Celebrating Dental Hygiene Month

In addition to being the first full month of autumn, the leaves turning and Halloween, October also happens to be National Dental Hygiene Month (NDHM). It's a month where events and programming are held throughout the country the entire month bringing awareness to the importance of good and effective dental hygiene.

The eight Concorde campuses that have Dental Hygiene programs and our online Dental Hygiene program already have planned or are busy planning activities celebrating NDHM. They range from circulating educational materials to extra treats for students.

Here's a look at what a few of our campuses have planned.

The four components of good Dental Hygiene

Donna Sutton, Director of Concorde's Dental Hygiene Program in Dallas, said NDHM activities on her campus are centered around "the four components of good oral health maintenance:"

• Brush teeth twice daily - always two minutes, twice a day
• Floss every day - try Text2Floss if you have trouble remembering
• Rinse with mouthwash
• Chew sugar-free gum - doing this after eating can help fight tooth decay

"We use these four points as we educate the student body on our campus," Sutton said. "We will be printing cards that have these four points listed and the Dental Hygiene clinic information for our school. All during the month, our Dental Hygiene students will go to classrooms and hand out the cards with some sugar-free gum. They will also speak briefly about the services we offer in our DH clinic."

"Our DH students encourage other health care students to schedule a time after their class time to visit us in the Dental Hygiene clinic. We stress the fact that they're entering a health profession and taking care of their teeth is a positive step toward being healthier."

Sutton said her program also uses the month to welcome first-year DH students. On Oct. 25, they host a time when new students can get a glimpse of life in the DH program.

"They will begin their DH studies on Nov. 14, and they are very excited," she said. "We want to make them feel welcome, and this is a fun way to do that."

Attending a big Dental Hygiene meeting

Students at Concorde's Dental Hygiene program in Aurora, CO. will be taking a field trip Oct. 21 to attend the American Dental Association (ADA) annual meeting being held in Denver.

"This is a first for this meeting," said Program Director Diane Osso. "It's a big deal."

Students will be attending continuing education courses throughout the day.

More informal celebrations

Clinical schedules for students at Concorde's Dental Hygiene program in Memphis, TN are so busy, it doesn't allow much time for anything else commemorating NDHM, according to Program Director Marla Dunlap.

"We usually have cake and punch for the hygiene students on lunch break," she said.

Dunlap added her students might try and distribute samples and materials to promote the DH clinic as well as hand out material from the American Dental Hygiene Association.