Lara James, RDH
Lara James, RDH, is a licensed dental hygienist of clinical hygiene, including corporate, dental management, and private practices. She graduated in 2004 from Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon. Lara has created DentalAisle.com, a dental blog, to educate consumers on dental products and dental issues. Lara also has written an online continuing education course on dentalcare.com. For more information, email her at lara@dentalaisle.com.
Dental Career Longevity: Healthy Immune System for Healthy Job Performance
The immune system is essential as it is a complex network of cells and proteins that defend the body against infections. Other parts of this system are made up of white blood cells, antibodies, lymph nodes, and organs, and the system's primary purpose is to kill the pathogen without harming the host.
The dental field is considered a high-risk job...
Barodontalgia: How Pressure Changes can Cause “Tooth Squeeze” Pain
Barodontalgia, also known as “tooth squeeze,” is pain in the tooth region after a pressure change. The name reflects the condition – “baro” means pressure, and “odontalgia” means tooth pain. It is an acute toothache with high sensitivity when a sudden change in environmental pressure occurs.1
Another condition is dental barotrauma that happens when changes in barometric pressure generate damage...
Dental Erosion: Is It Heartburn, Acid Reflux, or GERD?
Heartburn, acid reflux, and GERD are often used reciprocally as they are stages of each other. The initial signs of any digestive issue may be heartburn. As conditions progress in the digestive process, acid reflux will start to appear more frequently. If that doesn't resolve or settle down, a chronic condition known as GERD becomes a lifetime event.
Dentally, it's...
Galvanized Shock: Some Dental Patients Can Still Experience a Shocker
Galvanized shock, which is also referred to as oral galvanism, oral electricity, electrogalvanism, or galvanic currents (and even called "battery mouth") is a distinct, sharp, electrical zap of a sensation when two different metals touch a tooth. Anyone who has experienced this knows exactly what that feeling is.
Galvanism is defined as electricity produced by chemical action. Shock is the...
Hepatitis: Different Types of Hepatitis Dental Professionals Should Know About
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that ranges from minimal symptoms to severe liver failure. Hepatitis is mainly viral with the common A, B, and C strains and these strains are the ones dental professionals are mostly aware of. Other hepatitis categories include infectious, metabolic, autoimmune, genetic, and ischemic.
As discussed below, the dental management of hepatitis patients is...
Frenums: Checking for Frenum Abnormalities During Oral Hygiene Exams
Frenums are normal anatomy within the mouth, yet often neglected. The frenum consists of loose, fibrous connective tissue, elastic fibers, and striated muscle fibers that develop from muscle bundles of the lip. The purpose is to provide stability to the tongue and upper and lower lip.
This mucous membrane fold attaches the lip and cheek to the alveolar mucosa, gingiva,...
Tooth Staining: Awareness of Oral Health Effects of Tetracycline and Minocycline
Tetracycline and minocycline are common antibiotics used medically for infections and inflammation. While useful for medical reasons, dental professionals know it more for internal staining of the teeth.
Tetracyclines lead to permanent tooth staining when ingested during pregnancy, nursing, or during the developmental period of secondary and primary teeth. This vulnerable time frame is from the fourth month in utero...
Cerebrocostomandibular Syndrome: Oral Health Signs of Rare Disorder
Cerebrocostomandibular syndrome (CCMS) is an extremely rare disorder with a low survival rate. This condition is so rare that only around 80 confirmed cases have been reported in medical literature. The disorder involves a severely small chin, glossoptosis, an absent uvula, a cleft palate, narrow chest, missing ribs, gaps between the ribs, and difficulty breathing and feeding.1
Other conditions are...
Oral Submucous Fibrosis: Early Intervention with Betel Quid Chewing is Helpful
Oral submucous fibrosis is a chronic, progressive, premalignant, and irreversible condition. It is often described as a chronic, insidious, and scarring disease for the oral cavity, often with the involvement of the pharynx and the upper esophagus.1
The collagen-related disorder is characterized by inflammation, increased deposition of submucosal collagen, and formation of fibrotic bands in the oral and paraoral tissues....
The Uvula: Conditions that Dental Hygienists can Observe during an Exam
The uvula should not be neglected when evaluating the oral cavity for any discrepancies. The uvula is a fleshy, soft tissue in the middle of the soft palate that hangs down in the back of the throat in front of the tonsils, resembling an oval or teardrop shape (see Figure 1). The uvula’s flexibility prevents food and liquids from...