	In the changing world of dentistry, it is only logical that the role of the dental hygienist will be growing and developing as well. Dental Consultant 

 to discuss the changing role of the dental hygienist.

 So Wendy, how will the role of the hygienist change in the future? 

Hygiene is changing rapidly right now! We used to be defined as the ones who kept teeth clean so they could be restored. Now, we bring so much more to the table; it is both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I have defined three roles that a hygienist must utilize to maximize their impact in a practice:

Trending article: 7 cool dental hygiene products you should know

  As the “preventive therapist,” the hygienist becomes the source of information regarding the menu of preventive services. When we use the full menu of preventative services (regardless of age and insurance), we are in fact providing a much higher level of patient care, and a level of care that our patients want and need.

 It’s not just about saving teeth anymore, it’s now about saving lives. Patients are at much greater risk of other serious medical disorders if we don’t address their periodontal health – and this starts while in the hygiene chair.

Trending article: Breaking the law, dental hygiene style

We are the ones patients look to when considering treatment options. The doctor leaves the room, and they turn to us. They often ask things like, “What do you think, do I really need to do this?” This is why I define “patient treatment advocate” as a key role. This key role is responsible for helping our patients accept restorative dentistry. When we focus in on our role, and teach valuable skills in this area, we see case acceptance skyrocket.

 Wendy, what are your top three tips for hygienists to increase efficiency and profitability?

 I would say the easiest role to start with is preventive services. We often will teach hygienists how to become more effective with a few preventive menu items on day one.  A few examples of goals we might help them accomplish:

Four characteristics dental hygienists need to become successful entrepreneurs 

	Achieve 80% acceptance on adult fluoride varnish. We teach a simple three-step process that makes 80% acceptance possible. Many patients of today are high risk for decay. Once we have a caries risk assessment completed, this conversation becomes more powerful! When we have a risk assessment conversation with patients it’s like putting prevention on steroids. Most patients don’t SEE a need for the preventative services, and it’s our job to SHOW them the need.

	Focus in on same-day bonded procedures. Helping patients accept sealants, or bonded desensitizing/protective services, helps protect the patient and increases production. Just four services a day means an increase of more than $35,000 per year.

The 5 new words of dental practice ... and what you should know about them

	Achieve 30% acceptance on advanced oral cancer screenings. I just read a story about a 15-year-old boy that was diagnosed with oral cancer. Traditional risk factors aren’t enough in today’s world. HPV and other risks are real, and we should utilize technology to our patients’ advantage. We have specific systems and verbal skills that help hygienists to actually utilize these resources.   

	These three examples are just three of many different strategies I could have chosen, which is exciting!

Wendy Briggs is the President of The Team Training Institute, an International practice management organization. For more than 15 years Wendy has helped thousands of dentists take control of their practice and uncover millions of dollars of unseen/untapped revenue by serving their patients at a higher level. In addition to her managerial expertise, Wendy has been a hygienist for more than 20 years and has one of the most highly regarded hygiene/perio programs in the industry. Dental Service Organizations and privately owned practices soar when they adopt her protocol.

Achieve 80% acceptance on adult fluoride varnish. We teach a simple three-step process that makes 80% acceptance possible. Many patients of today are high risk for decay. Once we have a caries risk assessment completed, this conversation becomes more powerful! When we have a risk assessment conversation with patients it’s like putting prevention on steroids. Most patients don’t SEE a need for the preventative services, and it’s our job to SHOW them the need.

Focus in on same-day bonded procedures. Helping patients accept sealants, or bonded desensitizing/protective services, helps protect the patient and increases production. Just four services a day means an increase of more than $35,000 per year.

Achieve 30% acceptance on advanced oral cancer screenings. I just read a story about a 15-year-old boy that was diagnosed with oral cancer. Traditional risk factors aren’t enough in today’s world. HPV and other risks are real, and we should utilize technology to our patients’ advantage. We have specific systems and verbal skills that help hygienists to actually utilize these resources.   

These three examples are just three of many different strategies I could have chosen, which is exciting!

