As a hygienist, it’s a terrible moment when you’re all gloved up and realize you have to take your gloves off to get the floss threader from the drawer. I’ve started adding that the patient has a lingual bar to the computer pop-up alert system so I can remember to grab one with the tray set up. However, when the lingual bar is cemented only to the canines, you can use this tip from one of our most viewed videos on Hygiene Edge, “Flossing a Lingual Bar Trick.” This way you won't even have to get a floss threader out of the drawer.
A patient actually taught me this flossing trick when I started working as a hygienist. She showed me how she flossed her lingual bar, and she said her previous hygienist had taught her. I’ll admit it was pretty embarrassing at the time to have a patient teach me something that I felt I should have known. But it’s saved me time and time again and I love sharing it with others. It’s also a great trick to teach patients to do at home if they have only the bar bonded to the canines.
More Hygiene Edge videos
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Hygiene Edge was created from three dental hygiene educators who love both dentistry and education. With over 40 years of experience both in the education space and the dental field, Melia Lewis, Jessica Atkinson, and Shelley Brown love sharing their knowledge through helpful, short videos online, speaking, and working with amazing companies. You can find more information at Hygiene Edge, on YouTube (youtube.com/hygieneedge), and Instagram (@hygieneedge). Have a question or a tricky area? Let us know! We’d love to help.
