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Should dental hygienists give shots?

March 15, 2017 By Trish Walraven 13 Comments

healthyteeth212

When people talk about what they hate most about going to the dentist, they’re usually talking about the needle. I mean, who in their right mind would ever consent to allowing another person to give a shot in a place that has as many nerve endings as our tongues, lips and cheeks? Shots in the mouth are pretty dang scary. And when you’re trying to calm down and prepare yourself for an injection, it’s almost worse than trying to relax for the air-burst thingy they do at the optometrist’s office when you’re getting your eye pressure checked.

cottonrollssyringe

And yet, anyone who has had significant dental treatment performed has allowed someone to inject their mouth with a needle, right? We’ve all accepted the fact that shots are so much better than the actual thing that we hate about going to the dentist.

Pain. Pain is what we really hate.

And shots? They make pain go bye-bye. No shot? You’re all-knowing (in a very bad way) about every little thing that is getting fixed in your mouth.

But you already realize this unpleasant truth. What you might not know is that there’s a stink in Texas right now about who can give shots at the dentist’s office and who can’t. Here’s a little backstory: Dentists go to college for 6-8 years to learn all the things they need to do in order to be dentists. Dental hygienists are in college for 2-4 years to learn everything they need to learn in order to be dental hygienists. In states that allow dental hygienists to give shots, their anesthesia education follows the same curriculum as dentists. These states also test dentists and hygienists to make sure that they are qualified to give shots before granting their licenses.

In Texas and five other states, this is not true. A dental hygienist’s education in regards to anesthetic delivery is considered inferior, and therefore, allowing hygienists to stick a needle in a patient’s mouth allegedly places the public in unnecessary danger.

On this map, you’ll see red states, with years next to their abbreviations. These are the states that allow hygienists to give shots, along with the dates when administration and licensing first became available. [edit: See image at update at the bottom of this article – this was amended to 47 states in 2023]

redstates

Do I think that Texas should allow dental hygienists to give shots just because “everyone else is doing it?” No. We tried being our own country once, and if we still were our own country we wouldn’t care one tiddly bit what was going on in the US.

The reason that Texas should allow dental hygienists to give shots is simple:

We are tired of hurting people.

The alternative is to ask the dentists we work with to leave a hole in their schedule so they can come give a shot for us. And come anesthetize again if the first time didn’t work. And again if our patient is still in pain.

Here in Texas, hygienists learn to say “I’m Sorry” a lot to our patients, instead of continuing to interrupt our dentists.

Thankfully, most of our patients don’t need shots. Those who come regularly have healthy mouths and their visits with the dental hygienist are preventive in nature, comfortable, maybe even relaxing. But take a person who has been scared to go to the dentist for a while and they’ve noticed that their gums bleed when they brush. There are sores in their gums, and guess what? The treatment it takes to heal up those sores can hurt! Hygienists in all states are highly trained to provide this deeper therapy – it’s what we “really” do. And if there are obstacles to providing this treatment painlessly, well, it’s either not going to be painless, or else the treatment won’t be as thorough as it would have been if it would have been if the patient had gotten completely numb.

Last week’s hearing of the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human services highlighted the stances of those both in favor and against granting dental hygienists the permission to deliver local anesthesia, in other words “give shots.” The original video was 2 1/2 hours – I’ve shortened it down to a little under 40 minutes of testimony only about this bill, edited out all the procedural or repetitive bits, and left the juiciest parts behind.

Full video of the archived meeting: http://tlcsenate.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=42&clip_id=11813

Here are my bullet points, yes… •Bullet •Points for this committee meeting:

• The map handed out in the chamber is the same one you see in this article (feel free to scroll up and follow along).

• The bill is permissive, not mandatory. If a dentist does not want to allow a hygienist in their office to give shots, they can’t. Furthermore, dentists must be present in the office for hygienists to administer anesthetics.

• No evidence of harm is presented in any testimony. Scroll to 18:45 where you’ll see Dr. Scott Dowell testifying for the Texas Society of Periodontists against this bill. His admission of the relative danger of local anesthesia is…interesting.

