduled dental appointments, your dentist will likely look at your gums, mouth, tongue and throat. There are several routine parts to a dental examination.

The Head And Neck Examination

Your dentist will start off by:

• Examining your face
• Examining your neck
• Checking your lymph nodes
• Checking your lower jaw joints (TMJs)

The Clinical Dental Examination

Next, your dentist assesses the state of your teeth and gums by:

• Examining the gums
• Looking for signs of gum disease
• Checking for loose teeth
• Looking at the tissues inside of your mouth
• Examining your tongue
• Checking your bite
• Looking for visual evidence of tooth decay
• Checking for broken teeth
• Checking for damaged fillings
• Looking for changes in the gums covering teeth
• Evaluating any dental appliance you have
• Checking the contact between your teeth
• Taking X-rays

The Dental Cleaning

During the final part of the dental visit, your dental professional cleans your mouth using these methods:

• Checking the cleanliness of your teeth and gums
• Removing any plaque and tartar
• Polishing your teeth
• Flossing between your teeth
• Reviewing recommended brushing and flossing techniques

Once your examination and cleaning have been performed, they’ll tell you about the health of your teeth and gums and then make any additional recommendations. It’s important that you see your dentist every six months and that they give you routine examination and cleaning. Remember, by seeing your dentist on a regular basis and following daily good oral hygiene practices at home, you are more likely to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

Wisdom Tooth Removal - What is Involved?

Are your back molars painful? Are you wondering why your wisdom teeth never grew in? Is the back of your mouth getting crowded? If you have experienced any of these, you may want to ask your dentist to take a second look at your wisdom teeth.

 

Wisdom teeth are your final set of molars, usually not appearing until your late teens or early 20s. When they grow in properly, they can improve the efficiency of your chewing and are an asset to your mouth. More often than not, however, these teeth are misaligned and must be removed, which could be an expensive procedure if you do not have dental insurance. Sometimes the wisdom teeth can even be stuck deep in the jaw bone, or even simply remain below the gum, and will never grow in. Wisdom teeth that will not grow in are “impacted.”

Your dentist will visually examine the area as well as take X-rays to assess the situation under the gum line. This helps determine if and how the wisdom molars need to be extracted. Dentists recommend extracting them by age 18 if they look like they could be problematic. Patients aged 35 and up have a greater risk of complications from the procedure, because the impacted teeth fuse to the jaw bone as people age. An extraction may be necessary if it looks like the wisdom teeth might interrupt normal sinus functionality or cause the other teeth to shift. Third molars that never emerge from the gum can be painful as well.

 

If one or more of your wisdom teeth must be taken out, the procedure can vary from a simple extraction to full surgery under anesthesia. The type of procedure typically depends on the position of each wisdom tooth. 

 

• If the tooth is fully visible and completely erupted through your gum, a general dentist can quickly and easily remove it without surgery.

• If the tooth is impacted under your gum or embedded in your jaw bone, it will require more complicated intervention. An oral surgeon or dentist will make an incision in the gum, and any bone covering your tooth will be removed. The impacted tooth is then taken out, often in small sections to minimize the amount of overlying bone that must be sacrificed. This complex procedure often requires an oral surgeon.

 

Most dental insurance will help lower the cost of your wisdom teeth extraction if you have met your deductible. You you have reached your maximum, or if you have no dental insurance, a discount dental plan could lower the cost even more. 

 

One other cost-saving tip: Follow your dentist’s instructions! Recovery from a usually takes no more than a few days to a week, but if you ignore the dentist’s directions for how to take care of the area, you could face additional problems. Dry socket, for example, is a painful situation where the blood clot comes out instead of closing the wound where the tooth originally was. This occasionally happens completely on accident, but more often than not, it occurs when the patient fails to clean the area or doesn’t eat soft food. If you want to avoid expensive complications, listen to your dentist or oral surgeon.

How To Deal with a Dental Emergency

Like cavities and gum disease, many dental problems develop gradually after months (or years!) of dental-health neglect. But sometimes, pain or tooth sensitivity can come on suddenly, and you may need immediate dental care, either at the emergency room or from your dentist.

