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See Wendy LIVE!March 26-27 GOLD PLUS members only meeting Chicago, IL(877) 732 2124

April 2-4 TOWNIE MEETINGLas Vegas, Nevada

April 17-18 APOGEE DREAM TEAM SUMMIT Scottsdale,AZ(712) 899-4061

May 22 2009 Australian Tour Hygiene Diamonds Down Under!

HYGIENEDIAMONDS’

B r i l l i a n c e c i r c l e

b r o a d c a s t

! ! ! ! march 2009Smile Makeover

options for a tough

economy..WFL

Celebrity smiles, 6 reasons a

smile is your most valuable asset

Page 2

Treating Caries

Protocol for patients considered

High Risk..are you doing

enough?

Page 4

The Periodontal

Paradigm

What is the ideal protocol for

Periodontal therapy, how should

we implement current research?

Page 3

Gingival Health and

Leukemia

Periodontal Disease and

Osteoporosis what you need to

know

Page 4

The Periodontal Paradigm...what’s yours?by Wendy Briggs, RDH

Lightning speed. This is how fast Periodontal Therapy is changing! Because of the abundance

of research available to the dental community, the paradigm regarding Periodontal Disease, and

recommended treatment is changing at an incredible rate. Despite these new changes, many providers

are still treating periodontal disease today the same way that they have been for the past several

years. If you have not adjusted your protocol, this article will help you know what the latest research

regarding effective treatment is, and how to better implement these concepts.

The Old paradigm for Periodontal therapy promoted antiquated ideas. Ideas that have current

hygienists shaking their heads at how we could possibly have performed treatment in this way for so long.

Concepts such as scaling until the root surface is “glossy and smooth”, “hand scaling is preferable to

Powerscalers”, or treating just “one quadrant at a time”, are no longer accepted as the standard of care.

Current Periodontal researchers support more proactive paradigms, such as Full-Mouth Disinfection,

Blood testing to determine systemic health risks and genetic tendencies for periodontal infection, and laser

therapy to more effectively eradicate the bacteria. Over the past few months, even more information has

become available regarding early detection, systemic conditions that are affected by periodontal infections

and cutting edge technology approved by the FDA that can help the body regenerate bone. Sometimes the

information we have regarding

ideal Periodontal therapy is

changing so rapidly, it is

difficult to keep up! What

should we change? How do we

do this and keep all the continued page 3

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Want to Boost Production in a BIG way? Plan an

Invisalign Open House! Many of our members have seen

great success from hosting an Invisalign Open House. On average we

are seeing 6-10 patients enroll for Invisalign in one day! Here are

some tips to help make your Open House a Success!

• Invite more than existing patients to the event. Promote your Open

House in the community. Free Standing Inserts in the newspaper,

direct mail, something to invite new patients to participate.

• Have them call to book a scheduled time during the open house

• Offer an incentive to encourage them to attend the Open House. A

drawing for an I-pod, or some other exciting item is a popular choice

• For those ready to get started, promote a One Day Only special deal,

$250 towards the total service if they are financed or paid today.

• Include complimentary Whitening for Life for all patients who move

forward with Invisalign

• Join forces with a complimentary business, to cross promote your

event to their mailing list. The more the merrier!

WHITENING FOR LIFE

Special Announcement! You can now order your bleach online at www.hygienediamonds.com Simply visit the store and order!

Call Chantelle at 801.318.2907 with questions or to find out more!

Who has the top rated Celebrity Smile? Reuters has just published the most requested Celebrity smiles

for 2009. Can you

guess who they

are?

1. Julia Roberts

2. Brad Pitt

3. Tom Cruise

4. Angelina Jolie

5. Jennifer Aniston

6. Barack Obama

It is interesting to see whose smiles our patients admire. Although many of these A listers have naturally beautiful smiles, our patients are sometimes surprised to know that several of them have been restored to their current state of beauty.

