What a Week!

Well...I haven't blogged in a week or so because I've been so dang busy! Finally got mom all moved in thank goodness that is over!  Then had my conference in Vegas which was great! RDH Under One Roof is one of the best conferences for hygienists I've ever attended.  At RDH UOR you can meet lots of new RDHs,  attend great continuing education courses, win lots of prizes, visit dental exhibitors, & see what's new in the field of dental hygiene. I attended several great CEs, met up with some old friends and made some new ones.  I even won a Twitter contest that RDH UOR had...whooohooo I rarely win anything but I got lucky this time and actually won 3 times :-D  I won all sorts of "bling" in the RDHUOR Twitter #RDHBlingQueen contest and also $150.00.  Then I won 2 times in their Twitter trivia contests which was a blinged out keychain, lanyard & pen. I gave one set of them to my roomie, Kathy.  It was so great seeing all the ladies from the "list".  The "LIST" is a email group of RDHs that my good friend Amy started and is located at RDH LISTERS  

Then I get back to work Monday to find they have reset all the computers and had to "tweak" the settings and everyone was complaining.  I had to get the computer guy to hunt down all my files that I had made. Then I had to go around and help some other other fix everything on theirs too.  They freak when when the computer gets messed up LOL.  But things are getting back to normal and I think our new computer guys might be a blessing because at least they know more than just networking and they only deal with dental offices so that's a real plus.  

Now I'm counting down the days until my hubby and I go on our Mediterranean cruise wooohooo I'm so excited. Only 11 more days and we take flight to Barcelona then off to Naples on the Norwegian Epic. I'm already packing my bags in my mind LOL.  




Until next time....Keep Smiling!

Sherri

Oh my aching....

Well... I wished I could say just one thing was aching but it's pretty much all of me tonight.  I didn't even have that difficult of a hygiene day either.  I tell ya the 50's aren't for wimps.  Every joint I have is letting me know it's there.  I suppose I'll have to start living on aleve now :(   Anyone who dares say that a hygienist doesn't earn her paycheck might get an earful from me if I hear it.  Dental hygiene is really hard on the body. Leaning over someone all day long trying to see what your doing while treating a person whose tongue is in your way and your chasing it down trying to keep it out of harms way all the while trying to suction the spit out so you can see.  It's treacherous work to say the least.

Well... That's all I can say about that tonight I'm too tired to type LOL

Oh how I love the weekends :-)

That's how I felt today... hehehe Although Friday at the office didn't turn out as bad as I thought it was gonna be. All in all a good day.  All the patients showed up which is great. I turned an emergency patient into a new patient with my wit and charm plus I actually got to wolf down some easy mac & cheese around lunch time between patients.  Don't get me wrong most days I love what I do and my patients. Most of them are really good folks but dental hygiene is really hard on the old back and neck for us RDHs.  How any hygienists works 40+ hours a week I'll never know.  I can barely do the 30-32 that I'm scheduled.   

Anywhoooo... after a long week it's finally 3pm Friday and I decided to go tan. Yes, I know, I know it's really bad for ya but I just hate looking all pale and trust me I'm not addicted to it like "tan mom"  I may go 1 or 2 times a week if I'm lucky.  Then home to take my pups out and wait for the hubs to get home from work.  Then we're out for date night for our pizza at Antonio's.  They know us when we come in cuz we are there most every Friday and the seasoned waitresses know our order too... 2 diet cokes, 1 side salad no dressing and a medium cheese pizza crispy.  Well, tonight our waitress got the size of the pizza wrong but no worries, we didn't gripe her out we just ate and and teased her how she saved us some calories.  It's all good :-)

Tomorrow's movie --- World War Z with Brad Pitt  
Never was much of a Brad Pitt fan but I like a good zombie movie so I'll get it a whirl...hehehehe