It's not always easy to know whether a tooth, gum, or mouth problem requires emergency care — or what to do about it. In fact, most Americans are unprepared to handle a dental health emergency, according to a survey of 1,000 participants.

Think your mouth issue is a dental health 911? Here’s a handy guide to situations that are generally considered dental emergencies:

• Lip or tongue bite with excessive bleeding. If you accidentally bite your lip, tongue, or other soft tissue in your mouth, clean the area and apply a cold compress to decrease swelling. If the bleeding is severe, or will not stop, go to the emergency room.
• Broken or cracked tooth. In the case of a broken or cracked tooth, call your dentist immediately. Until you can get to your dentist's office, rinse your mouth with warm water and apply a cold compress outside the affected area.
• Damaged braces. If your braces become damaged, call your orthodontist right away. Some instances of damaged braces need to be fixed immediately; others can wait until your next appointment.
• Injury to your jaw. If you suspect you may have broken your jaw, apply a cold compress to the area and immediately go to your dentist's office or to the emergency room.
• Loose tooth. If one of your teeth is partially dislodged, see your dentist right away — they may be able to save the tooth. Until you can get to your dentist's office, take an over-the-counter pain reliever and apply a cold compress to the affected area to relieve pain.
• Tooth that has been knocked out. Grasp your lost tooth by the crown and rinse its root if it is dirty, avoiding scrubbing the tooth or removing pieces of tissue that may be attached. You can attempt to reinsert the tooth into its socket in your mouth, but if that doesn't work, you'll need to see your dentist quickly. The American Dental Association recommends placing the tooth in milk, which acts as a preservative until you can get to a professional.
• Lost filling or crown. When one of your fillings or crowns falls out, put the filling or crown in a safe place and call your dentist to make an appointment. Applying clove oil to the sensitive areas in your mouth and dental cement from the drug store on your tooth's surface can help decrease sensitivity, but check with your dentist before doing these things.
• Object lodged between your teeth. If something gets stuck between your teeth, try to gently remove it with dental floss. If the object still won't come out, call your dentist. Depending on the situation, he or she may want to see you quickly.
• Painful swelling. Call your dentist to schedule an appointment if you have painful swelling in your mouth, as you may have an abscess, an infected pocket of pus that can lead to a serious systemic infection. Until you can see your dentist, try rinsing your mouth with saltwater to relieve the pain and pressure.
• Pericoronitis. This is an infection that occurs when your wisdom teeth don't come into your mouth properly. If you experience symptoms of pericoronitis, which may include swollen and irritated gums, a bad taste in your mouth, or bad breath, or you are not able to fully open your mouth, see you dentist as soon as you can.
• Sudden or severe toothache. If your tooth is aching, rinse out your mouth with warm water and gently floss around the tooth to make sure there is nothing lodged between your teeth. Call your dentist if your toothache does not go away.

Some dental emergencies can lead to life-threatening infections or permanent damage if not treated rapidly, so if you're in doubt, always call your dentist. The earlier you seek treatment for a dental problem, the better your chances are for a full recovery and continued dental health. 

The Gag Reflux

The gag reflex, located on the back wall of the throat, helps keep objects from going down your windpipe. If you have ever put your fingers too far back in your mouth and felt like gagging or throwing up, you've discovered the gag reflex. Some people have a very sensitive gag reflex. This makes going to the dentist very difficult.

If you are one of these people, talk with your dentist about your concerns. Sometimes, a new dentist or hygienist may place instruments in a sensitive spot, touching the soft palate (the entrance to your throat). If you warn the dentist or hygienist ahead of time, they should be able to avoid certain sensitive areas.

It's also possible that something you are doing makes the problem worse. For example, some patients draw their tongue back to give the dentist room to work, but they end up gagging themselves. You and your dentist or hygienist can work together to find ways to avoid gagging movements.

Distraction may also work. Patients who are highly concerned about gagging become tense in the chair. This can make you even more sensitive. Bring a portable music device and listen to music, practice meditation or focus on trying to keep your feet elevated one inch off the chair. These kinds of distractions can help keep your mind off your throat.