Callan Meskimen

3/21/17
Dental Hygiene II
Bencosme, J. (2016). Sex-based differences in oral health. Dimensions of Dental

Hygiene, 14(12), 33-34.

The article, Sex-based Differences in Oral Health, focuses on the differences

in oral health men and women face and the unique oral health instructions they

require. The article starts off explaining that dental caries and periodontal disease

are chronic diseases that half of American citizens contain some stage of the disease.

Studies have shown that 56.4% of men will most likely develop periodontal disease

compared to 38.4% of women will develop periodontal disease. Although men have

a higher chance of developing periodontal disease, women have a higher chance of

dental caries. It is believed that genetics play a big role in dental caries in women as

well as women snacking while pregnant and having their teeth erupt earlier in life

than males.

Caries and periodontal risk assessment should be preformed on both sexes.

Women are typically more compliant when following oral hygiene instructions thus

having better indexes on bleeding, plaque, calculus and plaque index scores. Men are

more likely to smoke more than women and often times drink more sugary drinks,

therefore nutritional counseling needs to be individually based. Men, also, report

not having enough time to brush their teeth, therefore we should advise them to

brush while watching television or doing other activities.

Although women typically tend to take care of their teeth hormonal changes

may greatly affect their oral health. When the body goes through hormonal changes

estrogen is increased causing more blood flow to the gingiva causing inflammation,
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bleeding, and higher risks of caries, oral lesions and periodontal disease. Pregnant

women should be informed about these risks and the dangers their babies could be

at risk of if the patients aren’t maintaining their oral health and seeing their dentist.

Menopause slows estrogen flow; therefore women will most likely experience

xerostomia resulting in a higher risk of caries, pain in their TMJ and burning mouth.

Both men and women’s mouths change throughout their life and they need to be

educated on the changes and how to adjust their oral hygiene to help them have the

healthiest mouths possible.

I really enjoyed reading this article, it was informative and an easy read. I

love being able to relate to the articles and be able to actually have an opinion. In the

few short months of practicing I’ve gotten to see men and women at all different

stages in their life and although I’m far from being a professional I can relate to

some of the facts in this article. Some information that I learned and will be talking

to my patients about in my OHI is the risk factors women have during pregnancy if

they have periodontitis or are at risk. Learning that periodontitis may cause preterm

birth, low birth weight, preeclampsia, and diabetes makes me want to tell every

women even considering having a baby. Most people don’t relate their oral health to

their all in all health and I think it is very important for women to know that they

aren’t the only one’s at risk if they don’t care of their oral hygiene. So far we have

learned a lot about periodontal disease and caries, but it’s always helpful to learn

the risks for different genders. Being able to use all the information about these

diseases and adjusting my treatment plan and oral hygiene instruction to the patient
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based on so many factors such as age, sex, plaque score, health and so on will help

me do better at my job.
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Barnes, C. (2012). Shining a new light on selective polishing. Dimensions of Dental

Hygiene, 10(3), 42,44.

The article, Shining a New Light on Selective Polishing, discusses selective

polishing is now not a therapeutic approach in polishing and essential selective

polishing is the new technique. In 1976, Ester Wilkins introduced selective

polishing to the dental hygiene field claiming some patients didn’t need to have their

teeth polished and to only polish the stained teeth. Selective polishing was thought

to be protecting the enamel on the unstained teeth, allowing more time spent on

preventing caries/periodontal disease, and educating the patients. Although most

clinicians agreed with this concept the patients did not and believed they were

getting cheated of their cleaning. Because there isn’t enough scientific proof of

removal and damage of enamel essential selective polishing has been introduced.

Essential selective polishing is polishing all teeth whether they are stained or not by

choosing the correct polishing agent. The clinician should decide in their treatment

plans what is the best polishing agent by how much stain the patient has, if there are

restorations, or if the patient has any contraindicating factors. Thus by choosing the

best cleaning agent the clinician is also eliminating the ‘’one polishing paste for all

polishing procedures” and protecting the patient from the unneeded course agents.

I really enjoyed reading this article; it was informative and easy to read. Also,

because we just talked about selective polishing I was interested in what they had to

say and felt like I could have my own opinion. I learned that there is no real proof

that polishing damages enamel. Also, polishing could possibly damage the enamel
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but because of remineralization and fluoride treatments there isn’t true damage. I

have always been slightly aware, but in denial, that most offices use one size fits all

polish. I just can’t image my clinician using a course polish on my teeth, and if they

did I feel like I need to be saying something to them. In clinics we use essential

selective polishing and in the treatment plan we have to decide which polish to use.

When reading the questions you should think about when choosing I’ve never

actually asked those questions, but because of all the training we’ve had I can look in

a person’s mouth and see stain/no stain, restorations or not and decide without

having to really sit back and think. It’s funny to see how everything comes together.
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Quock, R. (2016). What the evidence says about fluoride varnish. Dimensions of

Dental Hygiene, 14(02), 37-38.

The article, What the Evidence Says About Fluoride Varnish, discusses the

effectiveness varnish has on protecting and preventing dental caries. The article

starts off stating that fluoride is the top supported therapeutics in prevention of

caries in literature. Because fluoride helps remineralize and level the pH and varnish

is sticky it has been increasingly used in caries management even though it is meant

for hypersensitivity. There has been several studies have been done throughout the

years. One study was done on caries with children and its effectiveness; it showed

reduction in decay on 43% of the teeth. Another study was conducted on white spot

lesions during orthodontic treatment and it was found that 70% showed reduced

white spot lesions. Lastly, the Journal of the American Dental Association conducted

five studies on the use of varnish and it found it to be effective and helped reverse

incipient caries lesions.