• The Texas Dental Association states that they opposed to this bill due to patient safety because they feel that it lowers the education standard and it’s only about expanding dental hygienist’s scope of practice, possibly to open the door to independent practice by hygienists.

• Dr. Matthew Roberts, who represented the Texas Dental Association, seemed surprised to learn that physicians are legally allowed to delegate the duty of administering anesthesia shots to even medical assistants in their practice when this is brought up in the meeting.

• There are 9000 members of the Texas Dental Association, but in a poll, 53% of the members were actually in favor of hygienists giving shots.

• The amount of training dentists receive to legally put patients “to sleep” is less than the training hygienists receive in order to be legal to give shots.

If you’re not convinced by this video, then you didn’t actually watch it (my opinion, sheesh!). But if you did watch it and still feel like hygienists are unqualified to give shots, your voice is very important to us right now. Maybe there are more problems with hygienists using needles, maybe there are negative reports that haven’t been correlated properly. Do you have concerns? Post them here in the comments below. I’m serious – if there is a compelling reason that is being hidden from the public and even from hygienists, we all deserve to know the truth.

At this point, though, if the day ever comes when I’ll be able to give my patients shots, it will be like someone trusted me with the most delicate equipment available in the Compassion Toolbox. It is a precious gift to be able to deliver painless dental care, and for those in the caring business (which most of medicine is, if you think about it) sometimes it’s the best gift we can give to others.

Yuck, ick, too late, the mush landed. Bottom line? Please don’t hate me if I ever get to stick you with a needle.

Trish Walraven RDH, BSDH is a dental hygienist who lives in the suburbs of Dallas/Fort Worth. She longs for the day when she can drop a couple grand of her own money and leave her family to take a week-long college course, just so she can sit for an anxiety-provoking board exam that will grant her the license to poke a shot in places that no one wants poked. Goals, man. Goals.

UPDATE 4/5/2017:   The April newsletter from the TSBDE states that SB 430, which would authorize dental hygienists to administer local anesthetic was heard in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on March 8, 2017.  The committee considered testimony both for and against the legislation.  The bill was voted out of the Health and Human Services Committee on April 5, 2017 with some changes.  The change is that only infiltration administration would be permitted.  The bill is now waiting to be scheduled to be heard by the full Senate.

United States Map of 47 States where local anesthesia is permitted by dental hygienists

UPDATE 5/25/2023:

It’s been six years since the original article above was posted; however, today I received the following information:

“After almost a year of collaboration between TDHA [Texas Dental Hygienists’ Association] and TDA [Texas Dental Association], legislation passed today through the Texas Senate that would allow Texas dental hygienists to administer local infiltration anesthesia.

The last step is for Governor Abbott to approve and sign the bill which would then become law. After the legislation is signed by the Governor, the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners will be tasked to write specific rules and educational requirements that will align with the intent of the legislation. This is a lengthy process that can take up to a year. The rules will then need final approval from the Governor’s Office.

Please note – this legislation allows dental hygienists to administer local anesthesia under the direct supervision of a dentist via infiltration only to patients who are over the age of 18.”

Here’s the thing: this was also the biggest bone of contention even in the 80’s and 90’s for the majority of Texas dental hygienists. For over 30 years we have been arguing for this option! That’s pretty much the scope of an entire career. Enough said – all you 50+ year olds who’ve been waiting for this day? See y’all back in college soon! 

Filed Under: Dental Debates, Featured, News, Operative Dentistry Tagged With: dental anesthesia, TDA, Texas dental hygienists

Get Listerine fluoride for free with Obamacare – maybe

January 30, 2017 By Trish Walraven Leave a Comment

magtodd

I feel very targeted right now.

It’s because I’m one of the 16% of Americans that everyone is fighting to either “guarantee insurance” for or “force insurance” upon, depending on which side of the aisle you stand.

You see, my family has Obamacare.

