Registered dental hygienists (RDHs) are a lisenced health professional, who prevent and treat some oral diseases, promote the prevention of dental care, and provide education to the patients. In clinical point of view, the RDHs perform health care assessments, such as reviewing medical/dental health histories, measuring vital signs, taking radiographs, examining dental caries/chart and periodontal chart, removing plaque biofilm and calculus, prophylaxis, and fluoride treatment. Moreover, the RDH also educates the patients the proper techniques of brushing and flossing to maintain oral health.Another important issue is to counsel the patients the healthy nutrition for protecting the oral health.
In order to fulfill the responsibilities of the role as a RDH, I must accomplish a special academic program. The program include subject of Law and Ethics by applying a professional code of ethics in all
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I should understand the federal/state legal and regulatory framework in the provision of dental hygiene services; I joined a small group of four students to study Michigan laws, which was compared with California laws . I studied how to apply critical thinking and prolem-solving skills in the provision of dental hygiene care to promote whole patient health and wellness by wirting papers of the trigeminal nerve, the cysts in oral pathology studying, the hypertension in pharmacology studying, drug charting project with many type of drugs; and playing a role in a dental emergencies skill kit with the other two of my classmates. I assumed professional responsibility for the provision of dental hygiene care centered on the current evidence-based, scientifically accepted standard of care by writing papers of literrature review with the topic of The Effect of Driniking Alkaline Water in Preventing Caries together with CLinical Content Analysis (Gold vs. Fool's Gold), researching The Effect of
Dental hygiene is amongst many professions that come with an increased risk of injury. In fact, evidence suggests that the incidence of dental professionals acquiring musculoskeletal disorders is reaching 96%. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), these complications are a result of “repetitive motion or awkward posture for more than 2 hours at a time, unassisted frequent manual handling (eg, scaling an area using the same strokes), and unassisted forced manual handling (eg, heavy calculus removal using hand-activated instruments)”. These complications not only affect the quality of life for the
For those that have bad habits with cigarettes, Tobacco Cessation Counseling is available. Cigarettes cause tooth loss, rotting, and surface stains; hygienist make sure to pass this information to the patient and help them to understand that quitting is the best option if they want to keep their teeth. As said before, a hygienist informs the patient on what foods to avoid. Nutritional Counseling is provided if a hygienist believes there is danger with a patients teeth such as diseases. (Dental Hygiene Clinic) Any foods with high acidity is something a dental hygienist would recommend avoiding. For example, apples, hard candies, popcorn, diet sodas, and salad dressing. Enamel is the hardest structure in the human body. It’s even harder than bones. When the enamel is exposed to acid, it wears down and erodes. This is how tooth erosion and decay happens. They will educate the patient with what foods to replace the bad ones with. Although, a dentist is who performs the restorations, a hygienist can still inform what will happen. Because of the fact that hygienists usually see patients before the dentist, they will give feedback to the dentist and recommend restorations in the mouth. They specialize in providing clinical and educational services (Sealy Dental Center) so they are very useful to dentists. When a patient has missing, chipped, or sharpened teeth, a restoration is done to replace the originals. Some examples
At CADH, I was taught how to act upon the eight competencies in different aspects for the public. As a clinician I was taught how to apply the dental hygiene process of care; assessing signs and symptoms, as well as risks factors related to oral disease, and then make a diagnosis, plan, implement, and evaluate the treatment within the dental hygiene scope of practice. One of many important roles of being a dental hygienist is being part of a dental care team where I we work in collaboration with a dentist or a dental specialist. I have been able to extensively develop my management skills to understand the administrative setting of the school, as well as the authority responsibilities and roles of my faculty and other professionals involved. As an administrator, I am responsible to manage my clients’ periodontal status, by identifying presence of disease, setting care priorities, eliminating risk factors, and deciding whether the client is already in the maintenance state or needs further special treatment. As ...
The best description of a dental hygienist is a professional whose main job is to teach their patients necessary oral hygiene skills and provide great dental care. They perform various tasks around a dentist’s office such as applying fluoride treatments, removing plaque and stains, taking x-rays, removing sutures, placing temporary fillings, and evaluating the patient’s overall health (“Dental Hygienist” Coin Career). Dental hygienists do not just work in a dental office, but they also can work at schools, nursing homes, health clinics, and many other dental settings. Close contact is necessary when doing this job. Working with people is an everyday thing in this profession, so one must be able to communicate and get along with their clients very well. Having certain traits such as excellent hand-eye coordination and great motor skills are very important to posses since dental hygienists work on their patients mouths (Porterfield 4). Communication is vital since dental hygienists are constantly teaching patients how to hav...
1)Why do you want to be a Dental Assistant? I love people and that is why I want to become a Dental assistant. Being a huge people person and I'm always willing to learn, adapting is essential to this line of work and that is why I will be a perfect fit for the dental assistant program. Getting to know the patients and spending time with them is one of the reasons I am really looking forward to my future as a DA. I am an empathetic person and easily relate to others. This will really help me to be able to provide my patients with the best possible care. Originally I had planned on applying to Manhattan Area Technical College for their Dental Hygienist program. They require that all applicants have a minimum of forty hours experience shadowing
It’s been a long time since the last narrative and a lot has changed. The internship with the dental hygienist failed miserably. After three sessions, my mentor just stopped communicating and cut all ties with me. I attempted to email her multiple times but I remained unheard. So, I had to find a way to troubleshoot and look for another mentor and place to intern at.