30 Days & Counting!

Only 30 more days and I'll be winging my way to Las Vegas to a dental hygiene convention.  This convention is better known as RDH UOR which means Registered Dental Hygienists Under One Roof.  It's put on by Pennwell Publishers who publish a lot of dental related magazines one of which is call RDH.  I've been reading RDH magazine since before I became a hygienist over 20 years ago.  It's a great mag for hygienists written mostly by hygienists.  I personally know several of their regular columnists.  You can get some great information from this magazine but the convention is the "bomb" as my brother use to say. There is usually well over 1000 RDHs at this convention.  It's a great place to meet up with old friends and make a lot of new ones. This will be my forth RDH UOR convention and my first time to Vegas.  It's gonna be a fun time and I can't wait to see some of my old friends that I've connected with via an email group that my friend Amy started about 15 years ago. If you want to join her email group "The Listers" just click here :-)  I have learned so much by being connected to this group over the years and it's really helped me keep my dental hygiene life alive.  Sometimes in hygiene you can feel isolated and lonely especially if you're the only hygienist at your office which I am not but....I digress.  

This group of ladies and gents have proven to be one of the most knowledgable groups of people I have ever met. I have learned so much from them over the years.  They have kept me on the cutting edge of dental hygiene by keeping me informed of new technologies and products.  They have supported me though some tough times in my life like the death of my dad, brother and other family members. Listen to me gripe and complain about work or family issues. They have always been there for me especially my good friend Amy.  Thanks for always being there and listening to me.  You hold a very special place in my heart and life.  I'm so glad that we ran into each other via the internet.  

Dental hygiene is my...well, it's my life, my passion, my livelihood. For the most part I love what I do and my patients. It's been a great career. Don't get me wrong if I hit the lottery I'm giving it up and traveling :)

Until next time....

Sherri  RDH

Catching Up with New Dental Technology

Ok... As you can tell by some of my posts I work in the dental field.  I've been a dental hygienist for 20 years now.  I consider myself a good hygienist.  I'm not the best but I'm not the worst not by any stretch of the imagination.  I take way more continuing education than is necessary to keep my license current. I try to stay up to date on new techniques and technologies and if it were up to me and I ran my own business I would have more of these things. But alas that's not how it works in the dental game.  Hygienists are still under the guise of the dentist so therefore we work for/with them.  Fortunately, I work with a dentist who likes to stay on the cutting edge with his education & technologies as much as he can afford too. Dang it if dental equipment weren't so darn expensive!  Well, anyway...he likes to get new things when possible and can be fit in our budget.  

He recently purchased the lastest Cerec machine which will allow the dentists in my practice to fit a crown for our patients in 1 visit and save them from coming back and missing possibly more work.  It's a pretty cool machine too.  We're also adding a new oral cancer screening tool to our practice called Oral-ID.  Oral cancer is on the rise and  there have been many screening tools that have come to the market over the last few years.  Some require the patient to rinse with this horrid tasting solution and a little disposable light wand is use to look in the mouth.  Then there is the Velscope & Identifi which uses fluorescing technology but they are pricey.  The Oral-ID uses the same technology but is smaller and less expensive to use. Therefore it's less expensive to the patient for their

screening :-)  It's a win, win for everyone around. We have better screening tools beside just our naked eyes and patients doen't have to pay an arm & a leg for their cancer screenings!  Looks like a flashlight doesn't it.  Pretty cool! Can't wait to start screening my patients and offering them a little more peace of mind.  With all the media goings on about Michael Douglas' oral cancer and HPV.  This little handheld device will help dental professionals give better care to their patients. 

Does your dentist or doctor use an oral cancer screening aid?  If not, let them know that there is an affordable way to provide this service to their patients. 

Woohoo it's Friday!

It's Friday, it's Friday!  Can you tell I'm happy cuz it's the weekend ;)  Today was my Friday to work and it was an uneventful day at the office, no mishaps and every patient showed up WOOOHOO!  In dentistry you always do the happy dance when all your scheduled patients showed up and your schedule is full but not OVER full.  

After work I went and tanned.  Yes, I know it's not good for ya but I don't over do it.  I'm not addicted to it or anything like that I just have no where outside at home to layout plus I just don't have the time.  I just want a healthy glow so don't condem me.  Then home to take out my baby girls and wait on the hubs to get home from work.  It's pizza night for the Bushes then the mall & Target. That's our Friday routine. Boring I know, but it suits us and I like it.  I did a little Vegas #RDHUOR shopping and found pair of creamsicle pants & a cute JLo top at Kohls. 