It’s not because we can’t afford anything else. It’s because there simply is no other major medical care available for small employers who either aren’t required to offer insurance to their employees or cannot obtain group insurance because of the size of the company. We privately purchase the exact same plan offered on the Marketplace; it’s off the exchange, though, so there are no subsidies.

Here’s the cool (mint?) reason for mentioning this on DentalBuzz. As part of a family that’s enrolled in a plan that was created due to Obamacare, I discovered by accident that there’s a way to get Listerine fluoride rinse for free.

What happened is that I was browsing through the 2017 drug formulary from my insurance company and found something called the ACA Tier. Almost every exchange-eligible plan has a No-Cost Preventive Drug List like this one from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. It states in part:

Your health plan may include certain prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) preventive medicines, as a benefit of membership, at no cost to you when you use a pharmacy or doctor in your health plan’s network. There is no co-pay, deductible or coinsurance, even if your deductible or out-of-pocket maximum has not been met. Coverage for these medicines can vary according to the type of plan you are enrolled in…. Age limits, restrictions and other requirements may apply.”

So I’m going down the list and notice several entries for Listerine:

ACAFLSuppl

How can I get my free bottle, that’s what I said to myself when I read this. You want your free bottle too? Not so fast. All ACA-qualified plans are only required to cover fluoride for children under age 6. Which may mean that if you have children enrolled in Obamacare and they’re preschoolers, all you may have to do is to take your child’s bottle of Listerine up to the pharmacy window, present the insurance card, and they’re supposed to zero out the expense for you. I called my insurance company and this is what they stated. You’ll need to check your own benefit booklet first, though, because some plans only cover fluoride in other forms.

As a dental hygienist and mom, though, what’s a little perplexing is trying to figure out the label directions. We’ll go after this bottle of Listerine Smart Rinse, cause it’s cute and tough all at the same time.

smartrinseanticavityToddler-friendly? Check again.

SMRinseLabel

 

There is a huge disconnect between the FDA and the ACA, and it shows on this label! The Food and Drug Administration says you shouldn’t give it to children under six without consulting a dentist or doctor, but the Affordable Care Act pays for its use only for children that age.

Anyway, we all realize that healthcare in the United States is a work in progress. In other words, it’s a mess, right? And most of us are very much out of our element when we’re trying to figure out what’s covered and what’s not. Did you know that even most dentists and hygienists are clueless about fluoride benefits and the ACA? The only reason that I know anything myself is because I did a bit of sleuthing, found a lot of the Obamacare plans in each state, read their Preventive Drug lists, and then compiled the research. Sure, this article starts off with a little Listerine click-bait (hah! Social Marketing 101 – make ’em look!) but I do want to offer some important education, too. Here goes.

FLtabs• What do all ACA-qualified plans have in common with each other? At the very least, every insurance policy must include fluoride supplementation at no cost for children under age 5. Supplements are recommended mostly in areas where the fluoride level in water supplies are inadequate, and age five and below is the time frame when teeth can be protected most by the ingestion of fluoride. The supplements can be in the form of drops, chewable tablets, or as combination vitamins. All fluoride supplements require a prescription, either from a dentist or a physician’s office.

• Many health plans also pay for the in-office topical application of fluoride varnish. This is covered by the medical side of the plan, not the dental benefit, so you should either be savvy with using the medical code (CPT 99188) or leave it in the pediatricians’ sticky hands. Haha, sticky hands. If you’ve ever worked with fluoride varnish, it sticks to evvvverrrrry thing if you’re not careful. But hey, it’s why varnish can give up to six months of cavity protection, too. Some plans cover fluoride varnish applications as an unlimited benefit, however, I found that most plans pay for no more than two applications per calendar year.

prevdnt

• Some of the plans reviewed include prescribed and/or over the counter (OTC) topical fluoride gels, pastes, and rinses, such as the previously mentioned Listerine Fluoride, Act Rinse, Prevident, Fluoridex, Gel-Kam, Clinpro 5000, Phos-Flur, Omni Gel and others. A few of the plans even list brand-name toothpastes, although I wouldn’t count on those getting covered.

