Perio Explorer I stopped using my perio explorers right after hygiene school, but I came back to them 1-2 years later. They are the best way to detect calculus blindly. Power Scaling Tip (magnetostrictive or piezo) With a light grip you can feel calculus with the end of the tip (active or inactive, but…
I’ve been a hygienist since 2007 and I have placed A LOT of sealants (80% of our practice is pedo). Over those years, I have tried numerous brands, some great, some awful, and from that experience I have concluded that the following brands are the top three IMO. 3rd Place – 3M ESPE Clinpro Sealant…
I’ve had these ContacEZ Hygienist Strips for a few months now and so far so good. They remove stain and light calculus from those tight, interproximal contact areas pretty well. They work well for anterior teeth, but not practical for posterior teeth in my opinion. So the question is, do I need these things even…
I was recently a guest on the podcast “A Tale of Two Hygienists” (Old name is “Off the Cusp Podcast”). This episode was a “Guygienist Roundtable” with me and three other male hygienists. It was a fun, honest and informative discussion about what it’s like to be a male hygienist in today’s world. If you’re…
Starting with a very clean tooth is a vital step when placing dental sealants. Any stain, plaque, etc. left behind will compromise the bonding of the sealant material to the enamel surface. Below are 4 cleaning methods I’ve personally used over the years that work well, but nothing beats the micro etcher in my opinion.…
In a recent article, Insider Monkey created a list of cities with the highest demand for dental hygienists, but unfortunately, the methodology used to come up with that list is completely illogical. The following excerpt from the article explains what they did. “…we sought to determine the 11 cities with the highest demand for dental…
Here’s an easy trick to make your DryShield or IsoVac system very portable without having to deal with extra tubing. Total cost is around 35 cents. Items needed 1. About 2 inches of standard HVE tubing with a hexagonal internal shape. This allows the HVE tip to fit tightly. You may already have this tubing…
In a previous post I mentioned that I wouldn’t recommend the Mr. Thirsty product, but that’s not exactly true. I wouldn’t recommend it as is, but there are two things you can do to make it work better and turn it into a good overall product. Links http://www.practicon.com/item/mr–thirsty-one-step-trial-kit-70297239/70297239 http://www.practicon.com/item/mr–thirsty-comfort-kit-70297237/70297237 1. TRIM THE MOUTHPIECES The mouthpieces…
A few weeks ago I came across an interesting article entitled, “The myth of cross-training”, by Shirley Gutkowski, RDH, BSDH. The article essentially argues against the concept of cross-training dental employees across “departments” (e.g hygiene department, front desk department, etc.). Most hygienists disagree The article was shared on one of the popular dental hygiene Facebook…
Prize Kona Adapter 2.0 Kit with 10 Isolite mouthpieces How to win Post a comment below. The winner will be chosen on Wednesday, November 25th. Links https://konaadapter.wordpress.com