Introduction As dental hygienists we are members of the healthcare community. That means that we have an extremely important role when it comes to the health of our patients. When patients present themselves in our treatment room, it is our responsibility to make sure we do not leave anything unexamined. We are professionals in the practice of identifying, preventing, and treating oral diseases. We do this by completing thorough extraoral and intraoral exams and being conscious of what to look for. One particular exam that we do is an oral cancer exam. As dental hygienists we are at the forefront in identifying this disease. In an article written by Nancy Burkhart, a coauthor of General and Oral Pathology for the Dental Hygienist, she states, “It is known that oral cancer is more likely to be detected in an early stage in the dental office than those found at a physician’s office, which tend to be at a later stage.” (Burkhart, 2014) This may be because dental hygienists focus more on the oral tissues than physicians do; or the fact that patients go to a doctor when it is already at advanced stages. It is imperative that we as dental hygienists know the signs and symptoms of oral cancer, as well as the risk factors involved in developing the disease and how it can be prevented. While it is important as a dental hygienist to identify oral diseases, it is more important to educate our patients on how they can avoid any potential abnormalities from becoming severe problems,
For my senior project I have explored the career of a Dental Hygienist, who is a licensed dental professional who is registered with a dental care association within their country of practice. Their duty is to clean teeth, examine patients for signs and symptoms of oral diseases such as gingivitis, and provide other preventive dental care. They also educate patients on ways to improve and maintain good oral cavity health. Dental hygienist occupation has many important aspects to their job, which makes it a very rewarding occupation. According to my research dental hygienists is one of the top career choices in America, being so, over the years the career has evolved into a high demanding occupation.
Surveys indicate that 50% of people say that someone’s smile is the first thing they notice. I personally have always been insecure about my teeth because of the gap in the middle. So, I spent alot of my time worrying what other people thought about me, growing up you realize that you're not the only one who cares so much what others think. A dental hygienist is the person who specializes in scaling and polishing teeth and giving advice on cleaning teeth. Your teeth are a very important part of your body and something you need to keep up on. As kids grow older from being teens to young adults they forget about things like that, going to get your teeth cleaned every 6 months. I want to help people make themselves feel good just like many of
Majority of the writing in my major is going to include writing in a chart. Each chart will include information about the patient, and what went on during the appointment. A patient’s reason for the visit, health records, patient complaints, examinations, treatments, and things that the hygienist noticed during the visit are all examples of information that could be included in a chart. I have noticed that my dental hygienist will write about my visit on a computer in the room. It is important that the hygienist writes clearly, correct, and concise. Dentists, office staff, and insurance companies are examples of people who could potentially read these charts. So, it is important to make sure that each chart can be easy to read and understand. It is not good to have any sort of confusion in the charts, that way if a person reads them they do not make a mistake.
Dental hygienist focuses on oral health. They clean the patient’s teeth, tell them how they can improve their oral health, and tell the patient about any oral disease that they have or can possibly happen from poor oral hygiene. To become a Dental Hygienist you have to graduate from an accredited dental hygiene program and have a license in the state they have practiced. It takes 2-6 years to become a Dental Hygienist, they make an average salary of $55.307 annually. The dental hygienist work in many places such as: private dental practice, community health centers, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, practice clinics, schools and state/federal government services.
An ancillary dental worker specializing in scaling and polishing teeth and in giving advice on cleaning the teeth. Do you know what this definition is for? The definition above is for a dental hygienist, this is what I am going to college for. I had three choices for what I wanted to do and I picked dental hygienist. I should be a dental hygienist because they help a lot of people and that is what I want to do. I want to help people with there teeth and help clean them. Dental Hygienist has to talk with people and teach them how to take care of there teeth and I like to talk so that sounds fun to me. I want to be a dental hygienist for kids I would love to do that because I love kids. I picked dental hygienist out of three choices, it was very hard to pick what one to do, but when I put all the information together I got what I was looking for!
With furthering one’s education, they can advance from dental assistant to dental hygienist. The pay is much higher with a median salary of $72,330. They are much more involved with their patients. They clean their teeth and show patients how to properly clean and floss. The stats show that the occupation will grow 19% before 2024. If one is willing, this would be a great advancement.
