Oral Health: The Very Basics

scottsdalefamilydentistry.com

So here I sit wondering what I should blog about next. I've been wanting to incorporate my love for dental hygiene into this blog because I feel it is something that I should educate my readers on. I have been having a difficult time deciding what to speak about though since oral hygiene care is such a broad category. However, perhaps my education over the past 2 years has put me ahead of the 'Average Joe' in this department. So here I am today sitting on a balcony in Cocoa Beach, FL with fireworks going off wanting to talk about the topic of oral hygiene...

The health of your mouth is directly related to the health of your overall body. The average human swallows a total of 6,000 times a day! What a mind-boggling fact, huh? Think about the mouth. It's earned the title of the dirtiest orfice of the body! There are millions of bacteria that are apart of the "normal flora" of the mouth and will not cause harm to you. However, there are many other bacteria called "opportunistic bacteria" that will see a chance to cause harm when the environment of your mouth presents a perfect ~opportunity~! Now put those two facts together. The mouth which has millions of bacteria in it and the fact that we are swallowing those bad bacteria many times throughout the day can present a problem to your entire body- a major organ being the heart. This is why I am so passionate about dental hygiene because it is all about educating people to PREVENT DISEASE!

greatoralhealth.com

Periodontal Disease, otherwise known as Gum Disease is a a very sneaky disease since evidence of it does not appear in the form of pain like many other diseases or conditions. Most people think that nothing in their mouth is hurting, therefore there can't possibly be anything wrong. THINK AGAIN! Many people state "my gums bleed when I brush/floss my teeth, but that's how it's always been. I'm here to tell you that is NOT normal and that is called Gingivitis. If you break that word apart... "gingiva"-means the correct term for your gum tissue and "itis"-means an inflammation of. Therefore, if your gums bleed when brushing or flossing this is evidence of gingivitis, in other words, the beginning stage of Periodontal Disease.

The good thing, if there is a good thing, about Gingivitis is that it can be reversed! It would be ideal to not have Gingivitis in the first place, but we all have times in our life when we are more diligent with our brushing and flossing then other times, therefore we are bound to have a little Gingivitis here or there. This can be PREVENTED by brushing and flossing daily. Rinsing your mouth out after you brush and floss with an Antiseptic type mouth rinse will also help keep away the bad bacteria. But it is not just about the act of brush, floss, rinse, that will keep away Gingivitis... it's the effectiveness of your plaque removal that will keep your gums from becoming puffy, inflamed, and bleeding.

Plaque is a combination of food particles, bacteria, and water that form on the surface of your teeth throughout the day. In fact, within minutes of brushing your teeth and removing the bacteria biofilm or colonies of bacteria begin forming again on the tooth surface. As you can see it's a never ending battle that needs to be fought!!

When brushing your teeth it is important to make sure you are brushing with the bristles of the brush angled toward the gumline (the space where the gums meet the tooth). This space is where I constantly see my patients miss removing the plaque since most people brush their teeth with the bristles flat against the teeth. See the below picture for a demonstration of how to angle the tooth brush toward your gums for effective plaque removal.

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Flossing is a whole different topic. I will let you in on a secret... I don't like to floss! Yes, I said it! However, despite my dislike of flossing, I do it! It HAS to be done! When you floss, take a strand the length from of your hand to the crease near your elbow. Hold the floss with your thumb and middle finger on each hand. Begin wrapping each side of the floss around your middle fingers. Once you have a space about an inch between each middle finger you can begin your task with using your thumb and pointer fingers to maneuver the floss from in and out of the in between the teeth. When pushing the floss down in between the teeth you want to bend the floss making a C-shape around the side of each tooth and actually scrap the sides of the teeth to remove the plaque. This will take some practice and patience. If your gums bleed when you floss chances are, if it's just some Gingivitis going on and not a later stage of Periodontal Disease, it will take a normal schedule of flossing morning and night for a number of days for this to improve along with seeing your hygienist to have a dental cleaning if it has been some time since you have had one. See the below diagram for an illustration on how to floss.

albrightdental.net

I know this blog was pretty lengthy, but it was so difficult to decide where to start off the "Dental Hygiene" section of this page. My future Oral Health related posts will hopefully be shorter and not as broad. Comment below if there are questions you have or topics you would like to be covered in future blogs! I hope you learned something from this post and hope you can use it to make positive changes in your home care and oral health! Until next time...

Dental Hygienist- A Great Career Choice!

