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The article offers information on how a task force on debridement created by the California Dental Hygienists' Association (CDHA) in 2013 developed a relevant definition for D4355, full-mouth debridement, which changed the course for dental coding. Cited are the steps they have taken toward creating a code, the submissions made by the code maintenance committee (CMC) for Current Dental Terminology (CDT), and the new gingivitis-type procedure code they considered to fill the CDT gap.

The article presents a question and answer related to the Current Dental Terminology (CDT) periodontal maintenance code D4910 and dental prophylaxis code D1110.

The author discusses person-centered care (PCC) that focuses on the person, and not the patient. Topics covered include the patient-centered modality's treatment of the patient's diagnosis based on evidence-based practices, and the person-centered care's multidimensional view of the person in relation to his/her disease, overall health, and environment. Also noted is the dental hygienist's need to consider factors like ethnicity, economics and expressed preferences for a person-centered care.

The article evaluates the ProMate CL cordless hygiene handpiece from Pac-Dent.

Polishing has been an integral part of dental hygiene care since the beginning of the profession. As technology and services have evolved in dentistry, so has the approach to the polishing protocol. This course reviews the history of polishing, the current thinking on polishing, components of prophylaxis pastes, how prophylaxis pastes work, supplemental additives to prophylaxis pastes, and methods to educate patients on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the Somos Amigos Medical Missions which is a non-profit organization that offers medical and dental care to the underprivileged communities through organizing medical camps. It also shares experience of a patient from Puerto Rico who had attended the medical camp scheduled in Naranjito, Puerto Rico. It also discusses initiatives undertaken by the Smile Foundation organization under the leadership of dental hygienist Kaitlin M. Stier.

The article discusses the benefits of guided biofilm therapy (GBT), a method of biofilm management inclusive of the use of Air-Flow, Perio-Flow and Piezon technologies which features the intentional removal of biofilm as a definitive procedure. Topics covered include how GBT emerged, the process of GBT and why should clinicians shift to GBT.

The article offers step-by-step instructions for restoration and natural teeth maintenance, implant and restoration maintenance, periodontal disease treatment, and peri-implant disease treatment.

The article reports on the plaque biofilm which begins as nonpathogenic, normal, intraoral bacteria. This is formed after brushing, flossing and dental prophylaxis. The anaerobic players that cause the destruction and inflammation are the later entrants in this biofilm collection. Various methods of interproximal cleaning including flossing which is the most effective and least actively preferred by the majority of patients, are available.

Presents information on disposable prophy angles (DPA) being used by dental hygienists. Price range for DPA; Use of plastic in manufacturing DPA; Primary parts of all DPA.

Presents information on improvements in the handle design of dental instruments. Features of the EverEdge line of scalers and curettes from Hu-Friedy; Advantages of ultrasonic dental scalers; Benefits of the Contra Prophy angle from Young Dental. INSETS: How automatic sharpeners come to the rescue;A smoother plunge with syringes.

Deals with the most common clinical concerns when providing supportive therapy around all porcelain teeth restorations and veneers. Standard care for porcelain teeth; Power-driven scalers for porcelain teeth restoration available in the market; Chief complaint of patient with regard to power-driven scalers.

Discusses approaches to teaching basic dental care to patients. Development of a customized oral care program; Suggesting solutions; Reinforcement of patient compliance.

Provides an overview of issues included in the updates made by the American Dental Association on its CDT-4 treatment codes. Dental prophylaxis; Periodontal maintenance; Periodontal scaling and root planning.

The article answers a question about the different office protocols in dental practices.

The author provides a comparison between prophylaxis and periodontal maintenance. Topics discussed include the difference between preventive and therapeutic care, the indecision that hygienists encounter when there is a mixture of healthy sites and disease sites, and the reinforcement of home care in periodontal maintenance visit.

The article describes the operatory of dental professional Nicole Fortune at Chamberlain Periodontal in South Burlington, Vermont. Topics mentioned include the use of periodontal endoscopy and aqueous powder streaming by Fortune to treat her patients, her effort to study the effectiveness of an endoscope for perio treatment, and her use of an Nd:YAG laser for bacterial reduction on almost all of her patients.

The article reviews the ProMate CL cordless prophy system from Pac-Dent.

