	Students in the dental hygiene program at the College of DuPage in west suburban Chicago recently celebrated their entry into the profession with a pinning ceremony.

	Besides successfully completing the classes they needed to graduate, they also had another reason to celebrate. All but one of the 28 students in the class of 2011 passed the National Board Dental Hygiene examination.  The dental hygiene program is on a roll. In the previous seven years, 100 percent of the students taking the exam passed it.

	Professor Patricia Belmonte, who coordinates the dental hygiene program at the college, said there are a variety of reasons why the program is successful.

	The first has to do with choosing students who are ready to excel. The requirements made of students seeking to enter the program including performing well on pre-requisite classes and an aptitude test.

	Students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 from a 4.0 GPA on the four pre-requisite sciences classes which include Anatomy & Physiology I and II, Microbiology and Chemistry.

	Due to the number of pre-requisite classes, students in the dental hygiene program at College of DuPage usually are enrolled in a minimum of three semesters of college courses in order to apply to the dental hygiene program.

	The program’s admissions committee looks at how the students perform on the PSB Health Occupations Aptitude Examination. The test covers students’ aptitude in such areas as verbal skills, non-verbal spatial relationship, spelling, reading comprehension, and natural sciences.

	Students are allowed to take the aptitude test twice in a lifetime. However, if the applicant chooses they can take it twice in the same application year.

	“If you keeping taking it you’re going to pass eventually,” said Belmonte. “This (limiting students to taking the test twice) gives us a better grasp of whether they have the read comprehension and natural sciences knowledge to do well in the program.”

	In addition to selecting students who are well-prepared, Belmonte said the veteran and full-time faculty be credited with assisting students to excel as they work toward their degrees.

	The program employs three, full-time faculty members and 17 part-time faculty members. Both students and faculty have their eyes on preparing for the national board dental hygiene exam and the Northeast Regional Clinical Board Examination from the first day of classes.

	“All didactic and clinical courses are geared toward preparing students for both the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination and the clinical boards,” Belmonte said. “Test questions are formatted similar to the national board format, many program quizzes and tests are offered on-line to assist students in preparing to take the computerized national board exam, along with the computerized portion of the clinical board exam.”

	Belmonte noted that the program’s curriculum is similar to all dental hygiene programs that are accredited through by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation.

	She said most of the faculty members are veteran dental hygiene educators who have taught in several dental hygiene programs and bring a wealth of information to the program. Several faculty members are published in textbooks and dental and public health journals.

	The program has an 18-chair clinical facility where students are taught pre-clinic skills in the first semester of the program. They learn instrumentation on dental mannequins and other students to help them begin treating patients in the second semester.

	For anyone considering a career in dental hygiene –especially those who have never worked in a dental facility -- Belmonte advises potential applicants at the college’s program to shadow a dentist and dental hygienist to get an idea of what is involved in the dental profession.

	“They have to know if they can put their hands in someone else’s mouth other than their children or significant other,” she said. “Dental hygienists see oral pathologies, handle blood, saliva and other conditions that some individuals would have a hard time dealing with,” she said.

	When weighing a particular dental hygiene program, it is important to ask for statistics on the numbers of students that pass their national boards and clinical examination. Belmonte also noted that the majority of dental hygiene programs accept in-district students who meet the minimum program requirements before accepting applicants from outside the district.

	“Some dental hygiene programs do not share the results of their students’ results on the two board examinations until they evaluate the students’ didactic and clinical evaluations.

	At College of DuPage, with its high success rate, Belmonte said the program has good reason to be proud of their achievements and those statistics are readily available.  She also said the college’s administration is very supportive of the program.

	“Without the support of the college administration, the program would not be as successful as it has been shown to be,” Belmonte said.
	 

Articles

 Students in the dental hygiene program at the College of DuPage in west suburban Chicago recently celebrated their entry into the profession with a pinning ceremony.  Besides successfully completing the classes they needed to graduate, they also had another reason to celebrate. All but one of the 28 students in the class of 2011 passed the National Board Dental Hygiene examination.  The dental hygiene program is on a roll. In the previous seven years, 100 percent of the students taking the exam passed it.

