Spring Hatfield, RDH, BSPH
Spring Hayes Hatfield, RDH, BSPH, is a graduate of Florida State College at Jacksonville, and she holds licensure in Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama. Spring is on the Advisory Board and holds the position of Continuing Education Manager at Today’s RDH. Her passion is elevating the dental hygiene profession through science, education, and clinical excellence. In her free time, she loves traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband, children, and the animals at her useless animal farm. She can be reached via email at Spring@TodaysRDH.com
Evidence-Based Dental Care: Evolution of SRP, FMD, and Subgingival Irrigation
As a hobby, I enjoy reading scientific literature published in the 1800s and a few from the early 1900s. What fascinates me is just how far we have come in medicine and dentistry. The progress we have made ‒ not only making treatment more comfortable for patients but also the updated evidence-based protocols for clinicians that provide the guidance...
Research History of Traumatic Occlusion and Why More Research is Needed
An ongoing debate and lack of clear evidence have left the dental profession with unanswered questions about the role of traumatic occlusion in multiple oral conditions. Is it a contributing factor? How should it be managed? What is the proper protocol, and how do we clearly identify it?
So many questions come to mind, and I hope to answer them...
Informed Consent Review: How Hygienists Can Assist Patients in Making Informed Decisions
Informed consent is an important aspect of research, medicine, and dentistry, as well as the patient's right to autonomy. While a patient's right to autonomy can become blurred in the face of certain ethical decisions, it should never be ignored outright.
Medicine and medical research have a past that haunts me since early research rarely, if ever, considered patients' autonomy....
QUIZ: Test Your Extraoral and Intraoral Clinical Assessment Knowledge
Are you in need of CE credits? If so, check out our peer-reviewed, self-study CE courses here.
Before you leave, check out the Today's RDH self-study CE courses. All courses are peer-reviewed and non-sponsored to focus solely on high-quality education. Click here now.
Consumer Beware: An Example of the Cosmetic and Beauty Industry Practicing Unlicensed Dentistry
There is a growing trend in the cosmetic and beauty industry in which unlicensed individuals are practicing dentistry. Most of these establishments are hiding behind the guise of providing cosmetic services when, in fact, they are providing and recommending dental treatment that is not within their scope of practice in the cosmetic industry.
This is a cautionary tale for both...
Dental Board Exams: The Ethical Conflicts of Using Live Dental Patients
Are you aware that dentistry is the only area of health care that requires a live board patent exam for licensure? In no other area of health care is this an acceptable practice.1 Historically, we have been using live patients since the early 1900s.2 The consistent use of live patients for so many years has made shifting away from...
Curiosity Killed the Plaque Ep. 18: Genetics & Oral Health
In this episode of Curiosity Killed the Plaque, Spring Hatfield, RDH, BSPH, dives into the topic of genetics and oral health.
Give it a watch, and make sure to subscribe to the Today’s RDH Dental Hygiene podcast on your favorite podcasting app or by going to https://anchor.fm/todaysrdh.
Artificial Sweeteners: Reviewing the Oral Health Effects of Different Sugar Alternatives
A few years ago, I was told by a fellow hygienist that certain artificial sweeteners, specifically sorbitol, increased the risk of dental caries. I inquired about sources to support this claim, and the hygienist directed me to the dentist who provided this information to her.
I reached out to him on multiple occasions, and during these interactions, he assured me...
The History of Periodontics and Where We are Today
The challenges dental hygienists currently face are quite different from those we have faced in the past. In the past, the challenge was finding effective treatment and maintenance of periodontal disease. Now, we face the challenge of highlighting the importance of a dental hygienist's role in patient care in the first place.
Several states have recently passed bills that allow...
QUIZ: Test Your HPV and Oropharyngeal Cancer Knowledge
Are you in need of CE credits? If so, check out our peer-reviewed, self-study CE courses here.
Before you leave, check out the Today's RDH self-study CE courses. All courses are peer-reviewed and non-sponsored to focus solely on high-quality education. Click here now.
Curiosity Killed the Plaque Ep. 17: Caries Management
In this episode of Curiosity Killed the Plaque, Spring Hatfield, RDH, BSPH, looks at the importance of evidence-based dentistry for caries management.
Give it a watch, and make sure to subscribe to the Today’s RDH Dental Hygiene podcast on your favorite podcasting app or by going to https://anchor.fm/todaysrdh.
Dissecting the Research: Elusive Causes of Black Line Stain and Hygiene Management
Black stain is “an external dental discoloration of bacterial origin, considered a special form of dental plaque.”1 The discoloration is characterized as a “dark line or an incomplete coalescence of dark dots localized on the cervical third of the tooth.”2
Black line stain can be difficult to manage for both patients and dental professionals alike. Many patients who experience black...
Critical Thinking: How Dental Professionals Can Reboot Thought Patterns
Carl Sagan once said, "The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what is true."
Critical thinking does not come naturally; it takes some level of...
QUIZ: Test Your Oral Manifestations of Substance Abuse Disorders Knowledge
Are you in need of CE credits? If so, check out our peer-reviewed, self-study CE courses here.
Before you leave, check out the Today's RDH self-study CE courses. All courses are peer-reviewed and non-sponsored to focus solely on high-quality education. Click here now.
QUIZ: Test Your Osteonecrosis of the Jaw Knowledge
Are you in need of CE credits? If so, check out our peer-reviewed, self-study CE courses here.
Before you leave, check out the Today's RDH self-study CE courses. All courses are peer-reviewed and non-sponsored to focus solely on high-quality education. Click here now.
5 Things to Know about HIPAA When Patients Request Dental Records
Over the past month, I have frequently seen posts on social media about patients being denied access to their records and radiographs. This is a direct violation of HIPAA, and dental practices with any policy limiting or creating a barrier to the patient’s access to their records could lead to a steep fine.
This article aims to clarify the patient’s...
Curiosity Killed the Plaque Ep. 16: Diabetes and Oral Health
In this episode of Curiosity Killed the Plaque, Spring Hatfield, RDH, BSPH, dives into diabetes and oral health.
Give it a watch, and make sure to subscribe to the Today’s RDH Dental Hygiene podcast on your favorite podcasting app or by going to https://anchor.fm/todaysrdh.
QUIZ: Test Your Radiation Safety Knowledge
Are you in need of CE credits? If so, check out our peer-reviewed, self-study CE courses here.
Before you leave, check out the Today's RDH self-study CE courses. All courses are peer-reviewed and non-sponsored to focus solely on high-quality education. Click here now.
Curiosity Killed the Plaque Ep. 15: Dental Related Infections that Can Lead to Serious Complications
In this episode of Curiosity Killed the Plaque, Spring Hatfield, RDH, BSPH, dives into dental related infections that can lead to serious complications and sometimes even death.
Give it a watch, and make sure to subscribe to the Today’s RDH Dental Hygiene podcast on your favorite podcasting app or by going to https://anchor.fm/todaysrdh.
Nano Silver Fluoride: A Possible Solution to Preventing and Arresting Dental Caries?
Historically, one of the most challenging dental diseases to manage has been dental caries. The prevalence of untreated dental caries between 2017-2020 is estimated to be around 21.3% or one in 5 adults in the U.S. population. This does not account for the number of children that are affected by untreated dental caries.1
The reason is often lack of access...