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February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, and for this episode Andrew and Michelle have offered the mic to Jessica, Shelley and Melia at Hygiene Edge. They spoke with a pediatric hygiene specialist and traded tips and tricks for dental hygiene educators who work with children.
Jessica began her hygiene career—even if she technically wasn’t a dental hygienist at the time—in a pediatric office. Shelley has worked with a wide range of pediatric patients in private practices over the years, and now instructs the next generation of hygienists on working with children and adolescents. Melia has worked in dental hygiene for over a decade and experiences the pediatric side of her profession when bringing her daughter to appointments. They spoke with Brittnee Thibault, who’s both a resident pediatric hygiene specialist and a clinical instructor for hygiene students.
In this episode, our guests discuss how to best describe an injection without freaking out your young patient, impress the importance of an “I’m the boss” voice, and explain how a little fidget spinner can go a long way to keeping your patient happy.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
Interview starts: 16:05
– Melia’s fun experience bringing in her daughter to get a tongue-cut done.
– Brittnee discusses how she came to work in a pediatric office.
– Why it’s unusual to actually have a dental hygienist working in a pediatric office in Utah—and why these offices should have a hygienist on staff.
– What Shelley is hearing from her pediatric students on how their clinic experience differs from what they’re being taught.
– Why Jessica “bailed” the first time she had to administer a pediatric injection.
– How you can build up your students’ confidence before they begin practicing on children.
– What instructors can do to ensure a successful appointment for the child, student and educator.
– How you can make the appointment experience more comforting for both kids and their parents.
QUOTES:
“It’s very important to know how to treat those little ones all the way up to adolescence.”
“I love this office and I love pediatrics.”
“Replace those scary words with things that aren’t as scary.”
“As an instructor… one aspect I’m always trying to bring in is helping them to include the parent in the conversation as well.”
“Setting those expectations before the patient’s in the chair, with the student, I feel like makes the appointment a lot better.”
“Just take a breath… go with the flow.”
“Don’t ever forget that you’re not alone and you’re part of a good team.”
LINKS:
Hygiene Edge – https://www.hygieneedge.com/
A Tale of Two Hygienists homepage – https://ataleoftwohygienists.com/
AToTH on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/aTaleOfTwoHygienists/
AToTH on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ataleoftwohygienists
AToTH on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/atoth/?originalSubdomain=ca
This episode includes the sound effect “cheering-16.flac” by Halleck found at FreeSound.org –https://freesound.org/people/Halleck/sounds/18665/
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