Beating the National Boards

Dentists and dental hygienists-particularly women- who wear traditional, unisex scrubs often have similar complaints about them.

	These oft-heard grumbles include observations that the tops are so big you feel like you’re wearing a tent and the armholes are so large that they gape and droop to nearly a wearer’s waist.

	Then there are the complaints about V-necks that dip so low they have to be closed with a safety pin to provide coverage and pants that are so long that that are trip hazards unless they are hemmed.

	And don’t get started on the traditional surgical hats worn by dentists and dental assistants in the operating room. The issue of how to cover her head, and not look like she was wearing a shower or bathing cap, is what inspired Shelby Marquardt, an anesthesiologist from Austin, Texas to come up Blue Sky Scrubs, a company that specializes in making fashion-forward scrubs for women and men.

	Her first design was the Pony Scrub Hat, which she came up with when she was a resident at Hermann Hospital in Houston and got tired of squeezing her hair into a traditional cap. She also didn’t like how it looked.

	“I think it just overall was unflattering. It didn’t fit right,” she said.

	Marquardt, who was always interested in fashion and learned how to sew from her mother and grandmother, decided to solve the problem by creating the Pony Scrub Hat, which she said is more form-fitting, but also can accommodate women’s long hair in a ribbon-tied pouch in the back.

	She started wearing her homemade hat at work and soon was getting requests from co-workers who wanted her to make hats for them.

	The demand was so great that Marquardt formed her company in 2008. She also started creating other designs.

	“We’re an iconic style,” she said. “But we also take cues from what’s going on in the fashion industry.”

	To keep step with the times, she incorporates more contemporary looks into her scrubs including tapered, shorter tops, slightly flared legs, and low rise waists on pants, along with numerous color choices in solids and prints.

	The styles appeal to Christina Jones, a dental assistant at Hill Country Pediatric Dentistry in Austin, who said the 40-member staff at the practice has been wearing Blue Sky scrubs for the past year and a half.

	“We love that they’re form-fitting. They’re not so boxy,” she said.

	Jones, who stands five-feet-two-inches tall, said she also likes that she no longer has to hem her pants.

	“I have short legs so the traditional pants are always way too long and the tops are way too long,” she said.

	Not looking like they’re drowning in their clothing is a good move for the dental staff which has scrubs in nearly every color offered including Royal Blue, Navy Blue, black and various shades of green. The office manager sets a daily schedule so everyone wears the same color on the same day.

	“We seem to pick the brighter colors at the start of the week,” Jones said. “And then we go darker as the week goes on.”

	Having everyone wearing the same color builds a sense of unity, Jones said.

	“It helps coordinate the (look of) the office and helps them feel like a professional unit,” Marquardt added.

	The demand among health professionals for more attractive scrubs is evident in her company’s growth. Marquardt said the company grew 300 percent in the first year and 500 percent in its second year.

	Putting on clothing that fits and looks attractive when a person goes to work promotes self-confidence, she said. Not worrying that you’re going to trip over your pant legs or have to pin a V-neck together to provide coverage and look professional, allows people to perform their jobs better.

	“When someone says, ‘Hey, you look good today,” all of a sudden you feel like you have pride in what they do,” she said.

	Marquardt said the scrubs also are designed for durability. They are made in the USA and are fade and wrinkle resistant. The company has been selling their designs over the Internet only to date, but is expanding and will start selling them at Scrubs and Beyond stores in the next few weeks. Prices for scrubs are $20 for a man’s hat, $24 for a women’s hat and $33 for scrub tops or bottoms.

	Marquardt said it’s rewarding to provide health professionals with clothing that they feel good about wearing Surprisingly, Marquardt said creating clothing that pleases customers and being an anesthesiologist tap some of the same skills.

	“They both require attention to detail and tenacity,” she said.