Dentistry as a profession over the years has evolved rapidly in light of new scientific evidence. Rapidly evolving science and technology have implemented changes within dentistry as evidenced by new standards and guidelines being produced by nationally recognised associations including National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP) and Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) in Scotland, in provision of new scientific evidence. The latest standards and guidelines produced, endorse everyday clinical practice through evidence based dentistry (REF). All dental professionals as part of continued professional development are expected to keep to date on relevant guidelines and knowledge related to their practice (REF). This is supported by the General Dental Council who state all clinicians must maintain their professional knowledge and competence throughout their working career (REF).
Did you know that the dental assisting profession has been projected to grow 18 percent during the years of 2014 through 2024, which is much faster than the average for all other occupations? And from there who knows, the sky's the limit. But what exactly does a dental assistant do?
As we grow up, we are often asked what we want to be. Many people say careers such as a doctor or an actor. When I grow up, I want to be a dental hygienist. When I tell people this they often think i’m crazy for wanting to “work in someone’s mouth”. Dental hygiene is appealing to me. It is a big part of personal hygiene and keeping yourself healthy. One of the first things a person notices about you is your smile and I want to help people perfect theirs. I know that being a dental hygienist will not be the easiest thing in the world but there are some benefits. You don’t have to work full time if you don’t want to. Also as stated by Jenny Lewellen, “Overtime is not expected” (Lewellen). Hygienists also get a good salary. “The median annual wage for
A dental hygienist is a very important role in any dental office. As stated by a dental assistant, “Dental hygienists work closely with the dentist as well as hands on with the patients. They assist dentists with operative procedures such as fillings and extractions, and making molds of patients teeth” (Wilson, Jennifer). A large part of their job is teaching patients proper dental care to ensure a lifetime of healthy teeth. This includes proper brushing and flossing techniques. According to the job out look, a day as a dental hygienist can include taking x-rays, cleaning and scaling teeth, charting treatment plans, putting sealants on teeth, taking impressions of teeth and completing information about the patient’s oral and medical history (Summary). In some states dental hygienist are allowed to give local anesthetic and place and remove sutures (Delivering Local Anesthetic). According to advantages of becoming a dental hygienist, hygienists spend more hands on time with the patients than the dentist does. These are some of the instruments that dental hygienists use on a daily basis: toothbrush, scaler, mirror, ultrasonic scaler, explorer, suction, computer, salvia ejector, rubber cap polisher, dental models, x-ray machine and probe. The dental hygienist uses a toothbrush to remove soft plaque from the teeth. Plaque is a soft coating on the teeth that contain bacteria. The bacteria can cause tooth decay and gum disease. The amount of plaque on the teeth gives the hygienist an idea of how well the daily brushing and flossing of the patient’s teeth are completed on a regular basis. The scaler is used to remove hardened plaque or calculus from the teeth. The mirror is used to look closely at the surfaces of the teeth a...
I can remember being a little boy sitting at the piano in church, listening to the preacher talk of how Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, which symbolizes the idea that we are here to serve. That message profoundly resonated with me throughout life. It was not until I began accompanying my grandmother to her multiple dental visits that I was able to see how I could put this calling of service into action. I saw firsthand the significant positive impact my grandmother’s dentist was able to make in her life, which encouraged me to want to learn about the field of dentistry. I then started researching dental health and learning of the importance of oral healthcare and how it affects the entire body. I then began to learn of how patient access to proper dental care was limited because of several factors such as, financial barriers, transportation, and dental fear, especially in the underserved minority communities. Given the shortage of black dentists, I realized I could make a positive difference by being an inspiration to those in the community, as well as serve in a professional career that would provide needed healthcare to the community. This is when I began to develop such a strong passion for
As a future dental hygienist, I want to be able to help educate people about dental hygiene, prevent cancers and help rural communities overcome oral diseases and cancers. Dental Hygienist usually work in dentist office's, some of the responsibilities of a dental hygienist are removing tarter, stains and plaque from teeth, they take dental x-rays and access patient oral health and report findings to the dentist.
It's important for any high school student to have an idea or plan of what they want to pursue in the near future. Most students want to go into the medical field, become a professional athlete, a lawyer, etc. Many talk about becoming a dentist, but not a dental assistant. Simply because they feel like it's not that big of a title of being a dental assistant as compared to a dentist. Little do they know dental assistants play a big role as well in the office. A dental assistant does many tasks and duties that help benefit the dentist and also the patients.
According to the book, “Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist”, a dental hygienist is a dental health specialist whose primary concern is the maintenance of oral health and the prevention of oral disease. A career as a dental hygienist provides a wide range of challenges where in the dentist office, the dental hygienist and dentist work together to meet the oral health needs of their patients. There are many things that dental hygienists do that you may not realize when you think you are just going in to get your teeth cleaned.
The history of a Dental Hygienist is very riveting. This profession was first founded in 1913 by Dr. Fones when he created the first Dental Hygiene education program in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1906 Fones trained Irene Newman the basics, and she was then the first Dental Hygienist in the world. Later, the founding of the first Dental Hygienist training program, many more were founded. People that decide to become a Dental Hygienist for many reasons, and one is because it is listed to be the 5th out of the “100 best jobs” in 2015. Other reasons are because the “U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics” projects that the employment will grow to 33.3%