It’s A Tale of Two Hygienists’ student roundtable episode, which means Andrew and Michelle have invited a roster of guests to educate student listeners on a chosen topic. Today, Melissa Obrotka, BA, RDH, and Nicole Fortune, MBA, RDH, join Andrew and Michelle to discuss implant dentistry and the differences between a natural tooth and an implant.
In this episode, Melissa and Nicole begin by giving a brief summary of their journey as hygienists and how they got into implant dentistry. They go on to highlight the differences between assessing a tooth and an implant, the importance of doing medical checks and patient research before implanting, the methods and tools used to probe implants, and some homecare tips for implants. They round off with tips for students on how to delve into the world of implant dentistry – the key being not to be afraid and to ask questions.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
Interview starts: 2:19
- Melissa talks about her journey as a hygienist and how she gives back to the profession by educating the next generation.
- Nicole delves into her experience with implant dentistry.
- The ever-changing nature of implant dentistry.
- The big differences between assessing a tooth and assessing an implant.
- What is an implant?
- Assessing the tissue around an implant.
- Why you should ask your patient questions surrounding their implants
- Probing an implant – the methods and tools necessary.
- The importance of checking for implant looseness and patients’ reactions.
- Why you should pre-plan and assess necessary factors before implanting.
- What is all-on-four?
- The importance of bringing hygienists to the discussion table.
- Homecare tools for implants.
- Scalers and implants- managing biofilm around implants.
- 3 implant dentistry tips for students.
QUOTES:
“When I say that out loud, I can’t believe it.”
“I love dental hygiene. I love how we can change patients’ lives everyday and make people healthier, make sick people healthy, help improve their self esteem. I just love everything about what we do.”
“Good implant companies are kind of like car dealerships, there’s like four or five, six big ones that you know, and then there’s hundreds.”
“We kind of entered the Oprah stage of dental implants where you get an implant and you get an implant and you get an implant.”
“Our charge as dental hygienists is to keep ourselves informed.”
“Assessing the amount, the color, the consistency of that exudate is your next step.”
“There’s actually science to back that.”
“How is the prosthetic retained? Is it screw retained? Is it cement retained?”
“Don’t probe them and don’t scale them…unless you have a gold scaler.”
“It’s not really all that scary. It’s just a kind of a different way of approaching it.”
“We need to set these patients up for success.”
“There should be no Implantology without Periodontology.”
“You’ve got to earn this dentistry.”
“If it’s not fun for me, it’s certainly not fun for them.”
“It’s like trying to do dental hygiene with a butter knife.”
LINKS:
A Tale of Two Hygienists Podcast
A Tale of Two Hygienists homepage