Wendy Briggs is the President of The Team Training Institute, an International practice management organization. For more than 15 years Wendy has helped thousands of dentists take control of their practice and uncover millions of dollars of unseen/untapped revenue by serving their patients at a higher level. In addition to her managerial expertise, Wendy has been a hygienist for more than 20 years and has one of the most highly regarded hygiene/perio programs in the industry. Dental Service Organizations and privately owned practices soar when they adopt her protocol. 

Articles

 In the changing world of dentistry, it is only logical that the role of the dental hygienist will be growing and developing as well. Dental Consultant Jack Abrams sat down with Wendy Briggs, dental hygienist and president of The Team Training Institute to discuss the changing role of the dental hygienist.

Wendy Briggs on the future role of the dental hygienist

	A true high-tech oral health routine should treat the cause of oral health problems, not just the symptoms. 

In this roundup, we've compiled a great list of must-have products that fit the bill, including next-gen toothbrushes, space-age water picks, futuristic sanitation pods and more.  Click through the following pages to see these cool tools.

The point of brushing our teeth is to keep things clean, but what we don’t realize is how much dirt we put back in our mouths every time we use our toothbrushes. Steripod is a clip-on protector for any standard or electric toothbrush and keeps your toothbrush fresh and clean for up to three months – thanks to patented “active vapors." ($5.99 for two)

More product news: MOMBrush teaches good brushing habits to patients of all ages

What do ninjas, penguins and rainbow creatures have to do with oral hygiene? They can all deep clean your toothbrush! The Zapi Luxe UV sanitizer reportedly eliminates up to 99.9% of germs with UV light. Rinsing just got high-tech - you’ll feel like you’re using a brand new toothbrush every time you use it. ($39.99)

Waterpik Aquarius Professional Water Flosser

 brings your dentist to your bathroom for a daily, healthy cleaning. Water flossers are proven to be more effective than traditional dental floss, and are great for sensitive gums and those with braces. The pink color keeps a daily chore cheerful. ($89.99)

Related product news: More on the Waterpik Water Flosser

If Sonicare is the popular kid on the block, consider the Foreo ISSA its chic, Paris-residing cousin. The soft silicone bristles generate the ideal amount of friction for plaque busting, but won’t damage precious enamel. Plus, it looks great on a bathroom counter! ($199)

Trending article: What's one thing that makes your day as a dental hygienist better?

Continue to the next page for more great products...

There’s nothing worse than floss that splinters and sticks between crevices. Tom’s Antiplaque Floss is made from nylon and coated with natural bees-, carnauba-, and jojoba waxes to keep things moving along. It’s strong enough to get between teeth but gentle on sensitive gums - throw it in your bag for when you can’t get to your water flosser! ($4.45 each)

Tom's of Maine launches recycling initiative with TerraCycle

Rembrandt Intense Stain Dissolving Strips 

Gone are the days of goopy whitening trays - these little strips adhere to your teeth and dissolve in 5 to 10 minutes for quick, mess-free whitening. Not only will your chompers be whiter in just two weeks, they’ll be more resistant to new staining as well. ($19.97)

Trending article: Straight talk: How a prescription fluoride toothpaste works

Follow up your high-tech routine with alcohol-, sugar- and gluten-free CloSYS Oral Rinse. This stuff is specially formulated to kill 99% of bacteria and germs in seconds, and leaves your breath fresh for the entire day – burn not included. ($11.39 for 32 oz.)

Trending article: Oral cancer: Come together, right now

 A true high-tech oral health routine should treat the cause of oral health problems, not just the symptoms. 

7 cool dental hygiene products you should know about

We asked a simple question on the Modern Hygienist Facebook page: “What is one thing that makes your day as a hygienist better?” We got plenty of answers. It’s typical of the great conversations we often have on our MH Facebook page. If you haven’t “liked us” yet, be sure you do 

Below are what some of your colleagues told us were the things that made their day better.

When the last patient of the day cancels 

When the dentist is doing dentistry and not micro-managing!