Overall this article was informative and influencing. I enjoy reading studies over

products I recommend to my patients. I like knowing and feeling protected that

there is science and proof to back me up. In clinic we talk to our patients often about

fluoride, it’s in the first page of our booklet when we ask about fluoride intake and

we also discuss the possibility of getting fluoride trays/varnish at the end of the

appointment. I typically talk about how fluoride helps remineralize their teeth and

now from reading this I will also we talk about how it helps prevent caries and helps

resist acid attacks. This article taught me that varnish is not approved by the United
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States Food and Drug Administration for dental caries management, but for dentin

hypersensitivity. Although, with all of the evidence and studies done I believe that

varnish will have the FDA’s stamp of approval soon enough.

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Sefo, D., Stefanou, L. (2014). Quelling dental anxiety. Dimensions of Dental Hygiene.

12(11) 70-73.

The article, Quelling Dental Anxiety, discuses what dental anxiety is and how to

go about the appointment with a person with anxiety. The article starts off by

explaining that 16% to 40% of people have some sort of dental anxiety. Anxiety can

come from multiple different reasons ranging from a negative personal experience

to hearing about traumatic experiences or having no reason at all. Some say they

have anxiety from the lack of control they have during dental procedures. Patients

with dental anxiety typically have poor oral health due to the fact that they avoid

visiting the dentist regularly resulting in a higher risk of dental decay. As clinicians

we are responsible for recognizing anxiety. The article includes a table of signs and

symptoms of anxiety and explains the best and simplest way to monitor anxiety is

through communication with the patient. There are several different ways to

approach dental anxiety. The first approach is pharmacological. We can help sedate

the patient with general anesthesia, conscious sedation or intravenous sedation to

help comfort the patient. Another approach is behavioral. Communicating with the

patient helps build their trust; clinicians should discuss the patient’s anxiety and

listen and acknowledge their fears smiling with a positive body language. The article

advises making early appointments so the patient doesn’t have to stress about the

appointment all day and discussing the procedure so the patient has a better

understanding of what is going to happen. Methods to help the appointment go

smoother can be from distractions such as movies or music, rest breaks, tell-show-
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do and breathing exercises. Other techniques to help control their anxiety are

hypnosis, acupuncture, watching other people’s dental appointment and using

aromatherapy. Every patient is different and clinicians must understand that one

technique may work on some patients and not on others and communication is key

to making a positive dental appointment.

I really enjoyed this article, I liked that the authors added non-medicinal

techniques along with pharmacological approaches to help with dental anxiety. I

have already ran into a patient with a mild case of dental anxiety and I found that I

followed the tell-show-do approach with several breaks and helped distract the

patient by asking them a lot of questions about their life. I loved reading other ideas

on helping with anxiety because like the article says not all patients are the same

and they don’t always respond the same. So if my next patient isn’t going to want to

be distracted by me just talking to them I know have different ideas to help them

through the appointment. Something that I learned and was surprised to read is that

aromatherapy is used for helping patient’s anxiety. I use aromatherapy and I love it,

but I do know that diffusing oils can have a very strong odor and I’m surprised that a

dental office would diffuse because the smell could disturb other patients. All in all I

would recommend this article especially since this article has ideas beyond just

giving patient medication.

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Goldstein, R. (2012). Strategies for addressing bruxism, Dimensions of Dental

Hygiene, 10(7), 38,40.

The article, Strategies for Addressing Bruxism, discusses the symptoms and

management of this condition. The article starts off by explaining that bruxism is

clenching and grinding of teeth that can cause hypersensitivity, abrasion and

abfractions. Symptoms of bruxism clinicians should look for are worn down flat

teeth, sore jaw/neck, loss of cusps, sensitivity and loose teeth. Clenching puts a lot of

stress and pressure on the teeth causing micro-fractures and cracks making the

teeth vulnerable for bacteria to attack the exposed dentin causing sensitivity.

Clinicians are encouraged to educated patients that the only time teeth should touch

is during eating. Treatment to help prevent bruxism includes: wearing a night guard

while sleeping, teaching patients how to align the tongue, teeth and lips, and

possibly wearing a guard during the day. Treatment options for hypersensitivity are

occluding the dentin tubules or desensitizing the nerve. Applying fluoride varnish

and using desensitizing toothpaste are often used to help minimize sensitivity as

well as stronger calcium-based remineralizing products clinicians can administer

chair side and over the counter. Patient’s symptoms should be monitored and

treatment should be adjusted for their severity and sensitivity levels.

I am one of the 8% to 16% of adults that struggles with bruxism; therefore I

was drawn to this article. I can relate to patients and I like reading up on this issue

so I can help myself and learn more about helping my patients. Something that I

learned from this article is the fact that our teeth aren’t supposed to touch, except
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when eating. When I think about it I am constantly pushing my teeth together

throughout the day and now that I know I’m not supposed to I will think about it

every time I try and touch my teeth. I think this is valuable information and my

patients will like to know this as well. I also was unaware of the fact that people can

wear guards on their mandibular teeth during the day to protect them from bruxing.

When talking about bruxism with my patients I normally talk about abrasion and

abfraction and brush up on hypersensitivity. Now that I have a little more

information on sensitivity such as clenching cracks the tooth and bacteria sneaks in

I will be able is discuss hypersensitivity more in detail and help them understand

the severity of this condition.