 Dentists and dental hygienists-particularly women- who wear traditional, unisex scrubs often have similar complaints about them.  These oft-heard grumbles include observations that the tops are so big you feel like you’re wearing a tent and the armholes are so large that they gape and droop to nearly a wearer’s waist.  Then there are the complaints about V-necks that dip so low they have to be closed with a safety pin to provide coverage and pants that are so long that that are trip hazards unless they are hemmed.

Fashion Forward Scrubs

Dentists and dental hygienists-particularly women-who wear traditional, unisex scrubs often have similar complaints about them.

 Dentists and dental hygienists-particularly women-who wear traditional, unisex scrubs often have similar complaints about them.  These oft-heard grumbles include observations that the tops are so big you feel like you’re wearing a tent and the armholes are so large that they gape and droop to nearly a wearer’s waist.

Fashion forward scrubs

	Nevi, the stuffed mascot of Hu-Friedy’s Nevi brand of scalers, has visited 17 states and 10 conventions, and he traveled on a special dental mission to Haiti. Last we checked, he was in Kansas. Why is Nevi accumulating so many frequent flier miles? Not only because he is the go-to scaler for tough calculus, but mainly to promote continuing education for dental professionals.

More than a symbol of Hu-Friedy’s Nevi scalers, “he is a symbol of education,” said Victoria Carpenter, Product Manager, Nevi Scalers, at Hu-Friedy. “In every state that Nevi visits, Hu-Friedy donates $1,000 into a scholarship fund for the continuing education of a practicing dental hygienist.

	Nevi doesn’t travel alone. Each time he passes through airport security, he has a host-a dental practitioner to show him around. Nevi has been making headlines on the 

 website, but Nevi represents only one brand of instrument (and not the only brand of scaler) that Hu-Friedy has manufactures. However, he has created quite a buzz, and rumor has it that Nevi will be packing for an extended tour of the Pacific Rim.

, where interested dental professionals can find out about hosting Nevi and promoting continuing education for dental professionals in their home state. Hosts receive a complementary Nevi 4 scaler as well as child’s dental instrument kit, which may inspire one of your practice’s young patients to a future in dentistry. Visit 

friendsofhu-friedy.com/featured/Nevi4.asp

Where in the World Is Nevi?

	Who hasn’t laughed politely at a joke that’s fallen flat or had to try to keep their eyelids open during a story that never seems to end? The question of whether it’s a good idea to indulge in a bit of humor or tell a long, drawn-out tale to distract a patient undergoing dental treatment is not just about relating to people, it’s about whether these conversations result in good customer service and appropriate patient care.

	Kendra Knowles, who has been a dental hygienist in the Chicago area for five years, said she has listened in on some cringe-worthy conversations with patients initiated by one dentist in particular with whom she has worked.

	Recalling the first time she assisted the dentist, Knowles said she was wondering if a TV crew was going to pop up in the office.

	“I can honestly say that I thought I was on “Candid Camera,” she said. “Because he was dropping the “F” bomb and he always had some story that’s over the top.”

	He also told patients a long story about how he had been called in the middle of the night to treat a dental problem for Hilary Clinton, a story that Knowles said grew more unlikely and outrageous every time he told it.

	Knowles, whose name was changed for this article to protect her privacy, said she doesn’t frequently work with the dentist, but when she does she has found a way to cope with his chairside manner.

	“Honestly, now I just tune him out,” she said. “It’s in one ear and out the other. I don’t listen anymore.”

	Despite his style, which she said makes her cringe, she said some of the dentist’s long-time patients seem to love his free and easy manner.

	“It’s just his personality,” she said. “That’s the guy he’s always been.”

	“I had a patient tell me she was not happy with the crown he put in, and she wasn’t happy with the F-word (he used),” Knowles said.

	Leaning how to relate to patients is a long-accepted part of the curriculum at dental schools, said Sheela Raja, a clinical psychologist and director of clinical behavioral science at the College of Dentistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

	“It’s such an important part of dental care,” she said. “Dentists have to be able to communicate with patients, talk about treatment plans and deal with anxious patients.”

