RDH stands for Registered Dental Hygienist. Registered dental
hygienists are licensed preventive oral health professionals.
Dental hygienists must graduate from an accredited dental
hygiene program with a certificate, associate or baccalaureate
degree, pass the written National Board Examination and the
clinical state board licensure examination.
More about the
dental hygiene profession
View
a short video on dental hygienists
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Importance
of Oral Cancer Detection
This year in the United States 30,000 people will be diagnosed
with oral cancer. Of those 30,000 people, only fifty percent
will be alive in 2008. Early detection is the key to effectively
treating and curing oral cancer. An oral cancer screening should
be part of your regular continuing care appointment with your
dental hygienist.
More life saving oral cancer
information |
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Oral Health is Part of Total
Health
Many Americans tend to separate
their oral health from their overall health. In fact, you
can't be truly healthy without good oral health. Some 75%
of Americans have some form of gum disease, and scientific
studies have found connections between oral health and health
problems such as heart disease, diabetes, respiratory ailments
and pre-term births.
Learn
more about the oral-overall health connection
Listen to a short audio version
- Diabetes
(488k Windows Media)
- Low
Birthweight Babies (540k Windows Media)
- Heart
Disease (511k Windows Media) |
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Chewing Gum with Xylitol Fights
Tooth Decay
Many people, children especially,
are at risk for getting tooth decay from the bacteria in our
mouths and the foods we eat as well as our brushing habits.
Tooth decay (cavities) can be painful, cause children to be
absent from school, and can be expensive to fix. Studies have
shown that xylitol products have a clear benefit to the teeth
- like chewing gum sweetened with xylitol 2 times per day. Xylitol
actually reduces the number of cavity causing bacteria in our
mouths.
Learn more about xylitol |
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Brush like you mean it!
Maintaining good oral health takes as little as five minutes
 in
the morning and five minutes at night when done properly.
To reduce the risk of gum disease and related chronic
diseases check
out these flossing and brushing instructions
from the California Dental Hygienists' Association. |
Eating Right for a
Healthy
Mouth and Healthy Body
Different foods supply different
nutrients and other healthful substances. Many of the
foods that help your body build and maintain strong muscles
and bones also help build strong, healthy teeth and gums.
Download
this factsheet to learn more about nutrition
and oral health.
More Fact Sheets |
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