Although I reviewed somewhere in the range of 50-100 healthcare plans available, I can’t tell you specifically which fluoride products are covered by, say, Cigna versus Aetna, because they vary so much between states. You’ll have to read your plan, or better yet, call your insurance company. Be sure to share what you discover with your dentist, hygienist, or physician, so they can help your kids get the fluoride prevention that you’ve already pre-paid for.

Because, let’s face it, pre-payment is what preventive healthcare insurance is, anyways. You only “pay an ounce” for prevention, after all, so you should get at least that much back. Especially when a pound – 16 fluid ounces – of Listerine fluoride costs your insurance company only five bucks.

It sure beats the bill for a pound of actual cure.

 

 

TWimage1

Trish Walraven, RDH, BS is a dental hygienist from the Dallas/Fort Worth area who cropped out her lovely daughter in this photo because it’s very, very obvious that she’s older than five. She didn’t want the Obamacare Police to have anything on her if she did show up at the pharmacy begging for her “free” bottle of bubble-gum fluoride rinse.

 

 

References and resources

United States Census Bureau, Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2015 https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-257.html

Aetna Health Care Reform Preventive Care Drug List: https://www.aetna.com/content/dam/aetna/pdfs/formulary/2016_HCR_Preventive.pdf

American Academy of Pediatrics – Oral Health Coding Fact Sheet for Primary Care Physicians: https://www.aap.org/en-us/Documents/coding_factsheet_oral_health.pdf

Science-Based Medicine. Preventing Tooth Decay in Kids: Fluoride and the Role of Non-Dentist Health Care Providers https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/preventing-tooth-decay-in-kids-fluoride-and-the-role-of-non-dentist-health-care-providers/

Kaiser Family Foundation. Health Insurance Coverage of the Total Population: http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/total-population/?currentTimeframe=0

United Healthcare. Topical Fluoride Treatment Dental Clinical Policy: https://www.unitedhealthcareonline.comTopical%20Fluoride.pdf

Humana Pharmacy Solutions. $0 Preventive Medication Coverage: http://apps.humana.com/marketing/documents.asp?file=2838979

Kaiser Permanente. Preventive Services Flier: http://apps.humana.com/marketing/documents.asp?file=2838979

Filed Under: Featured, Preventive Care, Products Tagged With: Affordable Care Act, Fluoride, obamacare, Preventive Care Drug List

How do you floss under a retainer?

March 14, 2016 By Trish Walraven 17 Comments

It used to be such a dread, seeing patients with fixed lingual retainers. I mean, they’re great because they keep your teeth from shifting after you’ve had braces, but GAWRSH, do they have to be so difficult to floss around?

Not any more.

Thanks to the talented hygienists over at Hygiene Edge we now can share this super-easy secret with patients as well!

Here’s how you do it:

It’s embarrassing to say this, but it took me over 20 years as a dental hygienist to find out about this trick, so now I’m thrilled to see lingual retainers on patients because it gives me a chance to share this newfound secret. That’s why I’m sharing it here, too. And as for you poor folks whose retainers are glued to each and every front tooth? I’m sorry, this trick doesn’t work. You’ll just have to stick it to ’em instead:

gum-soft-picks

 

 

 

 

Remember, it’s all about friction. Whatever gets in there is good by me.

 

A blogger since 1997, Trish Walraven, RDH, BSDH is a mom and practicing dental hygienist in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. Her mission with DentalBuzz is to offer a fresh podium of discourse for those involved in dentistry and to expose fun in our professional lives.

Filed Under: Operative Dentistry, Preventive Care Tagged With: dental hygiene tricks, floss threaders, Flossing under retainer

Candy that really fights cavities

February 18, 2016 By Trish Walraven 13 Comments

which tooth

Why do you get cavities? It’s not because your teeth are soft. Cavities happen in mouths where the environment is all jacked up. Too much acid, too many germs, an abundance of refined foods, too little saliva. Basically the little ecosystem in your mouth is out of whack.