	To help dental students develop a chairside manner, Raja said the school audiotapes some visits (with a patient’s permission) between dental students and patients.

	Afterward, students and teachers listen to those tapes in small group settings to brainstorm ways the students can better relate to and communicate with patients.

	The idea is to help dentists develop the skills that can put patients at ease, answer their questions and concerns, and provide them with the best possible care.

	“We talk about empathy and how to understand what a patient may be feeling, and reflective listening,” she said.

	Reflective listening involves re-stating the feelings and information another person is conveying. Raja said it is easy to do and helps patients know that what they are saying is received and understood.

	“It’s not all about you (the professional) talking,” she said. “It’s about giving the patient the opportunity to ask questions.”

	The communication between a patient and the dentist or hygienist often is not as simple an interaction as it may seem. There are goals that a health professional is seeking, such as providing information that can help a patient choose a better path to ensure his or her dental health.

	Learning how to encourage patients to adopt healthier habits is another aspect of the university’s curriculum.

	“We talk about how to motivate patients for behavioral change,” she said.

	As important as it is for dentists, dental hygienists and dental students to be able to communicate with their patients, Raja said it’s not always easy when a dentist or hygienist is focused on doing the technical job in front of them. Raja said it requires being able to multi-task.

	“The dental students are practicing their hand skills while they’re also practicing their people skills,” she said. “It’s like they’re walking a tight rope.”

	She said many dentists go into the field because they like to work with people.

	“They tend to be outgoing and they tend to like to work in teams,” she said.

	If there is doubt about how a joke or story or swear word will be received, Raja said it’s usually best to save it for another audience.

	“If you’re not certain how a joke is going to go over it’s probably best not to say it,” she said.

	Studies have shown that building a good rapport among patients and health providers can have many good results, such as reducing malpractice claims for physicians, she said.

	Knowles said she doesn’t feel comfortable telling this dentist to change his communication style. She does not think he would receive her feedback in a positive way. She said when patients are disturbed by a doctor’s style they usually speak with their feet, and then it’s too late.

	“Most likely they just go shopping for another dentist and you never see them again,” she said.

 Who hasn’t laughed politely at a joke that’s fallen flat or had to try to keep their eyelids open during a story that never seems to end? The question of whether it’s a good idea to indulge in a bit of humor or tell a long, drawn-out tale to distract a patient undergoing dental treatment is not just about relating to people, it’s about whether these conversations result in good customer service and appropriate patient care.

Communication gone wrong

	Culver City, CA, July 22, 2010 – Today, Discus Dental LLC announced it has donated approximately $10,000 in oral hygiene products to Operation Gratitude, an organization that sends care packages to members of the U.S. Armed Forces overseas.  By collecting donations from attendees at recent tradeshows (AAE, AACD and CDA), and dedicating a percentage of all show sales to this effort, Discus has sent hundreds of units of BreathRx™ Oral Hygiene Products to Operation Gratitude.

	“The extremely arid climates in which our troops serve cause very dry mouths and throats. said Carolyn Blashek, Founder of Operation Gratitude.“As a result, some of the most requested items from our men and women overseas are oral hygiene products. We are delighted that Discus has made such a generous donation to our Armed Forces.”

	The donation included a wide range of BreathRx products, including mouth rinse, toothpaste and floss.  BreathRx is the #1 dentist-dispensed breath care system - a total hygiene regimen offering superior fresh breath protection in three easy steps - brush, scrape, rinse. All of the products in the BreathRx system are powered by Zytex® and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), a proprietary blend of ingredients designed to eliminate bad breath at the source and neutralize odors.  All BreathRx products are 100% alcohol-free and sugar-free.

	Operation Gratitude is the California-based non-profit, volunteer-based organization that sends care packages of snacks, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation addressed to U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile regions such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and on military ships at sea.  Its mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member's face and to express to all our Armed Forces the appreciation and support of the American people.  Since its inception in March 2003, Operation Gratitude has shipped more than 560,000 packages to American military deployed overseas.