October is dental hygiene month and a great opportunity to highlight our dental hygienists and some interesting oral health facts. Thank you to our dental hygienists and dental team for everything they do!
Rebecca Hooyer is one of our dental hygienists, she has been at Promise Community Health Center for 7 years. The dental hygiene fun fact she chose to share is: Tooth decay is the second most common disease, second only to the common cold!
I love helping educate patients on the importance of good oral hygiene and helping their mouth get healthier. It is very satisfying seeing freshly cleaned teeth and I love working with my patients and co-workers at Promise. It makes the day fly by!– Rebecca Dental Hygienest
Jamison Anderson is one of our dental hygienists, he has been at Promise Community Health Center for 1 year. The dental hygiene fun fact he chose to share is: There are more bacteria in the human mouth than there are people on the Earth!
I love to be a dental hygienist because I get to see how happy patients are after we have worked through all of their treatment and they love their beautiful smiles and one of the reasons I love to work at Promise is because of the close knit team that all work hard to provide amazing care to all of our patients.– Jamison Dental Hygienest
A typical day in the life of a dental hygienist at Promise Community Health Center looks like:
- Set up room
- Room patient
- Verify patient information (name, birthday)
- Health Assessment (ask about tobacco use, any medications/allergies/medical conditions, check blood pressure & glucose as needed)
- Discuss with patient any concerns they have with their mouth
- Take any radiographs that are needed (typically panoramics, bitewings, periapicals)
- Update pt’s odontogram (tooth chart) with what teeth pt has, any fillings they have
- Periodontal probe
- Clean teeth (if applicable)
- Exam with doctor
- Discuss exam results with patient
- Schedule patient for any necessary appointments & dismiss patient
- Complete note on visit
- Take instruments to sterilization to be processed and sterilized
- Clean room & set up for next patient
Promise also sees limited exams for acute problems of one area. They place fluoride and sealants on children. Sometimes the Promise dental hygienists place a “liquid medicine” called SDF on teeth if needed. Promise hygienists also do SRP’s (deep cleaning) on patients with periodontitis.