I think later me and the hubby will start a movie - Number Station with John Cusack.  Looks like it might be an interesting movie. A former black ops agent and the young woman he's assigned to protect fight for survival after a surprise attack.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Sherri aka smilingRDH

I Need a Freaking Vacation!

Ok, all in all it was a good day when you really think about it but for some reason I'm worn out  I think it's because my last patient just frustrated the crap out of me.  Not because he was a jerk or anything but because HELLO use a freaking toothbrush.  I could get graphic about it but I'll just leave it to your imaginations.

We also had a communication barrier which made it almost impossible to get the point across.  That didn't help much. Tried to explain that he had bad teeth that needed addressed but all he wanted was something to numb the pain.  Tried to tell him that I can numb it up for ya but it's just gonna become un-numb in about an hour and start hurting again.  I had the doctor talk to him but still this guy just didn't get the fact that he had diseased teeth that needed attention. 

Then my poor niece's car get wrecked by her BF rear ending someone.  And while I know she's upset (I would be too) they are both ok, no one was hurt except the vehicles.  So in the grand scheme of things it's all good. Not sure how she's going to replace her wheels though :/  

My poor mom is dealing with selling her house and consolidating her belongings and my g'ma's. Which is a big under taking because my g'ma is so stubborn that she thinks she shouldn't have to give up anything.  My mom says she it learning from this experience and will try to not do the same thing to me when she is 94.  Thanks mom :)

Anyway...I'm pooped and I'm going to bed.. THANK GOD TOMORROW IS FRIDAY is all I can say :) 

Hump Day!

Well, it's hump day and I busted my hump at the office today but it's all good :-)   Busy day at the office again for me which is great.  I like busy but not so busy I can't take a potty break ;)  Pretty uneventful on my side of the office. Had a group of great patients today. We talked and laughed all day.  

My boss's birthday is this weekend and boy do we have a gag gift for him this time...LOL  Good thing he has a sense of humor.  Well, how shall I put this...a "strange" person told him that he should have gotten his dental degree from Wal-Mart. There is more to that story but I'll leave it at that for right now.  So anyway we took that incident and ran with it.  I made up a certificate that states University of Wal-Mart School of Dentistry on it with my docs name on it etc. and then found a Dentistry for Dummies book cover printed them out.  Then pasted the cover on to an old "dummies" book my hubby had and tada! Gag gift of the year...hehehe I can't wait to see his face!!  It's gonna be classic!!  Hope he comes to work in a good mood tomorrow...LOL 

I'll let ya know how it turns out ;) 

It's Tuesday but I Call It My Monday :/

Well, today was my Monday at the office.  Started off with our monthly office meeting which all in all went pretty good as far as office meetings go.  I really have to say my office is a pretty good place to work most days. The dentists are accommodating and let us dental hygienists use our brains that the good Lord gave us.  I work with 2 dentists and I've been at this office for nearly 16 years now.  I had a full schedule and all the patients showed up YEAHHHH. I have some really great patients that are like my extended family especially the kids that I've watch grow into young men and women who are now going off to or graduating from college.  Since I don't have any children of my own they are like my kids and many of them tell me "you sound just like my mom" when I try to give them advice :-)  I have laughed, cried and sent out too many sympathy cards over the years.  Dental hygiene has been good to me over the last 20 years and I hope to continue giving good care to the folks in my community. 

Oh... and I found out today that you can get your dental degree from Wal-Mart LOL... That's a story for another day....hehehehe 

Tiring but Good :-)

Today I had the opportunity to help my community.  I live in a city just north of