How do you get it back in balance? You already know some things you can do: eat better, brush and floss better, drink water. Sometimes, though that’s not enough. What do you do between meals? Between brushing?

You change the mouth itself by changing what can grow in there.

One way is with licorice:

No, that doesn’t count, sorry. It has to be real, tar-black, sugarless licorice. Real licorice contains licorice extract (unfortunately, that’s the stuff that makes it taste way worse than Red Vines).  The way that licorice fights cavities is by changing the mouth environment so that the germs that cause cavities are inhibited.

These are licorice roots:LicoriceRoot

Licorice roots have been around ever since the original hunters and gatherers realized they were sweet-ish, quenched thirst, and tasted much better than most of the other twigs and sticks they used to dig around in their gums and teeth. Maybe they realized their teeth hurt less when they chewed on them, too. Licorice roots contain a compound called glycyrrhizin, which has been proven to reduce tooth decay. They’re cheap, natural, and abundant; you can even buy them here at this link on Amazon.com. But a word of caution: glycyrrhizin can be dangerous in excess amounts. Since licorice root is considered a natural herb, there’s no way for the FDA to regulate the dosage, and too much of it can cause heart arrhythmias, increase blood pressure, and reduce potassium levels.

If your response to black licorice and licorice roots are No, and Hell No, respectively, then how in the heck do you think you’re going to get kids to put licorice extract in their mouths?

Enter capitalism at its finest, folks.

Loloz1

When this company contacted me about a year ago, I was excited to eat free candy write a product review about something that may really help my patients prevent cavities. Remember what I was saying about licorice? Cavibloc™ is the proprietary formulation of licorice extract used in Loloz™ that you can read on their ingredient list here:

Lolozingredients

How this works

I’ve seen enough studies and listened to tons of lectures from smart people who know what they’re talking about to be convinced that the science is very strong behind using licorice extract in this way to prevent dental cavities. Here’s the biggest problem about it, though:  it doesn’t work if you don’t use it, duh. Follow the steps below to get started on this great cavity prevention regimen:

1. Overcome your objections. Just so you know, I’ve eaten practically a whole box of the berry flavored pops, given them to my kids and friends of my kids, and they taste good. Really good. No problem on the flavor at all. Also, it will cost about $90/year for three boxes. Those are the big obstacles. Everything after this is easy.

2. Buy your boxes at Amazon.com. Lookie, it even comes with Amazon Prime! Here are your flavor choices (and by the way, these are NOT affiliate links – I’m not making any money off of this, just in case you doubt my sincerity):

Loloz Berry Lollipops

Loloz Orange Lollipops

Loloz Lemon Lollipops

For people who aren’t into the whole “stick hanging out of your mouth” thing, there are candy lozenges, too:

Loloz Berry Candy

Loloz Orange Candy

Loloz Lemon Candy

3. Open up your box when it arrives.

Loloz2You’ll get 20 suckers per box… but maybe they’ll throw in a few for a bonus, with a note to let you know they didn’t count wrong. Maybe eat one of the extra ones as soon as you get them, to make sure you’re going to like them. Then…

4. Put them in the car. What? Following the recommended regimen is the most important part. It takes about 10 days of consecutive exposure time for licorice extract to disrupt the germs that cause cavities. And not just once per day. Two times per day for ten days. You’ll want to have one sucker in the morning, one in the evening. But how do you remember to have two per day? You and your kids (if you take them to school and/or work) are in your car at least twice per day. Maybe you don’t actually leave the lollipops in the car because they may get icky gooey on hot days. But you know what I mean. Discipline yourself to make sure you’re using them two times per day.

5. Repeat in 4 months. You’ll do this about three times per year for excellent cavity control, plus you get to feel good about eating candy. Whee! Over time, the bad bacteria will start creeping back in, but starting up another 10-day treatment in 3 to 4 months will help balance out the mouth environment once again.  People who get cavities easily need licorice root extract. It’s just that simple. If you’ve ever been given a prescription for high fluoride toothpaste, Loloz are for you.