I first took interest in this career path when I was exploring a different variety of jobs during high school. My mom asked me,” what do I want out of life”? So I explained to her that I want to do something that matters to people. I want to help people. But over all things I want to be a mom. I want to be able to provide for my family. My mom went on to explain how she thought being a hygienist would suit me. It’s funny how our moms know us better than we know ourselves sometimes! She went on to explain how she had a friend who pursued a career as a dental hygienist that it worked out for her in many ways. She got to raise her own children but continue growing in a lifelong career path. She got to support her family while not missing out on the milestones her children were accomplishing. She had become very successful within her career and about 25 years later, she still loves it the same. I knew that was the life I wanted, so I started to research where I would need to start.
Dental Hygienists have many tasks that need to be done before they can be successful, such as getting their Associate’s Degree, or Bachelor’s Degree, and commonly takes less than three years. The first hygienist was trained by dentists. The 1st school established for dental hygiene and the 1st state legalized the practice of dental hygiene in 1915. Dental nurses began to provide prophylaxis treatment as a method to prevent diseases in the 1880’s. Patient demands were high for esthetic services such as veneers and whitening products.Private offices address concerns over heightened latex sensitivity, and the more nonlatex products were more available. New products for dentinal hypersensitivity come to the marketplace. And more private offices
As stated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “Each year, more than 30,000 new cases of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx are diagnosed and over 8,000 deaths due to oral cancer occur.” (CDC). Most adults are unaware that they have periodontal disease or gum disease, this occurs because they do not maintain routine checkups with their dentist. When we insert food and other bacteria into our mouths, it affects our teeth and gums. We need routine dental checkups and cleanings throughout our lives. Dental checkups usually involve x-rays, cleanings, and the examination of the mouth.
Musician Terri Clark once said, ‘When someone has cancer, the whole family and everyone who loves them does, too.’ The family and loved ones of someone who is battling cancer feel their grief and pain so deeply that it is as if they too are battling cancer. I know this because I lost my dad to esophageal cancer. I chose oral cancer for the topic of my senior project (a book) because I wanted to create something that could provide knowledge or comfort to someone who is struggling with oral cancer, whether it is a patient or their loved one. I did extensive research over everything and anything to do with oral cancer, including:
Oral cancer is one of the most common and threatening disease. Thousands have died and are continuing to die today in the United States and around the world. Numerous of people have been diagnosed from oral cancer this year in the United States and other countries like South Asia or in the Northwestern Europe. This typical cancer infused with strength can cause severe pain, discomfort, numbness around and inside the mouth. If the cancer is not treated quickly and properly,the cancer can spread to the body and affect other organs eventually leading to a death road. Oral cancer is sometimes difficult to cure if it's not detected on time in an early stage and it´s important to have precaution and spread awareness for this disease.
In today’s society most people think that the leading cause of oral cancer are things like tobacco products or other types of drugs. But that is not the case, because scientist have proven that the leading cause is really oral sex.
Oral Surgery Associates Inc., in Anchorage, AK, is the most trusted name in oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures, whether you need wisdom teeth removal, dental implants or teeth extraction. Oral Surgery Associates Inc. is lead by two surgeons, Dr. William F. Bergeron, Jr. and Dr. Ray Holloway, who are both board certified and have 6 years of additional anesthesia and surgical training. This team of oral surgeons is known for keeping up on the most cutting edge technologies in dental surgery, but it’s the comfort and care they provide their clients that earns Oral Surgery Associates Inc. rave reviews.
In society, dentistry and oral hygiene has been overlooked and is viewed as a luxury. Dentistry plays a large role in American culture and has evolved extensively since it has begun. Today, the world of dentistry there have been multiple innovations with advancements in diversity, inventions, dental health and diseases. The ADA defines dentistry as “the evaluation,diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment (nonsurgical, surgical or related procedures) of disease, disorders and/or conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and/or the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body” (“ADA Definition of Dentistry”)
Table 3. Full time dentist employed per 100,000 population in the public and private practice sectores, states and territories, 2013.