Contemporary Dental Hygiene:
Cleaning Teeth or Providing Periodontal Treatment?

If you are cleaning teeth all day long it's time to re-visit your job. A dental hygienist is a periodontal therapist. You are the person in the office responsible for the maintenance and health of the periodontium of the patients. If you are not spending some time every day performing scaling and root planing with local anesthesia, you should be. This course is a jump-start to providing more comprehensive and better periodontal care for your existing patients.

Learn more about:

• Periodontal diagnosis: the new patient exam.
• The relationship between periodontal disease and serious health problems:
  Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke, Ulcers, Pre-Term Births.
• Initial preparation: the "how to" of scaling and root planing.
• Taking appropriate radiographs: FMX vs. Panoramic.
• Scheduling for periodontal maintenance: 3, 4, 6 months?
• Reevaluation for continued periodontal health.
• Local chemotherapeutic agents:
  Actisite fibers; Perio Chip; Atridox gel; Arestin microspheres; Periostat Pills. Do these work? Will they take the place of "conventional" treatment?

Half-day course recommended for dental hygienists.

Dr. Marty Nager is a board certified periodontist with a private practice in Warwick and Narragansett, Rhode Island. He is a former assistant clinical professor at Boston University School of Dental Medicine and instructor at the University of Rhode Island School of Dental Hygiene. He is a member of the Pierre Fauchard Academy, and is a fellow in the International College of Dentistry. He is a past President of the Rhode Island Dental Association.

©2006 Dr. Marty Nager. All rights reserved.