Archived Course Offerings

What can you do to empower your patients to change? Motivational interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based counseling style that taps into patients’ own motivations to make positive changes in their lives. This course has been designed with a user-friendly approach to improve your knowledge and confidence with motivational interviewing.

This course will cover the general characteristics of a new generation of students (generation Z) in healthcare education programs and the need to consider technology, communication, educational methods, and wellness. We will explore all these considerations and effective ways to appropriately respond to different scenarios commonly experienced in clinical education that will result in more positive outcomes with generation Z students.

Calculus removal can be challenging. What can be done to optimize periodontal debridement and scaling? The purpose of this hands-on workshop course is to strengthen the knowledge and skills of clinical dental hygienists on advanced instrumentation techniques and alternative fulcrums.

This course will explore what happens when the functions of breathing, chewing, and swallowing are compromised and their evolution into Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMDs). This course will also provide you with an overall understanding of OMDs and increase in your ability to identify OMDs in clinical practice.

How well do you know the current periodontal classification system? Does it seem confusing? The purpose of this course is to provide an easy and quick guide to assist both clinicians and educators in understanding and utilizing the (2018) classification system of periodontal and peri-implant diseases and conditions in a clinical setting.

Do you feel anxious, restless, edgy and tense at work? Is it just you? No, you are not alone. Many dental hygienists are stressed. But why? And what can you do to help you manage some of your stress? Let’s look at some of the possible underlying factors, and how you as a dental hygienist can manage your stress.

Oral health professionals need skills to competently overcome these possibly negative actions toward our patients and students. This course will explore some common themes with an application to clinical care and teaching. Beginning self-assessments and definitions will then guide the learner to create comprehensive plans for going forward in practice. Some role playing, case scenarios, and brainstorming sessions will help apply the concepts.

What is leadership and do we all need to have it? Is it a learned ability or given talent? Come explore these questions as they directly relate to your work, home, or personal life. Apply these concepts to self-awareness, self- improvement and the advancement of your organization, with YOU included. Life is more than being a bystander seeing what could be or thinking it is someone else’s job. Find ways to express your leadership skills.

Clinicians can never be completely current with all conditions, medications, materials, or available products. So, what can we do? The answer lies with evidence-based decision-making (EBDM). The EBDM process provides a mechanism for staying current in practice by addressing gaps in knowledge so that the clinician can provide the best possible care. This course helps you with the tools and steps to search the literature and apply it to practice.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reports a continued rise in the prevalence of Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders, such as sleep apnea. Dental hygienists have taken more active roles within Dental Sleep Medicine and are screening for sleep apnea during the hygiene visit as co-therapists in specialized oral appliance offices and myofunctional therapists. This course will provide an introductory clinical overview of Dental Sleep Medicine and the opportunities it offers dental hygienists.

Does your snoring wake you or others from sleep? Or has your patient fallen asleep in your chair and started snoring? Dental professionals are in the optimal position to help identify potential health risks linked to signs and symptoms related to snoring. This course will review anatomical influences that increase the risk of snoring, how chronic snoring affects your health and current monitoring and treatment options available to stop snoring.

Older adults are retaining their teeth longer and this will add to the growing number of patients the RDH will have to treat in the dental practice. Are you ready as an RDH? This course will cover oral health topics for the older adult. Discussion will include population trends, multiple comorbidities, polypharmacy, psychological changes, cognitive impairment and dental conditions associated with aging.

What are some of the best practices for treating individuals with ASD? In this course you will learn various ways to recognize common oral diseases and challenges associated with ASD patients. You will also learn practical behavioral modification techniques and ways to adapt your office to make visits more comfortable for patients with ASD.

Why is teamwork particularly important in working with special needs patients? What is interprofessional collaboration and how can it help you optimize patient care and improve outcomes? This course will focus on the roles of various healthcare professionals and their scope of practice when working with special needs patients, diverse practice models, and communication strategies.

Due to the changing demographic in dentistry today and the growing special needs population, there are additional advanced techniques designed to best meet the needs of our patients. This course refreshes our preventive technique skills and allows us to better identify and modify oral care habits that can be used at home and with the assistance of a caregiver to prevent dental diseases in patients with special needs.