When a patient comes back and they have been flossing!

When a patient appreciates everything you do for them and you get a hug. Those are the best.

HOT READ: Breaking the law ... dental hygiene style

Grateful, rather than complaining, patients.

A patient that says "Thank you. That feels soooo much better!"

Patients who are as invested in their oral health as I am!

HOT READ: Revisiting our most controversial article of the year

Working with awesome assistants and being a team player.

Making a new nervous, anxious patient feel at ease and comfortable

Getting all exams early and never waiting...so I'm on time for everyone. Woooo hooo!

Patients who know they are partners with you for their overall health!

Building long-lasting relationships with my patients.

Patients accept treatment. Makes me feel that they're listening and are invested in their oral health.

Just a "thank you", "you're great," or a hug goes such a long way. (Words of Affirmation & Physical Touch are my love languages. They make me feel like I've connected with my patient and what I'm doing is worthwhile).

Not flooded RDH job market would be nice.

Talking dental hygiene salaries:	Are you willing to grow yourself to grow your paycheck?

Check out more of your comments on page 2...

When difficult patients admit that they are difficult. I hate being blamed when it's not my fault.

Making a patient feel confident about their smile! 

Patients that come in, equipment that works, sharp instruments, teamwork in the office! Yeah I know, more than one thing, but...

When a patient that hasn't had dental care ever and are truly amazed how nice their teeth look and feel and they return for their follow up recall!

HOT READ: 3 things that have made me a better hygienist

My connections with my patients. Having their trust and helping them.

When patients tell me I am like one of their family (32 years).

Patients that are living in the "safety zone" which means they return to see while they are still healthy!

Seeing amazing results because the patient actually listened and followed thru with recommendations! 

When a patient says, "I've been flossing every day since our last visit. You were right. It doesn't make me bleed."

Calming a nervous patient's anxiety and accomplishing a precise and thorough new patient comprehensive exam. I love when a new patient says, “Wow I've never had such a thorough exam!”

When you can see improvement in a patient’s oral health and they are excited to have made a difference.

When one if my patients who always has poor oral health, bleeding, and inflammation comes in and has marked improvement and are healthier because they listened to me! Makes my day.

Is there anything you'd like to add? Feel free to leave a comment in the section below.

We asked a simple question on the Modern Hygienist Facebook page: “What is one thing that makes your day as a hygienist better?” We got plenty of answers. It’s typical of the great conversations we often have on our MH Facebook page. If you haven’t “liked us” yet, be sure you do by clicking here. Below are what some of your colleagues told us were the things that made their day better.

What you told us: What's the one thing that makes your day as a dental hygienist better?

, chatted with Jen Post, RDH, an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, about how fluoride works and if it is safe. 

When using a prescription toothpaste that delivers fluoride, a protective barrier is created around the calcium during manufacturing to allow it to coexist with the fluoride ions. This barrier breaks down when it comes in contact with saliva, allowing remineralization to occur.

RELATED: Read a clinician's review of Clinpro 5000

"The fluoride helps bring the calcium and phosphate into the tooth, so I like to think of it as a bridge," Post said. "Those are really the building blocks of the enamel and help make the tooth strong."

During one part of the interview below, Turchetta asked Post how long that her patients can expect the fluoride to last.

"When we think about fluoride, we don't always think about how long it lasts. Really it's more about the mechanism of action," Post said. "As long as the calcium and phosphate are available in the saliva and we have fluoride introduced, then it's going to be bringing those in as long as it's available."

RELATED: Anastasia Turchetta's 5 hot dental hygiene topics for 2015

. You can hear the entire interview by watching the video below. 

 On a recent Google Hangout, Anastasia Turchetta, RDH, chatted with Jen Post, RDH, an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, about how fluoride works and if it is safe. 

Straight Talk: How a prescription fluoride toothpaste works

, the Dental Products Report crew stopped by the 

 booth to learn more about their tech-savvy system that teaches good brushing habits to dental patients of all ages.

