Lara James, RDH
Lara James, RDH, is a licensed dental hygienist of clinical hygiene, including corporate, dental management, and private practices. She graduated in 2004 from Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon. Lara has created DentalAisle.com, a dental blog, to educate consumers on dental products and dental issues. Lara also has written an online continuing education course on dentalcare.com. For more information, email her at lara@dentalaisle.com.
Antidepressants: Medications Can Influence Direction of Dental Care
Antidepressants are used to correct chemical imbalances in the brain. The body naturally produces brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, which correlate with depression, such as serotonin and dopamine to provide happiness to the brain. Norepinephrine is another neurotransmitter to help treat depression by focusing on attention, promoting concentration, responding to stress, boosts energy, increases alertness and arousal.1 Most medications relieve...
The Uvula: Conditions that Dental Hygienists can Observe during an Exam
The uvula should not be neglected when evaluating the oral cavity for any discrepancies. The uvula is a fleshy, soft tissue in the middle of the soft palate that hangs down in the back of the throat in front of the tonsils, resembling an oval or teardrop shape (see Figure 1). The uvula’s flexibility prevents food and liquids from...
Understanding How Menopause and Andropause Affect Oral Health
In The Female Brain, a man's neurological reality slowly wears down over time while a woman's brain is erratic. The author of the 2006 book, neuropsychiatrist Dr. Louann Brizendine, wrote, "His is like a mountain that is worn away imperceptibly over the millennia by glaciers, weather, and the deep tectonic movements of the earth. Hers is more like the...
Dental Fear, Anxiety, and Phobia: Discerning the Difference and Treatment Tips
Fear, anxiety, or phobia, tend to be used interchangeably when describing emotions about the dental office, and I’ll refer to these terms as a whole as being apprehensive. Fewer dental patients are enthused about visiting the dentist versus those who don’t. Dental apprehension can affect oral health by delaying or avoiding care, causing extensive or complex treatments, including oral...
Oral Health: The Difference between Genetics, Hereditary, and Lifestyle
How often do we hear, “Just take my teeth out and give me dentures because my parents had them,” from dental patients? Or, “I’m prone to cavities because I was born with soft teeth” as they drink soda and brush once a day?
“Prone” is thrown haphazardly around since everyone is prone to something. Prone is having the natural inclination...
TMJ Disc Displacement: Hygienist Finally Seeks Care after Year of Self-treatment
I suddenly became my own dental patient one day after years of clicking and popping in my right side temporomandibular joint ‒ nothing painful or even uncomfortable. I just knew that I would feel and hear my jaw when I ate.
For many years, my “normal” jaw included painless popping and clicking, more so when opening. It didn’t keep me...
Dental Prevention vs. Treatment: Breaking It Down
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and preventing disease is preferable to curing a disease. Prevention is the action of stopping something from happening or arising. Treatment is care given for an illness or injury. Even when illness is treated, one may not fully recover. Prevention saves money, time, pain, and inconveniences. Treatment costs money,...
Eagle Syndrome: Dental Professionals can Identify Painful Condition on Panoramic Radiograph
Eagle syndrome (stylohyoid syndrome) is within the category of many other conditions since there are no definite known causes. Pain is experienced in the head and neck region, and the symptoms can mimic other conditions that cause head and neck pains.
Tonsillectomies are considered a likely factor as a result of possible scarring and injury from the procedure. Other factors...
Dental Customer Service: The Benefits of a Pleasant Experience for Patients
If customer service seems worse these days, it’s quite delightful when good experiences do occur. I’ve had my share of awful experiences lately, and, based on the complaints of others, declining customer service trends seem like the new normal. When I do receive good customer service, I thank the person for being helpful, kind, knowledgeable, and efforts.
An article a...
Dental Professionalism: An Overview of Professionalism in the Dental Office
Professionalism is the way a person represents themselves or the business they own or work for. Professionalism is defined as a professional character, spirit, or methods ‒ the standing or practice of a professional as distinguished from an amateur.1
A professional is also defined as relating to a job that requires special education, training, or skill; done or given by...
