Prophylactic Care and Oral Systemic Health

Prophylactic Care And Oral And Systemic Health

 

Prophylaxis plays an essential role in oral health, so choosing the right products and tools is crucial for you and your patients

 

Cathy Hendrickson, RDH, believes she has an obligation as a dental hygienist to help patients understand the oral-systemic link. More and more patients are aware of the importance of their oral health, but dental professionals still play a key role in public education and ensuring their patients have accurate information pertinent to their personal health.

 

After reviewing a patient’s health history, Hendrickson discusses the importance of oral health with them. “Recently, I had a couple of patients with diabetes, and I spoke to them about the importance of home care and why it's crucial for them to maintain their regular hygiene visits,” she shared. “I had another patient with a heart condition, so I talked to him about the oral-systemic link and his dental hygiene’s effect on his body. He said, ‘That's why I'm here.’”

 

 

 

“As you tailor things to patients' wants and needs, it helps your business because it makes them want to come back.”  

-- Cathy Hendrickson, RDH

 

 

Choosing Effective Products

Keeping her patients’ oral health goals in mind, Hendrickson makes an effort to choose the most effective products. As a hygienist for 27 years, she's tried a variety of products and believes that having instruments and materials that are both reliable and enjoyable for patients affects the patients as well as the practice. “As you tailor things to patients’ wants and needs, it helps your business because it makes them want to come back,” said Hendrickson.

 

For example, while it’s not the worst thing that can happen to patients in the dental chair, excessive prophy paste splatter during polishing certainly isn’t pleasant. Luckily, many dental manufacturers have stepped up their prophy game with angles and pastes designed to create a smooth and stain-free enamel surface without the mess.

 

Having seen many different prophy pastes and angles come and go over the years, Hendrickson knows a thing or two about what makes a quality product. In her career, she has always listened to her patients' opinions on things like taste and ease of use. That’s why she uses D-Lish prophy paste by Young Dental.

 

“D-Lish comes in such a wide variety of flavors that I've made a menu so that patients can choose whichever one they want,” shared Hendrickson. “I felt that if they have a choice in what flavor they get, there would be no complaints and they would even look forward to it.”

 

She also uses the Acclean Disposable Prophy Angles from Henry Schein because she feels that they have had a positive effect on her patients’ care. “I usually use the soft cup because, for most patients, I can get right underneath the gingival margin with it,” she explained. “If the patient has heavier stains, I'll switch to a firmer cup because it does a better job in those situations.”

 

Getting patients to take their oral hygiene seriously starts with the superior clean you can achieve with your skill and quality products. A variety of prophy angles and prophy pastes is available to help you ensure good results.

 

PROPHY ANGLES

The Ultrapro Tx Sweep is Ultradent’s latest innovation in disposable prophy angles. Its performance is enhanced by the unique brush guard attached near the head of the angle, which effectively “sweeps” saliva and prophy paste back toward the tooth as it accumulates. This allows for less mess and splatter, and also lets the hygienist continue working without the need to constantly refi ll the cup with more paste.

 

Dentsply Sirona’s NUPRO Freedom disposable prophy angles are designed to work in tandem with NUPRO prophy paste and the NUPRO Freedom Cordless Prophy System. These disposable prophy angles are available in a variety of cup and package size options, including soft, fi rm, spiral, brush, pointed tip, and pedo cup.

 

Patterson’s Disposable Prophy Angles fit all slow-speed Doriot handpieces and are individually wrapped to prevent crosscontamination. The prophy cup is durable and fl exible, reducing paste splatter. Available in latex and latex free, and individually wrapped and disposable to prevent crosscontamination, these prophy angles are a good ergonomic choice.

 

Acclean Disposable Prophy Angles from Henry Schein are individually wrapped and combine high-strength plastic components with a gear design that delivers maximum torque and vibration-free operation. The nonslip grip improves overall control and tactile sensitivity.

 

The Elite Series from Young Dental is a line of prophy angles and cups created to benefi t the patient and practitioner. Included in this series is the Elite Flex, which is 25% softer and more flexible than the Elite Original, providing improved cup flare and the same excellent interproximal stain removal and splatter control.

Pac-Dent’s ProAngle Plus uses a patented design and reinforced gears to ensure each prophy procedure requires only 1 angle. The angle's beveled gears are engineered to effectively eliminate vibration, noise, and heat buildup.

 

Directa Dental’s polycarbonate ProphyCare Disposable Prophy Angles are 100% latex-free, fl exible, and have a soft cup for low-speed prophy attachment handpieces. ProphyCare angles minimize prophy paste particles that can enter the handpiece and damage the mechanism. The cup flexes and flares to tooth contour to aid selective stain removal and optimize interproximal cleaning and splatter control with less operator fatigue and pressure.

 

Designed with input from dental hygienists, the 3M Clinpro Prophy Angles are single use and feature nonlatex cups with quality construction and performance. Refi lls include 144 soft-cup prophy angles; firm cups are also available to meet every practice’s procedural needs.

 

Engineered to run longer and smoother with less chatter, Keystone Industries' Fortis Disposable Prophy Angles provide excellent comfort with less hand fatigue than traditional angles. The angles have a 2nd-generation gear design with ergonomic grips that reduce potential hand fatigue. The 100% latex-free cups are available in soft, firm, pedo, and tapered.

 

PROPHY PASTE

Keystone Industries' Gelato prophy paste offers patients great taste for an enjoyable hygiene experience. Gelato features a no-splatter formula that contains 1.23% acidulated phosphate sodium fl uoride with a unique blend of cleaning and polishing agents.

 

Enamel Pro from Premier Dental uses amorphous calcium phosphate to strengthen smiles and prevent enamel loss while also being easy to use and prioritizing patient comfort. Enamel Pro is available in fine, medium, and coarse grits in a wide variety of flavors: raspberry, cinnamon, grape, mint bubblegum, and vanilla mint.

 

Patterson Prophy Paste is a pumice-based prophylaxis dental paste used to clean and polish teeth. It rinses easily and produces minimal splatter. With effective stain and plaque removal, 3 grits, and 3 fl avors, this paste has what practices need in 200 single-use cups.

 

Brasseler’s HygienePro Glisten prophy paste is formulated to make less of a mess during procedures, making it ideal for hygienists. HygienePro Glisten rinses quickly from surfaces and is available in a variety of grits from fine to extracoarse. It also effectively removes biofi lm and stains. Color-coded lids provide for easy identifi cation.

 

NUPRO Prophy Paste from Dentsply Sirona features excellent stain removal and polishing performance in a unique proprietary formulation that has been designed to deliver consistent, splatter-free performance. NUPRO offers a large selection of greattasting, gluten-free flavors to satisfy almost any patient preference.

 

Directa’s ProphyCare Prophy Paste Pro cleans, polishes, and desensitizes. With integrated abrasion variability, Prophy Paste Pro's high cleaning power converts into gentle polishing as the particles fragment. For convenience, the same paste is used for stain removal and fi nal polishing. Prophy Paste Pro is a 1-step prophy paste that offers patients and practices decreased treatment time, low abrasion, and excellent cleaning and polishing.

 

With a nonsplattering, gluten-free formula that contains 1.23% fluoride, Henry Schein’s Acclean Prophy Paste offers a superior polishing finish with a quick, easy rinse. Patient-pleasing fl avors including mint, bubble gum, cherry, raspberry, and cinnamon are offered in tandem with assorted packs that include strawberry, vanilla, and tangerine flavors. Acclean Prophy Paste is available in fi ne, medium, coarse, and extra-coarse grits for maximum cleaning and polishing.