The article highlights how a D4910 periodontal maintenance code is different from a D1110 prophylaxis code and discusses evidence supporting the necessity for undertaking regular periodontal maintenance visits. The challenges involved in explaining the differences between two procedures to the patients are provided, along with the importance of an independent authority including intraoral photographs, probing charts, and periodontal testing labs such as Oral Microbiology Testing Service (OMTS).

The article focuses on the concept of selective coronal polishing. Traditional prophylaxis involved coronal polishing but this was changed when it was discovered that polishing removes important enamel. According to the American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA), polishing should only be undertaken if necessary and should not be treated as a routine procedure.

The article focuses on air polishing of the tooth enamel. Information is presented on the damage caused by polishing paste on the enamel. It describes the advantages of air polishing over other polishing techniques. The two main types of air polishing powder are the traditional sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate. It relates the advantage of pumice polishing.

The article discusses the use of Host Modulation Therapy (HMT) as an adjunct to scaling and root planing in order to promote attachment level and minimize pocket depth in patients with periodontitis. It says that the inhibition of collagenase using low-dose doxycyline as HMT enables new connective tissue fibers to mature without being destroyed by tissues. It suggests that a patient who needs premedicated prophylaxis must not take low-dose doxycycline the day before treatment.

The article discusses the author's experience of encountering dental hygiene in England.

The article reports on the debate about teeth polishing. The risk of damage to teeth due to instrumentation are what concerns many dental hygienists. The American Dental Hygienists' Association suggests that polishing should be offered only when a dental hygienist or dentist determines a specific need for it. Analysts question the scientific data behind scaling and polishing.

Discusses the professional definition of dental cleaning and the type of dental treatment being delivered clinically. Definition of adult prophylaxis according to the American Dental Association; Types of screening suggested by the JP Institute that should be incorporated into the first 15 minutes of every recall or continuing care visit and every periodontal maintenance or supportive periodontal therapy visit; Situations that must happen in order to quickly and effectively communicate the patient's current condition and suggested treatment.

Presents information on dental ultrasonic scalers. Purpose of an ultrasonic scaler; Importance of sensitivity to a scaler; Differences between an ultrasonic scaler and a hand scaler. INSET: The comfort of the tip.

Presents suggestions on how dental hygienists should answer questions raised by their patients. Importance of answering the questions of patients before treatment; Use of patient-friendly terms in answering questions; Definition of some terms in dentistry.

Reports on the "Miles of Smiles," a school-based dental prophylaxis and education program for low-income children by Kim Geelan, a veteran of dental hygiene, in Kansas City as of February 2004. Number of students from four Olathe Head Start program who received on-site, dental hygiene care and education; Percentage of parents who signed consent forms during the first year of the program; Percentage of the participants who have received follow-up, restorative care. INSET: Dental hygienists have always targeted public schools.

The article evaluates several prophy paste including Ultrapro Tx prophy paste, MAXmin prophy paste with NuFlour by Preventech and Clinpro Prophy Paste by 3M.

The article discusses guided biofilm therapy (GBT) for dental patients. Topics covered include the use of air polishing with low-abrasive powder in GBT, the difference of air polishing with low-abrasive powder with the use of a rubber cup and hand or power instruments in biofilm removal, and the wider acceptance of GBT outside the U.S. than within. Also mentioned is the use of GBT for the prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases.

The article presents an answer to a question on whether a patient can blame his dental hygienist for his periodontal infection.

The article provides information on dental hygiene products including the cordless prophylaxis handpiece from DentalEZ, Munch Mitt baby teething mitten, and Denticator Eco disposable prophylaxis angles.

The article advises prophylaxis combined with localized periodontal therapy for patients with diseased periodontum. It identifies risk factors in a 37-year old patient with two to three teeth having pockets and localized chronic periodontis and suggests preventive prophylaxis on the healthy sites and therapeutic treatment on diseased sites of the teeth. Options are suggested for patients with localized disease warranting periodontal debridement on the teeth without prior periodontal therapy.

The article reviews several dental products including Smart Select teeth polishing from Young Dental, Cocofloss dental floss from Cocofloss and Oral-B Practitioner Series SUPA Slim disposable prophy angle from Oral-B.

The article discusses the role of dental hygienists in determining osteonecrosis of the jaws (ONJ) induced by cancer drugs. Topics covered include the development of ONJ among cancer patients receiving bisphosphonates or denosumab, the need for oncologists to refer patients to dentist for examination prior to treatment with drugs associated with ONJ and the steps recommended for pre-treatment dental care.