Be Prepared to Provide Dental Hygiene Care for Pregnant Patients
Pregnancy changes the whole body and the changes range from psychological-emotional swings to the more obvious physical changes. The mouth is not an exception to the many changes in the body.
Several conditions may appear during pregnancy, including pregnancy gingivitis, to even the beginning signs of postpartum depression.1 Poor oral health during pregnancy may lead to poor health for the...
Oromandibular Dystonia: Symptoms are Easily Observed by Dental Professionals
Dystonia is a rare condition that affects about 1% of the population during their daily lives. The condition causes involuntary, repetitive, and violent muscle contractions as well as movements derived from a neurological disorder. Dystonia may cause squeezing or twisting with other movements or abnormal postures. It can happen throughout the whole body and is characterized as generalized (affecting...
Pain Management: How Dental Hygienists Can Interpret Varying Expressions of Pain
Why is pain so variable with dental patients? How do some patients tolerate non-surgical periodontal therapy along root surfaces with zero anesthetic? They take it like a champ ─ no flinching, no facial gestures, no moaning, no fidgeting, and no “ouch.” After the dental appointment ends, they reflect, “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
However, other...
Tonsils: Close Scrutiny Can Pinpoint Disease and Raise Oral Health Awareness
Tonsils are part of the immune system and contain an abundance of white blood cells to combat germs from entering the body. They are part of mucous-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT).1 Tonsils are made with lymphocytes and cells that prevent and fight infections.1 The tonsils have antigen-presenting cells on their surface that communicate with the B and T cells as...
Stomatitis: How Dental Professionals Treat and Manage these Conditions
Stomatitis, also known as oral mucositis, is an inflammation in the mouth that affects the mucous membranes, and the condition arises from either a local stimulation or a systemic provocation.1 The causes of stomatitis are bacterial, fungal, viral, systemic, medications, physical irritants, allergies, irradiation, and chemotherapy, leading to reactions varying from stinging, soreness, red patches, mouth ulcers, blisters, peeling,...
Frenums: Checking for Frenum Abnormalities During Oral Hygiene Exams
Frenums are normal anatomy within the mouth, yet often neglected. The frenum consists of loose, fibrous connective tissue, elastic fibers, and striated muscle fibers that develop from muscle bundles of the lip. The purpose is to provide stability to the tongue and upper and lower lip.
This mucous membrane fold attaches the lip and cheek to the alveolar mucosa, gingiva,...
Medications: General Principles for Dental Hygienists
Medications cure, treat, or prevent a disease or condition or relieve symptoms from an illness ─ vital elements to maintaining or improving health. Over 20,000 prescription medications are approved for marketing, and more than 66% of all adults in the United States use prescription medications. 1
Dental patients are more often on medications than not. Dental professionals should evaluate the...
High Blood Pressure: Medications Can Have Impact on Dental Hygiene Care
An understanding of the mechanism, the purpose, and dosage will help determine when and why multiple blood pressure medications are used. Simple lifestyle changes (such as diet, exercise, and weight loss) can lower blood pressure. When blood pressure is very high, and lifestyle measures have failed, medications are commonly prescribed.
Some blood pressure medications work in the heart. Others work...
Oral Allergy Syndrome: Educate Dental Patients about Reactions to Food
Oral allergy syndrome (OAS), which is also called pollen-fruit allergy syndrome, is a type of food allergy that causes instant allergic reactions in the mouth and throat. The syndrome is caused by cross-reacting allergens found in both pollen and the protein in raw fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts.
This reaction occurs usually from eating raw or fully ripened fresh fruits...
Pharmacology Review of Dental Patients’ Cholesterol Medications
Cholesterol can be controlled by diet, weight management, exercise, and lifestyle, although in some cases, medications may be required. Medications are confusing to dental patients − multiple names and pronunciations, and the spelling is a nightmare. Patients are often unsure what medications they consume and will disclose two medications only to find out it's the same medication.
Or they know...