Angela Grover, RDH, BASDH
Angela Grover, RDH, BASDH, has been practicing dental hygiene since 1996. Angela received her AAS in dental hygiene from Central Community College in Hastings, Nebraska in 1996; she received her BAS in dental hygiene from Community College of Denver May 2018.
Angela is a dental hygiene educator at Iowa Western Community College, where she is actively involved in community implementation projects with her students. In addition, Angela and her students volunteer for Nebraska and Iowa Mission of Mercy outreach clinics, as well as an outreach called One World, where they provide care a few times a month through Creighton University’s School of Dentistry to patients in need.
Angela is a member of ADHA. She lives near Omaha, Nebraska.
Do You Want to Be a Dental Hygiene Educator?
After graduating from a dental hygiene program, new hygienists certainly are not thinking about stepping back into an educational institution. For most new graduates, a looming student debt needs to be tackled. As a result, practicing as a clinical dental hygienist is the most accepted and lucrative route when beginning a dental hygiene career.
It is well known that you...
How to Ensure Patients Actually Use Recommended Oral Health Devices
Many dental hygienists probably give unsolicited advice to random strangers in the oral health aisle of the local superstore. Yes, you know who you are! Why give advice to only random strangers, though? You should be encouraging your own patients to purchase the devices, get them out of the box, and plug them in!
Recently, I was having a conversation...
Hearing Loss in Dentistry: A Silent Topic
It is estimated that 30 million Americans are exposed to potentially harmful sounds at work. Many workplaces require hearing protection devices (HPD) as personal protective equipment (PPE). Dentists and their auxiliaries are regularly exposed to decibel (dB) levels at and above the level of 85, which begins an unsafe zone for ears without protection. Awareness needs to be generated...
Incorporating the Five Love Languages into Dentistry
The Five Love Languages series by Gary Chapman offers insight into how our society expresses and receives love. This concept focuses on filling a “love tank” with acts of service, words of affirmation, giving/receiving of gifts, quality time, and physical touch. The actions could appear, for example, in our relationships with family, friends, and co-workers. How can the “Five...
The Importance of Knowing a Patient’s Health History (And How to Simplify the Process)
At my current office, I am probably considered a health history nag, but I am okay with that! I would prefer to be known for this because patients are then actively involved in their dental care when they participate in updating their health history at EVERY appointment. When hygienists involve patients this way, we are able to educate patients...
Stop Diagnosing Pocketbooks and Treatment Plan Accordingly
When hygienists enter the field of dentistry, many present with hearts of gold. It is noticeable the minute you meet a hygienist; he/she cares about your health, family, and even more than can be imagined! Behind the compassionate hearts of hygienists, one can often find a hygienist worrying about how a patient will afford that newly diagnosed crown or...
Students Develop CE Program Using Dental Hygiene Process of Care as Foundation
When approached by my dean during the fall 2019 semester about participating in a pilot project through Iowa Campus Compact, an Americorp project that focuses on catalyzing transformation through higher education, people and communities through partnerships, and Iowa Western Community College (IWCC), it was a no-brainer that I would say yes. I love community service projects, and I happen...
ADHA Membership Benefits to Support Dental Hygienists
You heard these words while you possibly were in dental hygiene school: “Become a member of your professional organization for x, y, z, reason(s).” Like many hygienists, you might have heard this as yet another piece of advice that you may or may not follow depending upon a number of reasons − usually time and cost.
Quite possibly, you may...
Emotional Support Animals: Rules to Bringing One to the Dental Office
Author’s Note: A few months ago, Today’s RDH featured Max, an “office dog” who hangs out at a Nebraska dental office with his owner, Dr. Kathy DeFord. After reading so many comments on Facebook regarding this article, I felt that further research would be a welcomed adjunct to the light-hearted article about Max.
Emotional support animal (ESA) assistance has become...
