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Dental Hygiene Diagnosis

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Tiffanie McKee
Dental Hygiene Diagnosis
Hiwassee College

Dental Hygiene Diagnosis
A dental hygiene diagnosis is used to identify areas of deficit that need attention. It is important to use critical thinking in order to develop a dental hygiene diagnosis within the scope of practice of dental hygiene. The dental hygiene diagnosis is based on the assessment of data from the medical history, dental chart, radiographs, periodontal chart, and twelve page assessment about the patient's dental hygiene care needs. These findings are important in order to plan and implement an effective dental hygiene treatment plan.
The medical history is used to guide the treatment for any contraindications, medical concerns, and side effects …show more content…

Certain prescription medications can cause oral side effects that can help in assessing the needs of that specific patient. The link between excessive bleeding and aspirin is diagnosed due to the medical history of the patient and the side effect associated with aspirin. The diagnosis of gingival overgrowth is due to the observation of the gingiva and the link between gingival overgrowth and a medication such as phenytoin. A patient experiencing a lack of saliva flow from the parotid gland can imply that the patient has xerostomia due to the medication albuterol listed on their medical …show more content…

For example, a patient that does not live in a fluoridated community, has previous caries, and signs of xerostomia would be diagnosed as a high risk for caries. Another example, a patient that uses tobacco would be diagnosed as a high risk for oral cancer. The periodontal risk assessment is used to determine the risk factor for periodontal disease based on the findings during the assessment. For example, if a patient has irregular visits to a dentist, lack of brushing and flossing, and has signs of xerostomia the patient would be diagnosed as a high risk for periodontal

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