Erika Spring, RDH, MEd.
Erika Spring, RDH, MEd, is the Founder and Owner of Spring Innovative. Her mission is to help hygienists and their practices develop a hygiene department that delivers cutting edge and lifesaving care to patients. She believes if practice members individually and collectively commit to continual improvement, then clinical excellence will be the natural outcome. As a practicing hygienist, Erika learned how communication and systems go hand-in-hand to increase case acceptance. She translates this into her teaching, whether as a professor or from the podium, to help others know how to deliver clinical excellence in the real world. Her true joy is hearing people she has coached say they are more productive and find their work more fulfilling and fun! On a personal note, her free time is spent on the beaches of the Crystal Coast of NC, most often on horseback.
Dental Coding: Finding Solutions for Ideal Dental Treatment Plans
One of the most challenging tasks dental hygienists face is taking the patient’s clinical diagnosis and trying to make it fit into an insurance code to successfully gain payment. Too often, the front office states that a code won’t prompt payment or that the insurance won’t cover a procedure.
One philosophy that we can follow is to treat patients based...
How One Hygienist Became a Dental Hygiene Educator & Changed Her Career
Earning the title RDH is no easy task, and you can ask any graduate, surviving the 2-3 years of dental hygiene school is a rite of passage. Yet, on this journey, some want more after a few years of clinical practice and have taken the path to higher education to complete a bachelors or master’s degree. I have worn...
Periodontal Maintenance: Taking the Guesswork Out of the 4910
By definition, the 4910 periodontal maintenance code is defined as the procedure following periodontal therapy and continues at varying intervals determined by the clinical evaluation. It includes removal of bacterial plaque, calculus, from supra and sub-regions, and SITE specific SRP where indicated, as well as polishing the teeth1. My focus this month is not to dissect the code and...
Dental Hygiene’s Professional Reflection during Pandemic: Making Lemonade out of Lemons
To many of us, it feels like just yesterday dental hygiene schools were returning from Christmas break and focusing on upcoming board exams and the start of freshman clinic. Barely two weeks into March, the buzz of the COVID-19 virus swept across campus, and, by March 13, we saw the halt of classes on campus.
The weeks that followed brought...
Anchors Away: An Informative Look at the Naval Dental School
Naval dental medicine was founded in 1912 and originally established to recruit Sailors and Marines that would have otherwise been rejected from service due to dental needs2. The Naval Dental School was established in 1923, and it began the revolution in preventive care for the military.1 At the time, the school’s research leader, Capt. William Ferguson, was particularly active...
In the Eye of the Storm: Dental Professionals Help with Hurricane Relief
Nearly eight months ago, North Carolina unwillingly welcomed Hurricane Florence at our doorstep – whether we were ready or not, she was coming! For days residents prepped, boarded, moved boats, secured livestock and stocked supplies. What began as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds over 140 MPH, mercifully lessened to a Category 1 as it made landfall near...
Polishing: Are You Spinning in Circles or Ready to Ride the Wave?
Do you remember the spring semester your freshman year of dental hygiene school? Filled with lingering instrumentation competencies, the anticipation of seeing your first REAL patient? As an educator, each spring when I teach polishing, students are just thrilled. They love it, and it is FUN for them! Polishing is FUN, but depending on when and where you received...
Today’s RDH: The Winds of Change
During a recent continuing education event in Chapel Hill, NC, the speaker eluded over and over that change in dentistry IS coming to our beloved profession. If you were a dental hygiene graduate of 10, 15, or even 20 years ago, we have seen advances like none before, and more is on the way! Hygienists play a critical role...