Chattanooga, Cleveland, TN.  While I'm not originally from the area I have lived here for nearly 17 years.  As you can tell from my previous posts, I am in the business of dental hygiene.  Well, the Remote Area Medical came to our area today to do dental, medical and vision care for those in need and some of us from my office volunteered to help.  What an experience this was for me.  I've done other volunteer work though my office (I'll tell you about that later) but this was really cool just to see how the pull this off in the cafeteria of a high school.  They have rows of mobile dental units lined up, I think there were about 40+ chairs. I was at chair 34.  They do free cleanings, filling, & extractions.  They use a mobile x-ray unit called Nomad to take x-rays on the go.  Everything is sterilized just like in an dental office by autoclave.  They have rows and rows of dental instruments and equipment.  It's like a well oiled machine.  I was honored to get to help out.  The downside is you have to stand up to do your treatment which is hard on these 50+ year old legs and back but it was worth it to see the smiles on the faces of those I got to give care too. I had one 12 year old girl who just kept laughing at my crazy jokes and she looks up and "says you are just too funny".  Made me feel great that she was at ease with me.  Then I had the shall we call him the "character" what a hoot he was to treat.  Well, I suppose it takes all kinds.  

All in all it was an awesome Sunday morning.  If your interesting in volunteering for RAM check out their website at www.ramusa.org  to see if they are coming to your area or if you want to travel that's cool too.  We had volunteers from many states at our clinic. I met one male RDH from FL and another volunteer who was a nursing student from CO.  So you don't have to stay close to home if you don't want. Make it a vacation with a purpose!  

The Dreaded "F" Word

I'm sure most of you hate going to the dentist.  I hear it every day from my own patients. But be honest it's not all that bad. Dentistry and dental hygiene have come a long way over the years I have to admit myself.  In the 25 years that I've been in dentistry, 5 as a dental assistant and the last 20 as a Registered Dental Hygienists, I my self have seen plenty of changes. Some for the better and some not so good.  The good stuff is the technological advances that I've seen such as DNA testing for periodontal disease, digital radiology, advances in oral cancer detection & decay control just to name a few. I will address some of these new technologies in future blogs. But today I want to talk about the old FLOSS.  

I know, I know you don't wanna hear the "F" word from your hygienist.  Well, I think you're going to be surprised about my feeling as a hygienist about floss.  I think floss is crap. Most people don't use it properly anyway so why bother. Plus no one wants to use it a for one thing anyway, not even me.  Yes, you heard me right. I hate to floss! I didn't say I didn't clean in between my teeth.  No you didn't hear or read that.  I said I hate to use floss. I tell my patients that I think it's because I floss their teeth.  I figured it up one time and I floss over 32,000 teeth a year.  That's a lot of flossing!! So I'm adding mind to that number...hehehe Besides there are many other means of cleaning between your teeth than just using string. I say most people are "allergic to string" anyway...LOL 

Let's talk about some of my favorite floss alternatives.

Proxabrushes  or Interdental Brush
There are a myriad of different proxabrushes now. Every shape and size is available.  Gum makes some nice ones shown here.  

Also Dentek makes a quality product and their prices seem to be a little more affordable.  

I love their Easy Brushes.  They come in a variety of sizes in a bag of 16 and cost less than $4.00 at most department stores like Wal-Mart & Target.

Electric Flossers

Waterpik makes a cute little battery operated flosser. The tip of it is even coated with a whitening substance.  I've not tried the particular version but I've used an older model and it was ok.  Better than not cleaning in between your teeth at all anyway.  I always say "somethings better than nothing". 

Oral-b has the Hummingbird flosser.  It's just regular floss and the handle vibrates. Not very inventive really. 

Recently added to the flossing market is the Sonicare AirFloss.  I

purchased and AirFloss at a dental conference in 2011 when it first became available. I really like this device.  It works really well speaking from my own experience. I've even used it after I brushed and gotten lots of stuff out from between my teeth and I'm a great brusher if I do say so myself :)  The way this little gadget works is there is a reservoir on the handle that you fill with water. I like to put mouthwash in mine for a minty flavor ;) Then you place the tip between your teeth and press a button and it sends blast of liquid and air between your teeth and forces the plaque and debris out. 

So you can see you don't have to use string to clean between your teeth anymore. There are plenty of other options and some of them much better than floss too.  I've only touched on a few examples there are many, many more.  All you have to do is search around and find what works for you. One size does NOT fit all. Keep trying things until the next time you see your hygienist she says... "What have you been using? Your oral care is so much better than last visit."  You'll be happy because your preventive care visit will go much better and you won't get the old flossing lecture from your hygienist. 

Have a great day and happy interdental cleaning!! 

Your Smiling RDH,

Sherri