So you may be asking yourself, why no one else is talking about this, why there might not be a lot of Amazon reviews on Loloz, it must not be any good, right? No, that’s not it. The company made a big push a year ago to get the word out, but marketing these days is a tricky thing for new companies. I am confident that the product is spot-on, and I’m here to reinforce again to you that balancing your mouth environment is one of the most important things you can do to prevent cavities. There are other ways to reduce tooth decay, but right now Loloz are your best bet for obtaining a proven, long-term, dose-controlled antimicrobial effect against decay-causing bacteria. And if you’re a dentist or hygienist who is thinking about recommending this to your patients, remember:

COMPLIANCE IS EVERYTHING!

…She says, with a delicious, sugar-free Loloz lollipop in her mouth.

 

 

trishlollyTrish Walraven RDH, BSDH is a mom and practicing dental hygienist in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. She has a very, very bad sweet tooth and doesn’t take money from companies like Loloz because she’s afraid they would give her a lifetime supply of sugarless candy which would be no fun because, hey, if it’s good for you, the days of living dangerously from sugar highs just go phhhht. gone.

 

 Resources and References:

International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences, January 2015. “Assessing the effectiveness of liquorice root extract lollopop in reducing the S. mutans count in saliva in children aged 6-12 yrs – a pilot study.” http://www.ijpbs.net/cms/php/upload/4020_pdf.pdf

European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, December 2010. “Clinical reduction of S. mutans in pre-school children using a novel liquorice root extract lollipop: a pilot study.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21108917

Medscape, January 2012. “Licorice Root May Cut Cavities, Gum Disease.” http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/756532

John C. Comisi, DDS, MAGD, April 2013. “Employing a whole-patient approach to the lifelong struggle of caries management.” http://www.dentalaegis.com/id/2013/04/oral-disease-the-battle-for-balance

British Dental Journal, December 2009. “Liquorice Alert.” http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v207/n11/full/sj.bdj.2009.1090.html

Filed Under: Featured, Marketing, Preventive Care, Products Tagged With: cavity prevention, dental decay, licorice extract, licorice lollipops, licorice root, Loloz, sugar-free candy

Battlebots: American Eagle vs Hu-Friedy

July 16, 2015 By Trish Walraven 9 Comments

Do you want to see a secret video of one dental hygiene instrument killing another? Sure you do.

But first, a confession: It’s not really secret. This video has been on YouTube since May of 2013 but as of the time I’m writing this it’s had less than a thousand views. I find it to be pretty scathing.

How can a video about dental curettes be scathing?

Because it challenged my opinion about my beloved Hu-Friedy instruments, that’s how.

As hygienists, we’ve been taught to “click” calculus deposits off of teeth. If you have a traditional stainless steel instrument, it needs to be sharp so that it can dig into the deposit, right? Right.

There’s sharp, and there’s hard. Sharpness is what gets you “clicking” the calculus off.  Hardness is… well, it can shift your whole method of OMG YOU WANT ME TO SHAVE WHAT? instrumentation.

We’ll get back to shaving and being hard in a little bit. (!) What I want you to do now though is to watch the video below so that you can understand the rest of this post (just please ignore the first 40 seconds of suck):

What just happened there? Pretty simply, there’s this thing called the Rockwell C hardness scale that measures the hardness of metal, it’s on a scale of 1-100, and when cryogenically-processed steel with a hardness of 60 meets plasma spray-coated steel with a hardness of 89, the softer metal is going to get damaged. That TOOL done got OWNED.

And why does this matter now? These two curettes, one made by American Eagle Instruments and the other by Hu-Friedy, are apparently in direct competition with one another, and Hu-Friedy is making a big stink about the claim that American Eagle’s instruments are sharper.

“Mine are sharper!”

“No, Mine are!”

It’s like that. You can pretty much ignore both sides, and take the marketing for what it is. LOOK AT MY SHINY NEW STUFF IT’S THE BEST (i love youuuuu).

