Hygiene Tribune U.S. Edition

Using hygiene diagnoses in a wide range of care settings HYGIENE TRIBUNE The World’s Dental Hygiene Newspaper ·U.S. Edition DECEMBER 2016 — Vol. 9, No. 6 www.dental-tribune.com T he American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) has released a white paper that underscores the ability of the dental hygien- ist to perform dental hygiene diagnosis as part of the oral-care team working to ensure that every patient is evaluated and treated based on individual oral health needs. According to the ADHA paper, dental hygiene diagnosis is an essential part of dental hygiene care and scope of prac- tice, yet confusion exists on how to im- plement it into daily practice. The ADHA created the white paper to help practicing dental hygienists under- stand and use dental hygiene diagno- ses in their daily practice across a wide variety of care settings. In addition, the organization is providing tools and re- sources for dental hygiene educators to help them teach dental hygiene diagno- sis to students. The organization is the profession’s national voice informing policymakers as they consider legisla- tion related to the dental hygiene scope of practice. The ADHA Dental Hygiene Diagnosis white paper can be download- ed at www.eiseverywhere.com/esurvey/ index.php?surveyid=40570. ADHA deﬁnes dental hygiene diag- nosis as “the identiﬁcation of an indi- vidual’s health behaviors, attitudes, and oral health care needs for which a dental hygienist is educationally qualiﬁed and licensed to provide. The dental hygiene diagnosis requires evidence-based criti- cal analysis and interpretation of assess- ments to reach conclusions about the pa- tient’s dental hygiene treatment needs.” “Through dental hygiene diagnoses, dental hygienists educate patients on behaviors that minimize risks of oral infections, help detect risk factors for in- ADHA white paper looks at hygienist’s role in diagnosis By Patricia Walsh, RDH Editor in Chief, Hygiene Tribune Just prior to his retire- ment, my boss decided it was time do some farewell dentistry on me. Poor old #18 had been patched and repatched for years. The tooth was in need of a crown. For decades, quick restorations were done. Spur- of-the-moment ﬁllings were squeezed in between my hygiene duties. At one point, I was left alone — still-elevated and reclined — when the doctor and his assistant went off to see their next pa- tient in an adjoining room. Am I done? Am I supposed to get myself out of here? Can I reach the buttons? I ﬁnally whimpered for help. This month it was time for me to have a “real” appointment on my day off. While I was sitting in the chair, waiting for the crown impression to set, I remembered a long-ago patient who had a Dow Chemical logo on his mo- lar. Rather than believe he had a strong esprit de corps, I had always thought of it as a form of forensic ID. If you’re a chemi- cal engineer potentially in the wrong place at the wrong time in some far off developing country — taking such pre- cautions seemed plausible to me. For all I knew, perhaps he never made it farther Patricia A. Walsh, RDH PAW’s ‘tatooth’ Commentary ” See TATOOTH, page C2 than Stamford, Conn. Nonetheless, it was this adventurous, imaginative no- tion that inspired me. During my travels to Asia, I did give some serious consideration to a foreign- language body tattoo. I just never sum- moned the courage. Because my initials are PAW, I decided that a pawprint on the buccal aspect of my molar would be just the thing. Fearful that I could wind up with a ferocious bear print, rather than a cutesy cute pussycat print, I included a Googled image to attach to the lab slip. Can’t say that I saw another image of a paw as a tooth tattoo on my internet search. Plenty of animals afﬁliated with professional and school sports teams can be found adorning teeth. Harley Da- vison motorcycles and hearts seem to be popular. My old boss, being the rascal that he is, added a personal note to his lab slip. He scribbled, “She’s a cougar!” Well har dee har har. After 40 years of using the same lab, I guess he was entitled to a little sex- ist joke. I later told the lab technician that if I were a cougar, then my “cub” is 60 years old. Not much in the way of bragging rights there. Half of my ofﬁce thinks I’m off my rocker for getting a “tatooth.” The other half thinks it’s ador- able. Many years ago, the same doctor was making small talk while waiting for his patient to get numb. After a few minutes the patient asked the doctor and his as- sistant if they wished to see her new tat- too. The young lady did not wait for a re- fectious diseases and cancers of the head and neck,” said ADHA president Betty Kabel, RDH, BS. “This elevates the role of the dental hygienist within the overall health care system, as we seek to expand the access to oral care. It’s important to utilize the dental hygiene diagnoses regularly and consistently to ensure op- timal care for our patients.” While dental hygienists’ rigorous edu- cation prepares them to provide preven- tive and therapeutic oral health services, the profession’s scope of practice varies from state to state. ADHA emphasizes that it is important for dental hygienists to fully utilize their education to provide oral health care services that fall within their scope, especially for populations that lack adequate access to oral health care services. The organization also ad- vocates for using the new white paper as a resource by policymakers involved in decisions about state practice acts. For more information, you can visit www.adha.org.. (Source: ADHA) Buccal aspect adventure helps connect hygienist with dental-lab technician

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