The Uncomfortable Truth About Our Current Situation (Created by us, the Dental Hygienists)

Picture this 🖼️: You've spent years preparing for your career, perfecting your technique, educating patients about prevention, and advocating for oral health. You became a dental hygienist because you wanted to make a difference, to be a healthcare professional and an educator who transforms lives, one patient at a time.

However, somewhere along the way, we agreed to cut corners, treat patients with subpar instruments, work in unsafe conditions, and do the "best we can with what we have."

The procedures you mastered through education and experience are now being called to be simplified and outsourced. You might feel like your expertise is being devalued, and your role is diminished.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: We played a part in creating this reality.

Not intentionally. Not maliciously. But through our collective actions over the years.

We normalized the mundane.  Instead of positioning ourselves as oral health strategists and systemic health advocates, we accepted being seen as "teeth cleaners." We focused on tasks rather than transformation.

We undervalued our knowledge.  We didn't educate our patients about the mouth-body connection; we provided simple answers rather than revealing the depth of our understanding of inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and systemic health.

Or we did not elect to continue being lifelong learners, as we vowed at our pinning ceremonies. Instead, many RDH provide the same level of care and attention to all patients, regardless of their conditions or needs.

We stayed in our comfort zones.  While other healthcare professionals evolved their roles, expanded their scope, and demanded recognition for their expertise, many of us remained content with the status quo of brush, floss, rinse, and scale polish.

We didn't tell our story.  We let others define our value instead of articulating the critical role we play in preventive healthcare and patient education.

The emergence of OPAs isn't just about economics or efficiency. It's a mirror reflecting how we've positioned ourselves in the healthcare hierarchy.

But here's what I know about dental hygienists: You're not just tooth scrapers.

When you practice at scope and evolve with science and technology, you begin to deepen your understanding of the mouth as the gateway to systemic health. You see connections that others miss. You have the power not just to save lives, but to transform them.

The question isn't "How do we compete with OPAs?"

The question is, "How do we reclaim our position as the oral health experts we've always been?"

Time for the hard questions:

• What if you started every patient interaction by explaining the systemic implications of their oral health?

• What if you positioned yourself as a prevention specialist rather than someone who cleans teeth?

• What if you become the go-to professional for mouth-body health education?

• What if you evolved from tooth cleaner to a preventive health strategist?

  ---

  🚀 Your path forward:

1. Redefine your identity: You're not a "dental hygienist" - you're an oral health strategist, a prevention specialist, or a systemic health advocate.

2. Elevate your conversations: Stop talking about cleanings. Start talking about inflammation reduction, cardiovascular protection, and metabolic health optimization.

3. Claim your expertise: Your education and experience make you uniquely qualified to guide patients through complex oral-systemic health decisions.

4. Disease prevention: We spent years honing this craft, and it is not limited to the mouth. The mouth is the gateway into the body, helping your patients assess systemic risk factors that are known connections to oral biofilm and inflammation. P.S. - There are 57 of them!

5. Lead the transformation: Instead of reacting to industry changes, become the professional who shapes the future of preventive oral healthcare.

The PUBLIC needs what you bring: expertise, education, experience, and the ability to see the bigger picture of health and wellness.

OPAs can supra-gingivally scale and polish teeth. When RDH chooses to scale and polish but charges a high premium for that service, dentists strategize on how to decrease their margin on subpar care. Can you blame them?

But when RDH practices are at the top of their scope, there is no comparison.

Will OPAs be able to transform lives through health education? Guide patients through complex health decisions?

That's your domain. That's your value. That's your education.

Did you know that a movement is happening? The Oral Health Awareness Project was developed to inform the public of what an educated, board-certified dental hygienist does, and it's all the things we were taught to provide in our process of care - are you ready to answer patients when they ask why you didn't perform their head-neck oral cancer screening or take their blood pressure?  

📋 What's one action you'll take this week to reclaim your position as the oral health expert you've always been? Be the change you want to see in dentistry!

Please take a moment to donate to the Oral Health Awareness Project and be the change you want to see in dentistry - because your evolution inspires others to step into their power, too.

Scientific Resources🧾

Beck, J. D., Papapanou, P. N., Philips, K. H., & Offenbacher, S. (2019). Periodontal medicine: 100 years of progress.  Journal of Dental Research, 98(10), 1053-1062.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0022034519846113

Genco, R. J., & Sanz, M. (2020). Clinical and public health implications of periodontal and systemic diseases: An overview.  Periodontology 2000, 83(1), 7-13.  https://doi.org/10.1111/prd.12344

Hajishengallis, G. (2022). Interconnection of periodontal disease and comorbidities: Evidence, mechanisms, and implications.  Periodontology 2000, 89(1), 9-18.  https://doi.org/10.1111/prd.12430

Loos, B. G., & Van Dyke, T. E. (2020). The role of inflammation and genetics in periodontal disease.  Periodontology 2000, 83(1), 26-39.  https://doi.org/10.1111/prd.12297

Sanz, M., Marco Del Castillo, A., Jepsen, S., Gonzalez-Juanatey, J. R., D'Aiuto, F., Bouchard, P., ... & Wimmer, G. (2020). Periodontitis and cardiovascular diseases: Consensus report.  Journal of Clinical Periodontology, 47(3), 268-288.  https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.13189

If this content resonated with you, please share it with your colleagues on your social channels or fwd this email.

XO,

Mel