LunchBytes With Dental Hygienius

Hi Everyone,

Are you looking for a dental hygiene professional development option that is:
-  Low Cost
-  Self Paced
-  Completed in the comfort of your own home
-  High Quality

Then www.DHpro.ca is the place to go! DHPro is launching Lunch Bytes With Dental Hygienius- a comprehensive 12 part video series that offers an Ebook Companion Guide with each video.  We would love for you to join us on this project that we are so very excited about!

Peace, love, dental hygiene.

Dental Hygienius

The Golden Resource

Often when engaged in conversation with others the questions “what do you do for a living?” or “where do you work?” are frequently asked.  This blog entry is a call to registered dental hygienists to rethink their response and word choices when posed with questions of this nature.  I would like to take a moment to reflect upon how we as registered dental hygienists may commonly respond to those types of questions.  Most of us will respond with, “I am a hygienist”.   The conversation may then proceed to a few comments on the part of the other party on how they simply cannot believe that we clean people’s mouths all day and absolutely cannot understand how we do it.  For the most part, that seems to be the direction that the conversation takes, or at least that was the case for me until I made two key changes.

The first change that I made was a conscious effort to stop the oversimplification of dental hygiene and perpetuation of a feminized profession. I did this by saying that “I am a REGISTERED DENTAL hygienist”.  What may seem a benign, harmless word- hygienist to describe the profession has some potential ramifications.  The word hygienist only speaks to the cleaningor hygienic role of our work.  In addition, other professions exist that use the word hygienist in their name such as, occupational hygienist and industrial hygienist; those two professions have very different roles than that of the registered dental hygienist.

Consequences are presented by the word choices that we use.  I think that one of the main consequences is a misrepresentation of the advanced educational preparation of a registered dental hygienist. A hygienist or cleaner is an occupation, who solely fulfills one role or job on a daily basis.  That type of description is indeed not reflective of my work in any way, and I am certain it is not reflective of yours.  I was selling my profession and myself short, and that is a big consequence in itself.

There have been so many milestones achieved in dental hygiene in the last 10 years.  One such milestone was the removal of the scaling order in Ontario. Hygienists did not pioneer these milestones, as these individuals were not holding mops and brooms as they lobbied the government and educated the public on the capabilities, depth and breadth of the dental hygiene profession.  These individuals were educated professionals with a passion for oral and overall health care.  These milestones were initiated, pioneered and achieved by registered dental hygienists.

I am a registered dental hygienist and I choose to identify myself with that same passion for oral and overall health, after all my education prepared me for that role.  A registered dental hygienist is a professional who may work independently, collaboratively and utilizes critical thinking and problem solving skills on a daily basis.  Furthermore, registered dental hygienists have and continue to advance their education and role in the community.

When someone now asks me “what I do for a living”, I proudly say that “I am a registered dental hygienist”, and when the conversation continues on to the “teeth cleaning” aspect, I respond with “actually, that is one thing that I do”.  Some of my new responses include “I perform oral cancer screenings in my practice”, “I raise client awareness of the link between oral and systemic health”, and “I do volunteer work in the community on a regular basis”.

All of the above mentioned responses are a truer reflection of the professional roles of the registered dental hygienist.  These roles as described in Dental Hygiene Theory and Practice, by Darby and Walsh include: clinician, educator, administrator or manager, advocate, and researcher.

Take a moment to reflect on how you fulfill these roles everyday.  You may not think that you are, but upon careful analysis you will find that when you are using the VELscope to identify and carefully document a lesion in a client’s oral cavity, you are advocating for their health.  When you are accessing the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario website Knowledge Network to look up a medical condition that you may not be familiar with, you are acting as a researcher.  You are acting as an administrator when you plan and schedule a maintenance interval for a periodontally involved client.  These are just a few examples of the wide range of skills that the registered dental hygienist possesses.

Many of us do not realize the full potential of roles that our education prepares us for.  By tapping into our full range of competencies, not only may we find more professional satisfaction, but we also create an excellent opportunity to educate the public on the importance of dental hygienists.  Ultimately, someone who may be in need of oral health care who “didn’t know that we did all that”, will be able to access a golden resource in the health care community that they never knew existed; that resource is you.