Whatever. Especially the I Love You part. So, you remember Nevi 4, right? – the Traveling Plushie Scaler?

nevi4trishmolly

here I am hanging with Nevi and my co-hygienist at the ADA meeting in Vegas.

My mini-Nevi watching TV with his buds like he does sometimes.

No, I will NOT be posting the photos from that crazy after-party thing that happened with all Nevi’s friends – you know, the Travelocity roaming gnome, Chester Cheetah, the Noid, Stefon from SNL, yeah, that crowd – because I’m not going to give you blackmail material on me like that. But I did just make you look at a picture of my cutsie wootsie doggies, aren’t they just the most adorable schnauzers ever?

Anyways….

So yes, I understand the loyalty thing we’re supposed to have with a company like Hu-Friedy that respects hygienists and is nice to us and is the market leader and the oldest in the business. But sometimes, a product comes along that is actually different enough to give it a chance.

I’m going to say it. I think harder is better.  (shut up, the person who just muttered “you would.”)

Step to the left, Nevi plushie. You have your soft place in the world, and American Eagle XP has its place as well.

What I’ve noticed with using the XP instruments and their hard coating is that the texture of calculus feels really different. Like, it’s softer. Like, I don’t click it off. I shave it off.

SHAVE.

Shaving teeth instead of scaling? It’s really, really weird, but I like it. Who ever thought that you could slice through calculus like you’re carving a turkey? But it feels like that. Instead of biting off the whole chunk of tartar at once, the XP technology lets you lighten up your touch in an entirely different way than you do with even the sharpest stainless steel instrument.

Now, there is a down side to owning American Eagle XP instruments over traditional stainless steel ones – you have to baby them a little more because they can bang up against each other and shorten their lives. That part irks me, of course, because not only do I not want to have to put my instruments in cassettes, I don’t want to ever have to sharpen them either like you do with the Hu-Friedy EverEdge. I’m stuck somewhere in the middle.

And yeah, there’s that “sharp” thing again.

According to the study that was released yesterday by Hu-Friedy, compared to American Eagle XP instruments the Hu-Friedy EverEdge instruments will always be sharper. Also they launched the claim that XP instruments wear out faster because they aren’t able to be sharpened.

Does this mean Hu-Friedy is fighting back?

Well good then. That means they’re probably feeling threatened by a smaller, newer company, and competition is better for progress. It’s good for us because it means that we get to evaluate free instruments from both Hu-Friedy and American Eagle. And good for dental hygiene as a whole, too, because you’re not going to let a little emotion of loyalty get in the way of some good old-fashioned brawling to win your business. You’re free to explore all your options.

Let the metal shavings fly, and you know what they say about having competition, right? Steel sharpens steel. Iron sharpens iron.

And may we all have better instruments for it.

 

A blogger since 1997, Trish Walraven, RDH, BSDH is a practicing dental hygienist in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas and marketing manager for BlueNote Communicator, software that keeps dentists running on time for their hygiene checks. She’s having to take back the “harder is better” comment now with her new mattress. Oops.

 

 

References:

Hu-Friedy Commissions Independent Study to Evaluate Scaler Sharpness:
http://www.enhancedonlinenews.com/news/eon/20150715006545/en/sharp/scaler/dental 

RDH Magazine: No More Dull Instruments!
http://www.rdhmag.com/articles/print/volume-32/issue-5/features/no-more-dull-instruments.html

The Uncoated Truth:
https://www.hu-friedy.com/TheUncoatedTruth

RDH Magazine: How instruments increase productivity
http://www.rdhmag.com/articles/print/volume-33/issue-4/features/how-instruments-increase-productivity.html

That was cool, right? The shaving thing? Be sure to share this video with everyone that didn’t realize that SHAVING is what XP is all about.

Filed Under: Dental Debates, Featured, Instruments

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DentalBuzz explores rising trends in dentistry with its own slant. The speed at which new products and ideas enter the dental field can often outpace our ability to understand just exactly the direction in which we are heading. But somehow, by being a little less serious about dentistry and dental care, we might get closer to making sense of it all.

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