The technology allows the patient to hook up any toothbrush to a sensor and pair that sensor with his or her smartphone. Once that occurs, the patient can get feedback on how he or she is brushing his or her teeth, with positive and negative feedback being easy to understand and learn from.

More from IDS: Philips unveils new toothbrushing technology tool, more innovations

While this technology is not available in the United States at this time, the company is hoping to be in the country in the near future.

More from IDS: New oral cancer risk assessment system debuts

To learn more about the product, watch the exclusive demo video below that we shot during our time at IDS...

 During the recent IDS meeting in Cologne, Germany, the Dental Products Report crew stopped by the MOMBrush booth to learn more about their tech-savvy system that teaches good brushing habits to dental patients of all ages.

From IDS 2015: MOMBrush teaches good brushing habits to dental patients of all ages

	- "Aging is a risk factor for oral cancer"

	- "Restorative dentistry restores oral health"

	What is the truth and current science behind these statements? The automatic answer has a high likelihood of being dated, incorrect or incomplete. The public and many of us believe what happens in clinical dental hygiene practice is based on science. Yet, is it?

For the past decade, the term evidence-based practice (EBP) seems everywhere. Let’s think about this patient in your chair: She lists on her health history Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. What do you do with this information? What oral health risk might she have? What systemic risk could you cause with unthinking/unexamined care?

Tech-savvy millennials will research online. Do you have a millennial thought process? Pew Research Center has a 14 item quiz and that can tell you 

 You might find it interesting in clarifying how you think and process in our current world (and what the heck, these online quizzes are fun!).

Let’s start with the most commonly cited definition of evidence-based practice from Dr. David Sackett, Canadian physician and EBP pioneer: “The conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research.” Thanks Dr. Sackett but what does that really mean?

Many hygienists love structure. Good news: The process of EBP is actually quite structured with a bunch of specific steps; it should be easy. Then why isn’t it used? It makes theoretical sense, yet how many practitioners have the time to go through the EBP process when a patient sitting in their chair?

Trending article: The 5 new words of dental practice ... and what you should know about them

On Facebook this week, you remember seeing something about Hashimoto’s so you go back and find the post about a book 

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause

 by Dr. Izabella Wentz. It hit the NY Times Bestseller list for two months in a row. So you link to Amazon.com and the marketing section says, “Hashimoto's is more than just hypothyroidism. Most patients with Hashimoto's will present with acid reflux, nutrient deficiencies, anemia, intestinal permeability, food sensitivities, gum disorders and hypoglycemia, in addition to the typical hypothyroid symptoms such as weight gain, cold intolerance, hair loss, fatigue and constipation.”

You have limited knowledge of Hashimoto’s. How can you examine the information in this book? How much is hype? How much is accurate? You don’t have the time while the patient is in the chair to examine any of it. So is EBP really feasible?

Laser-assisted periodontal therapy is routinely performed by many dental hygienists though still controversial in some circles. Codes have been submitted over and over to the Code Maintenance Committee to add to CDT (Current Dental Terminology) for this care. The committee continues to vote “no” to a variety of laser-assisted periodontal therapy submissions (as recently as for CDT 2015). The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) is leader in this opinion. Is AAP once again using evidence as a mallet? In earlier versions of CDT, there was a code for curettage.

, the procedure code was removed. If you look at the references to support their statement, there is not a single reference from this century. Okay, so the statement was written in 2002, yet it is still on the AAP website as position they support. The 24 references are from: 1927, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1966, 1980 and two each from 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. It looks like the evidence didn’t drive the statement, rather research was found to support a position. Is that EBP?

Trending article: 4 characteristics dental hygienists need to become successful entrepreneurs

Clinical treatment guidelines are some of the best and quickest ways for healthcare providers to learn the science behind making the best clinical decisions for their patients. Generally, a panel of experts is convened to review the scientific literature and to create informed treatment recommendations. The experts crafting the guidelines explain which treatments are helpful to the greatest number of people within a certain patient group. Carrying the official backing of established societies, the implications of the release of guidelines are many.

