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Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 3/201614 TRENDS& APPLICATIONS “ITop” stands for “individually trained oral prophylaxis”.You may argue that hygienists deliver this totheirpatientsallthetime,right? Unfortunately, with the time con- straints placed upon hygienists in the UK, with 30- or 20-minute appointments and many without a nurse, the burning question is, how we are supposed to give pa- tients the essential care,as well as effectively provide thorough oral hygiene instructions? We mention time and time again that we strive for preven- tion and that this is key, but un- fortunately all there is time for is a scale and polish with a little oral hygiene instruction. We are thus placed in a vicious cycle of pa- tientsreturningforeachappoint- ment with the same oral hygiene as before. Habits remain un- changed. At Curaden Dental Clinic, my hygieneappointmentslastamin- imum of one hour. Curaden is a Swiss company, so this is some- thing of the norm for it. The com- pany takes great pride in offering high-quality products and services to patients, which is also why we recommendCURAPROXproducts. It is not just about their vibrant colours, which initially attract at- tention, naturally; there is more to the products than meets the eye. CURAPROX uses CUREN fila- ments instead of nylon, and their manual toothbrush contains 5,460 filaments—approximately 4,500 more than the average manual toothbrush. All of this is included in iTOP, since they only use the best in their training for dental professionals. I suppose many will say I am lucky to be able to offer hour ap- pointments, but as a practice we want the best for our patients. Our practice focus is prevention, and it is necessary to give time to our patients to achieve this. On occasion, the whole hour is used for iTOP training only, with my main emphasis on educating the patient, starting with the basics. I will discuss products in depth with the patient, giving him or her the full knowledge to under- stand the benefits of these. I will alsobrushforthepatient,notjust a fewteethbutall fourquadrants, soheorshecanfeelexactlyhowit is supposed to feel in each area. I will of course then ask the pa- tienttodemonstratetoothbrush- ing to me afterwards. Usually, I will brush my teeth at the same time, as we can also learn from watching others carrying out the same task (and the patient will feel less self-conscious). With floss and interdental brushes, I do the same and will fill out the full-mouth chart for the patient to take home if more than one size interdental brush is re- quired. Moreover, I will discuss toothpastes and mouthwashes, explaining the advantages and disadvantages, and how to gain the most benefit from them. You may question why you need iTOP training, since surely youlearntalloftheseskillsatuni- versity? You would think that in training to be a hygienist and therapist, the most basic training given would include correct and efficient brushing of teeth. I am somewhat ashamed to say that not once during my time at uni- versity did we have intra-oral demonstrations with a manual, electric, sonic or any other tooth- brush. Certainly, we had a lecture on the different types of tooth- brushing techniques used in the past and the techniques we should use now, and were then told verbally how to use these techniques.Wealsoreceivedslide showlecturesfromcompanyrep- resentatives who left us some samples, but did anyone actually teach me how to brush effec- tively? How do you really know until you feel? You’re just sup- posed to know, right? Who taught me? My parents? And who taught them? Is it just expected that we should know this basic oral hy- giene care? Is it just common knowledge? I think not, as I treat many patients young and old and they still do not know how to brush correctly. I was trained as a hygienist and therapist and I did not know, nor was I shown at university, until I completed iTOP courses. I have now completed my iTOP beginner and advanced courses and will hopefully attend the teachers’ seminar later this year. Going through this programme, I started to realise that correct, effective and thorough tooth- brushing is somewhat of an art, and it should not be dismissed so easily. It is also something that should not be rushed; great care and time do need to be taken to change a patient’s habits. Of course, many may argue that pa- tients will not want to spend x amount to receive oral hygiene instructions and that one cannot teach an old dog new tricks. I agree to an extent; however, once one has gained a patient’s trust and he or she understands the value of this service, the pa- tient will be more than happy to accept. We all understand how important it is to communicate well with our patients, and this combined with sufficient work- ing time, allowing for iTOP, is one of the greatest factors. Not only are my patients satisfied, happy and grateful, they are also shocked that they have never had training on how to brush prop- erly. As a hygienist and therapist, I too gain enormous job satisfac- tion and can honestly say I love what I do. I would encourage my fellow dental colleagues not to disre- gard the importance of being taught how to brush correctly until you have had iTOP training. It opened my eyes and made me feel the difference, and now I can pass my oral hygiene knowledge on to my patients, because I be- lieve my service should include more than just cleaning their teeth for them. The iTOP experience Providing thorough oral hygiene instructions in a clinical setting ByTheodora Little,UK “Going through this programme, I started to realise that correct, effective and thorough toothbrushingissomewhatofanart...” PRINT DIGITAL EDUCATION EVENTS The DTI publishing group is composed of the world’s leading dental trade publishers that reach more than 650,000 dentists in more than 90 countries. VISIT US DURING AT BOOTH M100DENTISTRY SHOW 2016 AD Theodora Little isadentalhygie- nist at Curaden Dental Clinic in London. She can be contacted at newbondstreet@ curaden.clinic. DTUK0316_14_Little 12.04.16 12:07 Seite 1 DTUK0316_14_Little 12.04.1612:07 Seite 1