From Trisha's Desk By Trisha E. O’Hehir, RDH, BS, Editorial Director, & Perio Reports Hygienetown Magazine

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

According to the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA), there are 120,000 registered dental hygienists in the United States. Hygienetown Magazine is mailed to 66,000 of them, so a little less than half of this nation’s hygienists have not yet seen the magazine or might not know about the Web site. For those of you who are “in the know,” if you are aware of any hygienists who aren’t familiar with Hygienetown, now is the time to get them involved!

At the ADHA Center for Lifelong Learning Symposium held February 2007, in Baltimore, Maryland, I spoke with many hygienists who absolutely love Hygienetown! Many told me they enjoyed reading all the ways other hygienists deal with a tight lower lip that was published in the January/February 2007 issue.

During one of the sessions, I sat with four RDHs from a practice in Maryland. Each of them works with an assistant and they all prefer this approach to working alone. Their assistants manage time and patient flow, allowing them to focus completely on patient care. They told me they definitely prefer working with an assistant to working alone, just like the four hygienists interviewed for this month’s feature article, “Four-handed Dental Hygiene” (see page 12).

I was surprised to learn that only one of them was receiving Hygienetown Magazine. I gave each of them copies and the three who hadn’t ever read the magazine were eager to start their own subscriptions. The reason I tell you this is the hygienist who was receiving Hygienetown thought the others were getting it too. Please ask hygienists you work with and friends if they receive Hygienetown. If they don’t, please pass along the subscription information.

The Hygienetown team wants all hygienists to be aware of the magazine and the Web site – both great resources for Perio Reports research summaries, new product information, timely and meaningful feature stories, and message board discussions with clinicians just like you.