With modern advances in technology, many industries are seeing a change in how they operate. Certain concepts that many could not have fathomed in years prior are now becoming realities for medical professionals everywhere. In the case of dentistry, innovation has brought a myriad of positive changes that can help advance oral health management and the way people access dental care.
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Teledentistry is one such area that has seen an increase in demand due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the technological advancements that have made it possible. Although the idea of teledentistry is not new, it can help provide contactless care in an otherwise hands-on profession. With this increased availability of technology suitable for use in dentistry comes new ways to utilize tools such as intraoral cameras and processes that can help drive the overall betterment of oral health for our patients. 

Thoroughly and properly cleaning dental instruments and equipment is critical to patient care. Contaminated dental instruments can lead to disease in otherwise healthy individuals and leave a dental practice reeling from the aftermath.1 Prior to the use of technologically advanced cleaners, many dentists and staff had to clean their instruments by hand. This has changed with engineering controls such as the ultrasonic bath cleaner.2

​The ultrasonic cleaner is without a doubt a step-up in sterilization practices and helps avoid potential cross contamination and percutaneous injuries from hand scrubbing. There is more to ultrasonic cleaning than meets the eye though; it requires more than turning the dial, listening for the vibrations, and hoping it is working.

I was recently pondering how my podcast, A Tale of Two Hygienists, which I cohost with Andrew Johnston, became so popular. We didn’t even have a website in the first few years and neither of us have any background in marketing. I concluded that our success is due to our time spent networking and our genuine love for the profession. We truly want to shine a light on dental hygiene, help clinicians fight burnout, and disseminate information to everyone who is willing to listen and learn. Our network of people we’ve met at meetings helps us spread the word and we are so grateful to them!
As recent research shows...

Bullies and victims. These two personas have been around as long as humans have existed. Usually, we think of them in the classroom or on the playground, but as the internet has evolved, bullying has become more complex. Online bullying, or cyberbullying, wreaks havoc on its victims, and it is much harder to escape when it happens in online forums attached to personal or professional social media accounts.1

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