Whether the topic is flossing and brushing or baby teeth and cavities, your dental hygienist has important advice. A dental hygienist knows that oral health evaluations can be as important as other medical examinations. Loma Linda University School of Dentistry dental hygiene specialist, Danielle Ellington, RDH, MEd, offers six tips for ensuring a healthy mouth. Before reaching…
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It’s all in the gloves: Developing a dental office protocol for latex reactions
The glove is one of the first lines of the PPE combat. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s during the HIV/AIDS epidemic that the glove became more popular among medical professionals and the term “universal precaution” was born. It was “blood and certain body fluids of all patients that are to be considered potentially infectious for…
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Should pregnant dental hygienists continue to take x-rays?
Question Miriam wrote: I have a dental hygiene–related question. Are there any guidelines for pregnant dental hygienists about taking x-rays in the dental office? Should a pregnant dental hygienist continue to take x-rays? Or should a dental assistant take the x-rays during the hygienist's pregnancy? We have digital sensor technology, and I am unsure what the actual…
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Targeting Treatment To Patient Needs
Precision dentistry and medicine are set to transform clinical approaches to personalized care. The cornerstone of precision dentistry and medicine is targeting treatment to a patient’s specific needs on the basis of genetic, biomarker, epigenetic, phenotypic, and socioeconomic or psychosocial determinants that distinguish an individual from others with similar clinical presentations. The goal is to…
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