Thursday 15 November 2012

We are not so unique

Working as a hygienist I pretty much do the same thing every day. Even though I like to address each person's issues with a solution tailored to them, I am still only dealing with a small part of the body so there is a lot of overlapping of information given and received (as a small side note, you have to forgive me when I forget if I've just asked you a question and have to re-ask it - my brain starts to blur the answers together after a while, especially if I am multitasking). This leads to the topic of my blog today: commonalities that make us not so unique! Sometimes I think that some of my clients may feel embarrassed or feel the need to apologize when certain things happen, but they don't realize that it happens to pretty much everybody during a hygiene visit. I felt like highlighting these today...just maybe this will make you feel more relaxed at your next appointment...

My favourite answer to the flossing question "how often do you floss"? "Not as much as I should" I get this answer about 90% of the time from my clients. I think it's funny because it can mean anywhere from never, to every day. So my follow up question always has to be "and how often is that?"

Number one reason for not flossing: "laziness"

Dental dyslexia (my term):  getting mixed up in rights and lefts when you are lying back in the chair (in other words, the hygienist says turn to your left and you turn your head to the right)

the Dental Itch: body parts suddenly becoming itchy because you have to be still. The nose is the most common victim of this phenomena, though pretty much any part of the face or head are susceptible. I even fall victim to this from time to time. Sometimes I even resort to taking my gloves off to address the area of concern.

the Dental diet: I would say about 30% of my clients come to their appointment hungry, while about 40% have just eaten and are apologizing for not being able to brush before the appointment. This is all due to living a busy life...I am just grateful that you are able to fit me in to your schedule!

Well, that is my list for now. The lesson in all of this? Don't be embarrassed at your dental hygiene cleaning. We've pretty much seen and dealt with it all before. And for those truly unique occurances, well you just made our day 100 times more interesting!

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Why you shouldn't brush...


So I don't know if this is a cop out entry but I really like this video. Does it make you think twice before brushing (to help out future archaeologists)? Or does it make you want to brush and floss even more?







Tuesday 13 November 2012

A little bit about me and this blog

I have a confession to make...I did not grow up loving all things dental. In fact, I was one of those kids that always got lectured by their hygienist to floss more, brush better etc...Another fact: when I was discussing my future university major with a family friend, she recommended I consider dental hygiene (she was a hygienist herself) and I thought to myself, no way, and never thought of it again. So you may wonder how I ended up where I am today.
It's quite simple. I was looking for a career change and a good friend said I should be a dental hygienist. She had a friend who was one, she made good money, could pick her hours, and generally had a good life. What also attracted me to this profession was the little schooling that was required (2 year college diploma). I thought "why not"?, applied that year and started dental hygiene school the next Sept.
I am still not a regular flosser, and yes, I still eat candy without brushing my teeth after. I am a regular person who understands that dental care is not at the top of everyone's priority list. However, I have also come to realize how underestimated the value is of good dental health.
Also, now that I am an Independent Dental Hygienist with my own business, I have the happy task of sifting through all the dental products out there and figuring out which one(s) are really the best, or at least which one(s) I think are the best.
So the purpose of this blog is to (hopefully) help people figure out where in their busy schedule they can fit in dental care, what products would best suit them, and also just interesting dental facts/anecdotes/other.

My final confession for the day...I still do not love all things dental. What I do love about my job is interacting with my clients. Helping them with their (dental) problems, and maybe just teaching them something new.