Today's RDH
Today's RDH is for curious and passionate dental hygienists. We deliver the latest dental hygiene news, research, and entertainment on your phone, tablet, and computer.
Test Your Periodontal Instrumentation Knowledge!
Disclosure: This quiz is sponsored content from Planmeca as part of our sponsored partner program.Test your periodontal instrumentation knowledge and then enter to win a cassette of 8 ergonomic, sharpen-free, LM-Sharp Diamond instruments from Planmeca!Specifically, one lucky winner will receive:8-place cassette, LM-Servo 8ELM-SharpJack Sickle SD (LM 315-316SD ES)Scaler H6-H7 Sickle (LM 146-147SD ES)Sickle LM23 SD (LM 313-314SD ES)Universal Barnhart 5-6...
Science Shows Early Signs of Eating Disorders Present in the Mouth
Many systemic disorders have symptoms present in the mouth, sometimes before symptoms are present elsewhere in the body. Cardiovascular, psychosomatic, gastrointestinal, renal, and endocrine disorders are a few that can make themselves known in the mouth before showing up in the traditional ways. We may observe oral symptoms of eating disorders before our patients have been diagnosed, or in...
Research Looks at Parent’s Prenatal Smoking and Caries Risk in Children
Smoking while pregnant can cause all types of problems in utero and long after the child's birth. Doctors warn newly pregnant women that smoking cigarettes can cause your child to have respiratory problems, attention difficulties, low birth weight, and even death. But smoking may cause more problems than we currently know.
How about your teeth? Do prenatal smoking and the...
Sunstar Recalls GUM Paroex Oral Rinse due to Potential Contamination
Sunstar Americas Inc. has agreed to voluntarily recall an oral rinse over concerns about potential bacterial contamination.
Paroex, a chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse that is prescribed by dental professionals for self-care treatments of gingivitis, is the recalled Sunstar product. The Food and Drug Administration announced October 28 that the bottles being recalled have expiration dates from June 30, 2022 through...
Test Your Injection Safety & Sharps Injury Knowledge
Disclosure: This quiz is sponsored content from Verena Solutions as part of our sponsored partner program.Test your injection safety and sharps injury knowledge and then enter to win a huge prize pack from Verena Solutions, including a bag of their SimpleCAP dental safety needles, an aspirating syringe, N95 mask, an earloop relief, face shield, t-shirt, and cloth mask!The SimpleCAP dental...
Visual Aids Showing Severe Periodontitis Shown to Motivate Periodontally-involved Patients
Do you remember your health and sex education classes in middle and high school? Some of us might remember the images we were shown of sexually transmitted diseases, the stuff of nightmares, and can’t erase those images from our brains.
What if we, dental practitioners, had a memorable way to show our patients what they are doing to their teeth...
Study Looks at Congenital Heart Disease in Children & Oral Health
Congenital heart disease in children can be a devastating diagnosis for the parents, the entire family, and, especially, the children. Sometimes these defects need no attention, but these defects can often grow quickly into life-threatening problems that require many serious surgeries and long hospital stays. Many of these defects, if serious, are usually diagnosed when the patient is a baby....
Enamel Deficiencies Discovered in Pediatric Patients with Celiac Sensitivities
Celiac disease, or CD, is known to cause problems all over the body, but did you know that the disease can make itself known in the permanent teeth of affected children?
According to The Difference in Symmetry of the Enamel Defects in Celiac Disease Versus Non-Celiac Pediatric Population, CD's effect on the enamel of the permanent teeth in children is both...
Research Looks into Internet Addiction and Detrimental Oral Hygiene Issues
Though the DSM-5 does not recognize internet addiction as a literal disease, we all know that it is a literal issue in many of our homes. Young children, teenagers, and adults of any age can all become addicted to online gaming and social media, for example, and this leads to neglect in other areas of their lives, including their dental hygiene....
Research Evaluates Oral Mucosal Health and Dental Care in Cirrhosis Patients
Cirrhosis of the liver is, unfortunately, a common immunosuppressive disease that may require transplantation in a medical setting. The immunosuppressive part of the disease affects dental health in both extreme and painful ways.
Oro-Dental Health of Patients with Chronic Hepatic Failure is a study completed by a group of researchers in the International Journal Of Organ Transplantation Medicine who were interested in finding...
Autism Spectrum Disorder: Universal Standards of Dental Care and Training is Key
Many dental professionals, regardless of their position, can agree that working with individuals who are on the Autism Spectrum can be both difficult and an adventure, especially if you have not completed any courses designed specifically to work with such a special population.
The people who happen to have an Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, are all unique in their...
Social Responsibility of Dental Professionals: LGBTQ+ Health & Substance Abuse
As healthcare providers, we take on many roles defined by our social responsibilities to our patients and our communities. The ethical treatment of our dental patients is usually included in the classes we take in order to get our degree. We know that we are to treat everyone with the same respect and at least tolerate each other's differences...
The Possible Connection Between Bipolar Disorder and Periodontitis
On the surface, it may seem that psychological conditions and dental issues, such as periodontitis, haven't much to do with each other, but researchers in Taiwan beg to differ. Thanks to the Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI), 99% of the Taiwanese population is routinely checked by a dentist, and any problems identified are appropriately addressed. The NHI program does...
Oral Symptoms of Ankylosing Spondylitis
It is, of course, common knowledge to all of us in the dental profession that systemic diseases can be exacerbated or even caused by negligent dental hygiene and related oral health diseases. But, did you know that, as a dental professional, you may notice various side effects of certain diseases that the patient doesn't realize that they have?
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Dr....
Study: Periodontitis in Older Iranian Adults Due to Insufficient Hygiene Education
Periodontitis is a damaging and even dangerous oral disease created by virulent bacteria infecting the gingival tissue and weakening the periodontium which can damage the supporting structures of teeth. Periodontitis can cause an increased chance for tooth infections, loss of teeth, and affect other systems of the body. As in many countries, periodontitis is prevalent in Iranian adults over...
Test Your Instrument Sharpening Knowledge
Disclosure: This quiz is sponsored content from PDT Dental as part of our sponsored partner program.Test your instrument sharpening knowledge and then enter to win a First Line™ Universal Kit, including six instruments in a FlipTop™ cassette, from PDT Dental! PDT Dental is pleased to introduce their First Line™ Kits designed to be used with your current instruments any time there...
Using Pre-cooling Procedures during Injections Will Decrease Pain Levels in Children
A recent study entitled Effect Of Precooling On Pain During Local Anesthesia Administration In Children: A Systematic Review addresses the use of lidocaine in children before injections of anesthesia to lessen both anxiety or pain and suggests an alternative and more natural method, if applicable, to anesthtize the tissue of children at injection sites.
What effect does pre-cooling have on the pain...
Study Shows Natural Tooth Whiteners as Effective as Peroxide Whiteners
Tooth whitening is growing ever more popular, not to mention lucrative, in the dental industry. According to statistics, 38.29 million Americans used tooth whiteners in 2019, and that number is predicted to increase by 2023. Whether whitening occurs in-office or out-of-office, applied whitening gels contain varying concentrations of carbamide or hydrogen peroxide as active agents (concentrations commonly used for in-office whitening...
Necessary and Effective Dental Care May Reduce Pneumonia In Elderly Residents
Oral hygiene is an extremely serious issue in nursing homes and retirement communities all over the United States, and poor oral hygiene can cause diseases that are considered deadly for the elderly. There is little to no specified dental care in most of the facilities, and the residents often suffer from pain and infection. These residents may stop eating,...