Suggested Reading:

Adams, Tracey L. Professionalization, Gender and Female-dominated Professions: Dental Hygiene in Ontario.  Canadian Review of Sociology. 2003;40.3:267-289.

References:

Darby, ML, Walsh MM. Dental Hygiene Theory and Practice. Third Edition. St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier, 2010.

Getting Ready to Give from the Heart

By Joanne Peazel McCavery, RDH, BSc


With summer and all of it’s distractions in full swing, it may be difficult for us to think several months ahead, to what we’ll be doing for Valentine’s Day. However, February 14 is only six months away, and with that red, romantic, rose-filled day comes a very special event, “Gift from the Heart”.

I’m certain that at this point, almost every dental hygienist in Canada has at least heard of the Gift from the Heart, and some have even participated in it.

Gift from the Heart is a community care initiative that was developed by our colleague, Ms. Bev Woods R.R.D.H. The first event was held on February 14, 2009, where 75 dental hygienists provided complementary (free!) dental hygiene services to un- and underserviced people in 24 communities across Ontario. The second year, there were over 50 dental hygiene clinics participating with over 150 volunteers. As well, dental hygiene schools came on board and offered the use of their clinic chairs and students to enable more spaces for people to access the free service. This year, the event broke through the borders of Ontario and our colleagues in Alberta and British Columbia became involved. In total over 1500 smiles were brightened on February 12, 2011.

If you have not yet had the opportunity to experience volunteer work, or more specifically, dental hygiene related-volunteer work, then Gift from the Heart is an excellent opportunity to gain some insight and valuable experience into what it means to give back to the people that share your little corner of the world.

Some may shy away from events like Gift from the Heart for the reason that they may not be self-initiated.  If you are not able to self-initiate or practice independently there are many ways you can still participate in this program other than chair side.

For those Ontario dental hygienists who are not authorized to self-initiate this blog may serve as a timely reminder or motivator. Why not utilize an event such as this to be the motivation you need to obtain your “authorised to self-initiate” status?  Self-initiation is your gateway to participation in this great event. Just as important, it also strengthens the collective voice of dental hygiene. (There are six months to obtain this authorization. Dental hygienists in general practice dental offices and dental hygienists who have no current intention of opening an independent dental hygiene clinic still benefit from becoming self-initiated. In Ontario, the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario offers three options (“streams,”) so even new registrants can work towards this goal shortly after entering into practice.)

A large support network exists to help organise and/or participate in the event. Visit the Gift from the Heart website at http://giftfromtheheart.ca/event/ ; this website has all the information you will need to run the event at your office. There are media releases prepared for you to use, marketing tips and posters to print, and a place to register for the event so that the coordinator will be able to make sure you have the donated products delivered to your office or to a central depot. You can also view pictures of offices that have participated in the past to get ideas on what you might like to do with your office when you participate in this valuable community care initiative.

Supplies and equipment for community health programs can be challenging to accrue, but the Gift from the Heart event already has several large companies sponsoring by providing free supplies.  Donations are readily accepted, and of course, try brainstorming some FUNdraising ideas yourself.

Locations to host the initiative are abundant. Consider how many independent dental hygiene clinics, dental hygiene schools, and community centres are found within thirty to sixty minutes of your home. Or perhaps you will join a dental hygiene colleague/friend in another location.

When it comes to advertising, posters and word-of-mouth are a few suitable examples, but having the national and provincial dental hygiene associations support the program is ideal. (Let’s hope they’re reading this!)

Imagine the oral health impact that the dental hygiene community could have if even half of the dental hygienists in Canada participated in this program! How many smiles would be bigger, brighter, and healthier if 10 000 dental hygienists provided complimentary services for 6 hours on Feb 11, 2012?

We all know that dental hygiene is a specialized body of knowledge. We are a profession, based on our education, our certification exam, our registration and compliance with our unique regulatory bodies. Can it follow then that dental hygienists play a vital role in greater society to provide some relief from oral disease to individuals close to home that could otherwise not afford it?

The Gift from the Heart initiative allows the profession of “dental hygiene” to give back to the community, all the while bringing special attention to the role of dental hygienists as business owners and primary oral health care providers. Give it a try next year; make a difference, expand your professional network, and help spread the healthy smiles that began as a gift from your heart.