New Jersey Dental Hygienists' Association

2021 Annual Conference 

                     “Aim High with Passion and Enthusiasm"

Celebrate National Dental Hygiene Month with your community of Dental Hygienists and earn CEU's!

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A Practical Application of Salivary Diagnostics for Oral Diseases and Beyond

presented by

Diane Larsen, RDH, BSDH

 

From the first minutes of our dental hygiene education, we knew the important role dental hygiene plays in health. When a dental hygienist graduates, an oath is taken to “improve the oral health of the public, to advance the art and science of dental hygiene and to promote high standards of quality care.” However, statistics such as 50% of the American adult population has some form of periodontal disease and 41,000 cases of oral cancer are diagnosed annually loom over our profession.

Modern medicine has developed and embraced clinical laboratory testing as their standard of care “to improve health and promote higher standards of care”. Instead of assuming what is ailing their patients, they test--using clinical laboratories as a partner to decipher root causes to properly treat. Why should dental hygiene be any different?

Think to the past pandemic, clinical laboratory testing has played an integral role. Patients know testing is needed. Why should the dental office be any different? With dental care, the clinical signs/our eyes do not tell the full story or what is the root cause. Our teams take radiographs every day because we know we can’t see everything when it comes to decay, consider salivary diagnostics your molecular x-ray for periodontal disease, HPV detection for oral cancer risk assessment, among others.

This course will help lay a foundation of how, when, who and analytical thinking- the why, primarily through case study review to show the practical application of salivary diagnostics. Completing the course, you will have the knowledge “to advance the art and science of dental hygiene” and promote your care from dental professional to oral health care professional.

·         Define Salivary Diagnostics

·         Describe How to Collection a Sample

·         Interpret Bacterial Test Results

·         Summarize Systemic Effects of Periodontal Pathogens

·         Restate History of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)

·         Comprehend Test Selection in Case Studies

·         Formulate the value of salivary diagnostic testing and how to apply to patient care

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