Inside Scoop By Trisha E. O’Hehir, RDH, BS, Editorial Director, Hygienetown Magazine

Hygienetown.com has a new look and some exciting new features. You’ll see the word “Docere” associated with both Hygienetown and Dentaltown, creating a common portal to both Web sites. “Docere” is a Latin word meaning to teach or to learn, a perfect word for what happens on both Hygienetown and Dentaltown.

One Townie, Tarrdh, said, “I love the info and have found it very interesting the views and opinions from around the country. I love the vital info on new materials, equipment and techniques featured on the site and in the magazine.”

Perio Reports research summaries are in every issue of Hygienetown Magazine and you can search back issues on the Web site. In this month’s articles, we learn our Canadian Townies already have a new cold laser therapy for periodontal disease (not yet available in the United States). Photodynamic Disinfection (PDD) is a new, non-antibiotic approach to controlling subgingival bacteria. See how it works on page 6. Besides the endless learning you’ll find on Hygienetown.com, you’ll meet friends and colleagues from around the world, all sharing experiences and learning from each other. “I check this Web site a couple of times a day,” said DetectiveMom in a Hygienetown message board post. “It’s kind of like talking to a friend you’ve never met, except it’s educational AND fun to read.”

This is the ultimate pen-pal experience, with opportunities to eventually get together at dental meetings across the US and around the world. Is anyone going to the ADHA meeting in Orlando this month? I’ll be speaking at the Arizona State Dental Hygienists’ Association Meeting in August 2006 – put it in your schedule. Hygienetown will be there! Whenever you see me at a meeting, stop me and ask for your Townie pin – I have one for you!

How about 2007? Are you attending the Townie Meeting in Las Vegas, Nev., the International Federation for Dental Hygienists meeting in Toronto, Canada or the International Society for Breath Odor Research conference in Chicago, Ill.? Make plans now to meet other Hygienetown Townies at these or other upcoming conferences.

For those Townies who participate on both Hygienetown and Dentaltown, it’s now an easy toggle between sites, with just one login providing access to both. If you’ve ever forgotten your password or login, it’s now as simple as entering your e-mail address and both will be sent directly to your e-mail account. This is especially useful for those of you who belonged to both sites before as the merging of login names and passwords made an automatic selection for you of one of your login names. Your e-mail provider (i.e. AOL or Yahoo) may block the e-mail from being sent to your inbox. If this happens to you, please e-mail Amy Cody, RDH at amy@hygienetown.com.

Want to change what the system picked for you? Simple, just go to “My Profile” on the right side of any message board page and you can make those changes. It seems we have a lot of cat lovers among the Hygienetown Townies by the number of people using cat photos in their profiles. That’s the fun – you can change your photo whenever you like!

If you’ve never visited Hygienetown.com, now is the time. Take a tour, look around, test out the new, improved search function. Wondering about a new product you’ve just heard of – like MI Paste? Just type it into the search box and several message boards will appear. We’ve selected one of those message boards for you this month in the magazine. MI Paste seems to be a well-kept secret, but we’re going to let that secret out at Hygienetown. Follow the discussions and see what this exciting new product is and how many uses it has. You may find that it’s just what you’ve been looking for; for your patients and for yourself! You’ll find many more discussion on Hygienetown to answer your questions. See you on Hygienetown.com!