In theory, healthcare professionals review the new guidelines, weigh the scientific evidence, and implement the new 

 is accomplishing this process in dentistry. The guidelines have the official backing of ADA and will be considered best practices by insurance carriers and others. What can be of concern to any practice is how the concept of 

 has been used in medicine to limit treatment options and decrease reimbursements. Are you willing to allow ADA to control it all? Is that the direction EBP really going?

Trending article: A size 25 soft toothbrush: Missing in action (Part 2)

(MMH) articles with more questions than answers because that is true hallmark of a MMH-asking questions and continuing to search for the answers. We’re interested in hearing your take.

 - "Aging is a risk factor for oral cancer"  - "Everyone needs to floss"  - "Restorative dentistry restores oral health"  What is the truth and current science behind these statements? The automatic answer has a high likelihood of being dated, incorrect or incomplete. The public and many of us believe what happens in clinical dental hygiene practice is based on science. Yet, is it?

Evidence, hype or manipulation?

	Dental hygienists are arguably an officious bunch. They love their rules; they trot them out like prize ponies, showing everyone that they know the score and were taught well. But U.S. dental hygienists have a secret. They are thugs, and they don’t even know it.

Whenever a new product advertisement comes out featuring a dental hygienist, the internet groups are all abuzz commenting on the model's hair length, mask placement, patient goggles, open or closed collar on the lab jacket, earrings, makeup, nails, infection control protocol breaks and who knows what all else! They break their arms patting themselves on the back for noticing that the faucet still has knobs in the background of the picture. Chairside, they continue to charge out the prophy code in patients who they are obviously treating for a periodontal condition. Who’s it hurting? Everyone.

Look at the case of Dr. XX who was jailed for 

 fraud because he never noticed his office manager double-billed for procedures and pocketed the money. The dentist paid the price for that negligence.

Dental hygienists, the same people who notice an open collar on an advertisement, practice on a patient with bleeding and periodontal pockets and never recommend a salivary test for periodontal pathogens. They sweat bullets and take “after” radiographs to determine if the calculus is removed and charge out a simple preventive appointment, D1110. Is that insurance fraud? What’s the risk?

Does it matter what the risk is? Laws are intended to be followed. Laws are society’s way of agreeing on how to live. Insurance rules are in place to help keep businesses on track. When a dentist does a crown and charges a filling, what’s that called? Aside from being called crazy, it’s fraud. It's the same when a dental hygienist uses his/her skills to work in a bloody field deep below the crest of the tissue but charges for a simple procedure reserved for healthy tissues. It is also a crazy fraud. But it’s even worse because they are, in effect, committing crimes, namely:

 – From the employer by giving away services

 – To the patient, employer and insurance company

 – To all the other hygienists who are fighting the good fight trying to keep their job and prove their worth to employers who only see someone who will be paid $45 an hour and produce $90
		 

Straight talk: Revisiting a controversial article and the importance of the Modern Millennial Hygienist

Where do you sit? If you’re reading this, you’re probably seething because you know someone who is not the epitome of a dental hygienist; someone who has turned off their brain years ago.

 dental hygiene groups was about a “new” type of practitioner invented by the 

. In this role, someone would scale and polish teeth for next to nothing and be trained on the job. Oh, the horror! The Modern Millennial Hygienist, someone who has grown up under the team metaphor, will look at this development and wonder how it got to be that way. What motivated the ADA to make this recommendation? Money is the obvious answer, but what happened to make this such a priority? There are already too many schools, too many unemployed and too few dental school graduates, so why offer another team member?

We’re interested in hearing your take. Are you a thug, battering patients and stealing from your employer, forcing it to find alternatives to the classic dental hygienist? Voice your opinion below-only a voice can tease this problem apart.

In the future, we’ll explore the idea of the two-year degree. Did you really graduate in two years? We didn’t think so.

Listen to a podcast on breaking the law dental hygiene style below:

	Check Out Business Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with 

Related reading: The 5 new words of dental practice ... and what you should know about them