Hygiene Hotspot

It is NOT “Just a Cleaning”

By: Shelly Short, RDH

If you ask anyone in the dental business office what frequent comment a patient might make when cancelling a dental hygiene appointment, they’ll probably say “It’s just a cleaning.” We know that dental patients are often notorious procrastinators when it comes to scheduling oral health care visits, but they are also experts at finding barriers to receiving dental care.

Why do our patients have this perception that time spent with a dental hygienist is “just a cleaning” so it can simply be postponed?

For one thing, we in the hygiene profession have created this devalued mindset for our patients because we refer to the next

“cleaning” appointment.

A second major challenge is the often silent and asymptomatic nature of diseases of the oral cavity. Patients do not “feel” dental decay spreading and destroying another tooth surface. The same is true with periodontal disease; patients do not realize that the supporting structures of their teeth are compromised due to bacteria and inflammation. Sadly, oral cancer is often undiagnosed because patients do not feel lumps, bumps, dots and spots that are pre-cancerous or cancerous. Unlike most medical issues that have a pain factor that triggers one to call for a medical appointment, many dental issues often lack such a pain-driving trigger. Without pain or discomfort, it is not hard to understand why people procrastinate with dental appointments.

As a profession we must teach our patients that hygiene procedures are either on the preventive or therapeutic treatment continuum. When scheduling a future hygiene appointment it is essential that we explain why the prescribed time interval is in the patient’s best interest. It is equally essential that the patient understand that their preventive care appointment will include as necessary a head and neck oral cancer screening, radiographs, an assessment of the integrity of dental restorations, and an assessment of the health of the supporting tooth structures. To counter the challenge of oral diseases being silent in nature, dentistry has a strong and uniquely preventive nature! When patients understand the “value” of preventive dental hygiene care with the goal of preventing disease or early detection, they have a reason to return for future hygiene care. When the entire dental team educates and communicates value regarding the hygiene visit dental practices will have fewer cancelled hygiene appointments, and ultimately healthier patients.

The pandemic has certainly shed light on the importance of optimal health and immunity as research continues to unpack the impact of oral health on systemic health. Reducing the inflammatory burden in the mouth has a positive influence on other systemic medical concerns. Our dental community has an opportunity to elevate oral health care by jettisoning the reference to a “cleaning” appointment. Dental hygienists are preventive specialists and oral health care educators that provide preventive and/or therapeutic dental procedures. Upon completion of the hygiene visit it is imperative that the clinician summarize dental concerns, services provided, and the purpose of continued dental hygiene care and how it benefits the patient. Also, when it is understood that delaying preventive care may necessitate therapeutic treatment the patient’s motivation for keeping a hygiene visit is increased. When patients are committed to their next preventive or therapeutic treatment procedure with their dental hygienist, the business team can then direct efforts to promoting the dental practice rather than perpetually rebuilding the hygiene schedule! As the pandemic has brought center stage the need to send a stronger educational message about the importance of hygiene retention we are, at the same time, experiencing a shortage of dental hygienists to meet treatment demands. With an abundance of research revealing the vital role of oral health on systemic health, it is distressing that so many last-minute cancellations continue to occur in the hygiene department. As a health care profession, we have a responsibility to educate our patients about the importance of dental hygiene care. Until we deprogram ourselves from using the devalued “cleaning” terminology patients will continue to delay oral health care. We must reflect the change we want to see in our patients by giving them a reason to return for preventive or therapeutic hygiene care. As a bonus, with the appropriate appointment our patients will receive a “professional cosmetic polish!”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Working in the dental field for more than 35 years, Shelly Short has consulted and coached in dentistry since 1996. Prior to owning a dental practice management consulting business, she was a senior practice management business and clinical efficiency consultant for an international practice management company. She has expertise in practice analysis, business management, clinical efficiency, non-surgical periodontal programs, health education and health promotion, team building, interpersonal communications including case presentation, and the effect of clinician/patient rapport following the health-belief model all wrapped around a holistic approach to professional and personal well-being – particularly work-life balance. Short practiced clinical dental hygiene in Zurich, Switzerland for six years. While working overseas, she gained extensive experience treating periodontally compromised patients. She was an active member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Organization of Switzerland, which emphasized continuing education. Currently, at the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry Short is a Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Community Dentistry, and Course Director for Practice Management, and a former