Hey everyone! I am excited for where life is taking me at the moment... actually I think I am just excited that the hardest part of dental hygiene school is behind me so I feel like I have my whole life ahead of me finally!! When in a rigorious full-time academic program such as dental hygiene it is difficult to work a job and have any sort of normal consistent schedule like you when having a full-time job. Let's admit it, being in school full-time is worse then having a full-time job! You could say it's like working a 40 hour work week with 20 hours of overtime!!! The work you do outside of school really adds up! I'm sure many of you remembers those days or can currently relate. I am so glad I made the decision to go to school though! Despite the difficulties (I had plenty), I feel like I have made it even though I am not yet done!

Did you know to become a licensed dental hygienist in the State of Florida you must take 5 board examinations?!? (1) National Board, (1) Local Anesthesia Certification exam, (1) State Computerized exam, (1) Clinical exam (when I actually have to clean someone's teeth), and (1) Juris Prudence (fancy words for FL State Laws exam).... INSANE, RIGHT!? I have completed (pending results) on the first 3 exams listed! The last two exams will be taken during the month of April and May. According to U.S News, dental hygienist was ranked #4 on a list of Best Health Care Jobs of 2015! I believe this post was going based on salary (avg. 59k-85k annually), however there are many more benefits to a career as a dental hygienist then just money. Yes, we need money to survive and it was a motivating factor for me to continue my education, but it is really a great job. I wanted to work less and make more- that's what everyone wants, right? That is why I decided to continue my education from dental assisting to becoming a dental hygienist! 

Dental hygienists generally work Monday-Thursday since many dental offices are closed on Fridays. Granted there are many offices now open on Fridays, nights, and weekends to accommodate the working person. Hygienists usually work an 8-10 hour day and get to care for patients over all needs (not just their teeth!). When patients return to see you on a 3-6 month basis you really get to develop a relationship with them and get to know them and their families. You become apart of their lives. I love helping people and people in general, so to be able to develop these relationships is very important to me. As a dental assistant you are not the main provider for the patient so you don't develop the same sort of relationships. Dental hygienists also have a little more flexibility in their schedules then a dental assistant does. Many hygienists are able to work for multiple doctors spending as little as 1-2 days in a particular practice. For a person who likes variety and change, this may be the position for you!

So as a dental hygienist you just "clean teeth'" right? FAR FROM IT! As a dental hygienist the main focus of your education is examination of the head and neck of your patients, however we are also trained and educated to do much more then that! Many people don't know that the mouth in the opening to the rest of the body and that you can tell a lot about a person's overall health based on the health of their mouth. We have been trained to be able to spot abnormalities in our patients as we treat them. I have seen visible signs of diabetes, hypertension/heart disease, and active herpes virus. I can tell whether a patient is taking a medication that is effecting their mouth and can consult the patient to help them combat these nasty oral side effects by means of a dental product that I have researched.  We are health care providers and are many times the first provider to note signs of oral and skin cancer along with other overall health care changes since our patients see us so regularly. 

Needless to say, being a hygienist involves much more then just "cleaning teeth". We are the first line of defense when it comes to spotting and treating Periodontal Disease (Gum Disease). Early diagnosis and treatment of Periodontal Disease is so important if we are going to prevent further break down of the periodontium (bone and gum that support the teeth). I will be blogging further in depth about Periodontal Disease- the cause and prevention later down the road, so come back for that!

I truly feel that becoming a dental hygienst is a great way to be able to work less, make more, help people/touch people lives, and still have a life beyond the job. I am a spiritual person with many spiritual goals. I intend to use the flexible schedule that becoming a hygienist has given me to serve God more fully!

Think you might be interested in joining  the ranks of a great profession of people who want to make a difference in people's lives? Google search to locate a local college with a Dental Hygiene Program or:

For more information about the Dental Hygiene Program at St. Petersburg College click the link HERE

Are you currently a registered dental hygienist? Considering continuing your education? St. Petersburg College offers an ALL ONLINE Bachelor's Degree Completion Program. Click HERE to learn more! 

On a little side note before I go... I purchased a MacBook Air and I am super excited to be carrying this little device around more often (it's SOO light) in hopes to have more convince for blogging! I also have a little more time on my hands since studying for school will be minimal from now on!!

What are your educational goals? What do you currently do for work? Do you love it?! 
Leave a comment below! I would love to hear! 

Jamaica Mon'

Hello everyone! Wagwon?(How are you?)

