Woodland Dental Hygiene

Happy New Year!

Armed with the best of intentions and a simple list of resolutions, I am beginning 2010 like many of you with a fresh slate and high expectations.

It is my desire to research and present interesting facts, insights and knowledge about our mouths that ultimately I hope you will want to pass on/share with others.  Hence the name; MOUTH to MOUTH!

We are being bombarded with so much knowledge and information these days that I have decided to try and keep this light and interesting with a touch of humor to keep it fun.  I am not a very humorous person myself; ask anyone who lives with me!  Mind you, it is tough accepting that three men in their twenties still want to live with their mother.  I tend to be overly serious most of the time so this is an exercise for me to step outside of my comfort zone and go where I have never gone before, even if no one reads it.

I have spent over thirty years inside people’s mouths and I am actually quite comfortable there.  Saliva or Spit as it is more affectionately known is my friend and if the truth be told I think that is why I am so healthy.  I have been exposed on a daily basis to a myriad of bugs, the extent of which I will never know.    When I first graduated we did not wear glasses, masks or gloves.  Now, infection control standards for both clinicians and patients are so strict I have had to develop an entire system of protocols and manuals for my new office for every facet of barrier protection, disinfection and sterilization.  It is evident that a staggering amount of health care costs are related to infection control and it can only get worse as fears of superbugs and pandemics swirl in the media.  It is difficult to make light of such a controversial subject such as H1N1 so I urge you all to educate yourself; knowledge is your best weapon.

I have never once been fearful of where I have my hands most days and I consider it a privilege to work in the health care field.  It is an exciting time to be practicing in the dental field as we are finally getting the mouth-body connection.  Funny thing is, veterinarians have always looked in animal’s mouths to ascertain health and Chinese doctors have looked at and read peoples tongues for thousands of years to determine health problems.  We really are just catching-up.  I had a patient who told me a story about a recent trip to China where a Chinese Doctor greeted all patrons as they entered a particular restaurant.  The doctor had every person open wide upon arrival, read their tongue and then recommended what they should order for dinner to enhance their health.

Modern health care has much to learn from the wisdom of the ages!

I love getting your feedback!  And here on my blog, I offer commentluv. This is really great for other bloggers. By leaving a comment, you can create a link back to your own blog…Great for SEO (search engines). But you don’t need to be a blogger to leave a comment! You can also become a ‘fan’ of my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter. And you can do it all from my blog page!

I look forward to hearing from you,

Kathleen

Tags: dental hygiene, Eastern Medicine, H1N1, health, Oral health care, Woodland Dental Hygiene