Building value in the hygiene visit

I’m starting a new series of posts called “primary pearls”! Together we will be covering topics including parents, patients, and clinical techniques/tips. We will be starting off with a post on parent communications and how to build value in the hygiene visit. Let’s go!

A “periodic oral evaluation” of an established patient may only takes a few minutes but a lot is going on. Don’t let your education, hard work, and skills go unnoticed by saying “All good” and walking away. I vocalize everything I am doing because otherwise, it’s easy to assume you only did what you said, which is nothing! My typical exam goes like this: “I’m going to start with a little tickle test. (Perform head and neck exam) Head and neck exam is good. Open and bite down for me buddy. TMJ looks great. Now bite down for me buddy. Bite looks excellent! Now open as big as you can. Soft tissue looks healthy. Say ahhhh! Airway looks good. Now let me check your teeth! No cavities on the top! And no cavities on the bottom!” This simple script doesn’t add any additional time but conveyed to your observant parent that you checked head and neck, TMJ, occlusion, soft tissue, airway, and hard tissue! Show them you are not just about teeth but the child’s overall health and growth and development!

#justbabyteeth #notjustbabyteeth #primarypearls #dentaltips #dentalstudents #dentist