Among my busy schedule these days (full time dental hygiene school, training for a marathon, my spiritual & family obligations, and the list goes on) I have been traveling!! I had the wonderful opportunity of traveling to the country of Jamaica to study abroad with some of my classmates. It's amazing how fast time flys by. I remember at orientation for dental hygiene school, our program director said that we would be the first class to have the opportunity to study abroad in Jamaica! The moment I heard that I knew I was going! I HAD to!! I have a heart for helping others. I feel that if we have the means and ability (whether it be financial, physically with our hands, or verbally with our words) we should be helping others! I knew this was going to be the experience of a lifetime and I did not want to miss out on it! 

The class found out that there would only be 6 spots available for students to attend the trip out of 31 students. I started to get nervous. Would I be chosen to go? The class all thought I would because I am the "president" of my class, but I didn't believe that. I didn't believe students would be chosen to go by their status, but by their character and work ethic. When all was said and done, I WAS chosen to go!! I will thrilled! Now came the start of the hard work.

As soon as the 5 other students and I found out we were going to Jamaica, we began our meetings. We arranged fundraisers, started to contact major dental supply companies for product donations, and soliciting our family and friends for donations. Each student had to come up with about $2000 for this entire trip. This amount would include our program fees to participate with Great Shape Inc., the 501c3 non-profit organization which would be arranging the dental work through their dental program of 12 years- 1000 Smiles. This amount would also include the estimate amount for air fair, and other estimated expenses. We needed to promptly submit our passport information and request temporary work visas from the Ministry of Health of Jamaica. Needless to say, getting accepted to go was the easy part! 

Over the following months my classmates and I worked very hard to raise money for the mission we were about to go on. We were SO AMAZINGLY supported by out student government association of St. Petersburg College and was given $1000 per student. This amount covered a majority of the expenses. The remaining balance of money we would need for this trip was donated from family and friends. My classmates and I will be forever grateful for the loving support we received from everyone! We created a letter to send out to possible sponsors and to our surprise we started to get support and donations. Big name companies like Colgate, Listerine, and Patterson Dental started to donate supplies to us! I am guesstimating that we brought along with us over $5,000 worth of dental supplies. We shipped the supplies out in July so they would have time to arrive in Jamaica and go through customs. Our hard work had paid off! All of the leg work was done and we were finally able to relax and just prepare for the adventure. 

When the day finally came to leave for Jamaica we were all ecstatic! We weren't sure what to expect except to have a great time!! Our plane ride went great and next thing you know we were on the beautiful island of Jamaica!! Once arriving at the gorgeous Sandals resort of Whitehouse, Jamaica we quickly got to work. We had meetings and orientations to organize the coming weeks activities. There were 3 clinics that we would be working in. The closest was 10 minutes from the resort (the clinic I worked at), the farthest was 1 hour 45 minutes up the mountains! All 3 clinics were in rural areas that have 1 dentist for every 100,000 people, SO you could imagine that the access to dental care was extremely limited. My clinic was located in a beautiful fishing village with lots of goats running around and a market down the road.

While working my classmates and I saw some of the worst periodontal conditions we have ever seen, likely due to lack of education and access to care.We loved working with all the Jamaican people. They were all so loving and kind, so patient and tolerant of dental treatment. Some teeth I was going into pockets 6-10mm and my patients would not even flinch! They were so appreciative. It was a very different experience then working with American people. The working conditions were hard because we had portable units that were not ideal, along with chairs that were basically beach chairs. Ergonomics were out the window this week, unfortunately.

Here is one before and after of a female patient I treated!She was so thankful that I cleaned the stain off her teeth that she screamed and jumped out of the chair SO HAPPY! She said she couldn't get dental floss so she had been using thread from a t-shirt to floss! I ended up giving her about 50 floss boxes (thanks REACH)! She was genuinely grateful!

We had so many great experiences that is is hard to recall them all! After working on these Jamaicans for 5 days I had fallen in love with them and their culture. I have been dubbed a "JAMERICAN"!!!   After a long and busy week of working we were finally able to take a break and see the country! We all went to YS Falls. We went Zip-linning and swung off a rope swing and jumped in the falls! It was so refreshing! It was an amazing day!!

 I feel so privileged to have been able to have this experience while in dental hygiene school. I have benefited greatly from studying abroad and would recommend it to anyone! I am more confident in my clinical skills. While in Jamaica I was only able to use one sickle hand instrument, an ultrasonic, and a mirror due to the lack of instruments available as compared to school where I have 15 instruments to chose from so I had to learn to adapt quickly. I feel I worked harder there then I ever have in clinic at school and I would have never been able to grow as fast as I did in Jamaica. I am looking forward to volunteering my time again next year!! I highly recommend this for any dental professional who has the means and ability to care for others to extend your gifts in this way. My heart is full and I feel I got back much more then I could have ever given to the people of Jamaica!    

~One Love~