October is National Dental Hygiene Month! This is the time when dental hygiene is nationally appreciated. We are celebrating all we do in our community for our patients and the importance of oral health.
It’s not the holidays yet, but it can be during National Dental Hygiene Month. Dental companies and manufacturers have promotions, contests, and giveaways to reward hard-working hygienists like yourself. It’s like the twelve days of giveaways on the Ellen Show, but dental hygiene edition. You can get in on the action from dental hygiene products, t-shirts, dental hygiene swag, and everything in between.
Even though this month is spotlighting dental hygienists and our role in overall health, it also brings awareness of the importance of oral health nationally. This national awareness allows us the opportunity to help our patients even more.
National Dental Hygiene Month is an excellent opportunity to educate our communities on what it is to be a dental hygienist, including our roles in the dental world and as health care providers. Often, it’s thought that dental hygienists are just “teeth cleaners.” When we hear this, we have to laugh because we all know what being a dental hygienist and our role as providers entails. This is also a perfect time to educate our patients about the profession of dental hygiene.
I am going to be honest. Years before attending dental hygiene school, I thought hygienists had a few tools (no, not instruments, tools – later on, I learned they are called instruments), took some radiographs, and polished my teeth with delicious flavors of prophy paste. WRONG!
Dental hygiene school turned my world upside down. I was introduced to soft tissue management, local anesthesia, proper terminology, and much more than I previously understood. There are thousands of instruments, all with their area-specific job. When exposing radiographs, you better get that distal of that premolar in your shot! After just one semester in the hygiene program, I had ten times more appreciation for my hygienist.
We must also pay tribute to those before us. This may be a fellow hygienist, a mentor, or a past instructor, and you must not forget Dr. Esther Wilkins. If you don’t know who she is, take a peek at your textbook, Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist. Dr. Esther Wilkins is considered the Queen of Dental Hygiene. Both a hygienist and dentist from Massachusetts, she passed in 2016 at one hundred years old. Dr. Esther Wilkins was a huge influence and trendsetter in the dental world.
I have to show my appreciation for all those dental hygienists who have helped me along my journey to where I am today. My hygienist in my small town influenced me at a very young age to be a dental hygienist when I grew up.
I also cannot forget the educators at the hygiene program I attended. Shout out to all the amazing hygienists at Bristol Community College! They were there for all my highs and lows in and outside of clinic. They were there when I was in tears, from not having a board patient to when I was pinned as a dental hygiene graduate. Sometimes, they had to be tough and give me a negative mark on a competency. Other times, we had some good laughs.
I am incredibly proud of where I came from. Each instructor encouraged me to follow my dreams. I look to them as mentors as I have continued my education and become an educator myself.
Lastly, I must mention I am truly grateful for the hygienists I work with each day. When I was a new hygienist, they had a lot of patience and understanding and were extremely helpful. Thank you so much!
Happy National Dental Hygiene Month to all the hygienists and future hygienists out there!