Meet Dr. Kathy DeFord and Max, the Therapeutic Office Dog
Dr. Kathy DeFord and I became acquainted through Iowa Western Community College’s Dental Hygiene Advisory Board. At a recent board meeting, I informed Dr. DeFord that I had learned from a former student’s research that she had a therapy dog at her office, and I would love to gain more insight. Dr. DeFord lit up and was happy to...
The Benefits of Yoga for Dental Hygienists
Definition of Yoga
1: a system of physical postures, breathing techniques, and sometimes meditation derived from Yoga but often practiced independently, especially in Western cultures, to promote physical and emotional well-being.
Kim Stabbe, a registered dental hygienist (RDH)/yoga instructor from Fremont, Nebraska, began her career in 1982 as a clinical RDH and then began teaching at a community college in 1986. That is...
An Open Letter to Dental Patients: 10 Requests from Dental Hygienists to Create an Efficient Appointment
Dear Dental Patient,
I appreciate that you chose me to be your dental hygienist! Thank you! I have a few thoughts I would appreciate sharing that will allow your appointment and my schedule to flow like a symphony...
I have one hour to conduct a medical/dental history, take necessary x-rays, chart everything that needs to be updated, perform your necessary...
A Dental Hygienist’s Experience Using Essential Oils as an Alternative Treatment for Recurrent Herpes Labialis
As a sufferer of recurrent herpes labialis (RHL), I have utilized many methods to decrease duration, including acyclovir cream and acyclovir and hydrocortisone cream 5%/1%, laser treatment, docosanol, and valaciclovir.
It had also been suggested to me that applying ice at first tingle reduces the duration and swelling. You name it, and I think I have tried it. Many of...
An Ode to Hygienists: I’m a Hygienist, Hear Me Roar!
In honor of National Dental Hygiene Month, I would like to honor all hygienists with an Ode to Dental Hygienists! I know we all can relate to this ode, and I hope you enjoy it!
Endless hours of studying for competencies, tests, and boards.
I’m a hygienist, hear me roar!
Exhausted physically and mentally, you effortlessly put the health and care of...
4 Tips for Returning Back to (or Starting) Dental Hygiene School
A feeling of dread settles within you, and tears are falling. The summer break is over, and it’s time to think about dental hygiene classes again. The upcoming return to the campus always comes too quickly. There’s never enough time for the pool, reading for leisure, or afternoon naps. Unfortunately, there are goals to be met, material to cram...
Eating Disorders: Through the Eyes of a Hygienist Mother
“It will never happen to me” is likely a mantra that many parents believe, especially when they become parents for the first time. In no time, those tiny hands and feet grow into tweens and teenagers, and you now are in the thick of raising young adults. You are about to face a multitude of worries -- drugs, alcohol,...
Dental Hygiene School: Prior, Proper, Planning
Planning has always been pivotal to becoming an effective dental hygienist. Prior, proper, planning is another beast. I’m borrowing this mantra from a trusted colleague/mentor because I have reflected, and recognized this coined phrase has been following me since I began my journey as a dental hygiene student. This mantra is still expected from dental hygiene students, which is...
Forming Relationships: The Single Most Important Thing One Can Do in a Lifetime
Recently, my house was crazy; my graduation, a full-time faculty interview for a position in dental hygiene education, my son’s high school graduation, all in the midst of us moving from our house of ten years. Crazy, may not even touch it! Nevertheless, I was present in all aspects of each event, despite the chaos surrounding us. Being present manifested...
Falling in Love with Intraoral Cameras
At the beginning of my dental hygiene career, I was fortunate to have an intraoral (IO) camera, at least I was told this by the dentist. I was excited because I was told I should be...but I hated that camera! It was heavy and hard to maneuver; that was 1996. In 2006, I was exposed to a lightweight Schick IO...
The Journey of a Seasoned RDH as She Completes Her BASDH Degree
My educational journey, completing my Bachelors of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene, guided me back into writing as, long ago and a far away, I was a journalism major. This educational process lit a fire. August 2016, I made a leap of faith to begin a completion degree program at the Community College of Denver. I was old! Like...