Many dentists are still reporting great success with Whitening for Life, even in the current economic climate. (One office just told us that they had already enrolled 14 patients in the first 5 days of this month!) This is the most affordable way your patients have to improve their face value! Celebrity smile makeovers may not be in the budget, but everyone can afford Whitening for Life. Make sure your patients are continually given the opportunity to join this incredible program, and enjoy the benefits of a beautiful smile for LIFE!

How Important is a Beautiful Smile?•84% of adults perceive having an attractive smile as important for

getting a date with Mr.or Ms. Right.

•An overwhelming majority of adults (85%) consider a persons smile to be

very important at first meeting.

•Almost 9 out of 10 (86%) think people with good teeth are more attractive to

t the opposite sex.

•Over one-third agree that a person with bad teeth gets fewer job promotions.•Three out of four adults (75%) think an attractive smile is important for

succeeding in the workplace.

•94% of those polled said they are likely to notice a persons smile when they

meet them for the first time.

Next Brilliance Training Call with Wendy!March 23rd and April 27th 5:30 PM CENTRAL• TRAINING call open to all WFL Members, Brilliance Circle

and GOLD PLUS• Wendy will answer your questions LIVE!• To join in the call dial 1.512.225.3600 pass-code 360036#

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PERIODONTAL PROGRAMproviders on the same page? This can be

extremely challenging, especially if we have

mulitple hygiene providers and multiple dentists.

A comprehensive periodontal program is an

essential element of a successful Hygiene

Department. If you have not reviewed your

current program, or made any changes to your

recommended procedures in the last few years,

your homework is to do just that.

With that said, let’s review some of the

latest and greatest new developments designed to

help us raise the level of awareness for our

patients about their risk factors, and to improve

our results from therapy to our Periodontal

Patients.

• Early detection is becoming more

standard even for general dentists who are

seeking to achieve the best possible results from

their Periodontal Therapy. CRP testing is now

recommended both prior and following

Periodontal Treatment. Following periodontal

therapy, C-Reactive Protein levels should be at

lower levels than they were before therapy.

Combining traditional Scaling and Root

Planing, with a nutritional supplement has

been extremely effective in reducing C-reactive

Protein levels. But, don’t take my word for it,

find our for yourselves by doing CRP Blood

testing in your office for your patients. It’s as

simple as a finger prick test.

• Micro-Ident Plus testing uses

microbiology to discover the underlying cause-

specific periodontal pathogens. Molecular

Biological Detection of Periodontopathogenic

Bacteria supplies data on 11 different species

and their affiliation to so called “bacterial

complexes”. This testing provides an optimum

basis for individual therapy: usually a

combination of mechanical therapy and

adjunctive systemic and/or local antibiotic

administration. By discovering what strains of

bacteria exist in the pocket, and creating a

custom approach to more strongly affect those

specific strains, we attain more powerful

results.

• GenoType PST Plus is a DNA

type test that detects mutations in the genes to

determine if the patient carries the risks for

increased degradation of Periodontal Soft and

bone tissue. You might think that patients

won’t want to know, or will not be willing to

pay for this test. I was surprised at how many

patients DO want to know. They are aware

that periodontal disease runs in their family,

and are curious to know if they are at risk.

Often they also want to prevent future tooth

loss, and realize that awareness is the first

step.

• NDYag lasers, more specifically the

Periolase, are revolutionizing Periodontal

Treatment as we know it. The FDA has

cleared a relatively new procedure called

LANAP. This stands for Laser Assisted New

Attachment Procedure. This procedure is an

amazing adjunct to traditional therapy. It

currently is the only procedure cleared by the

FDA to regenerate bone. In my state, (and

many others)Hygienists can actually use a

diode laser as an adjunct to Periodontal

Maintenance therapy.

In the past, as Periodontal therapists, we

were able to achieve fairly good results treating

periodontal Infections. Now, we are able to get

incredible results! By combining laser therapy,

improved nutrition, and diagnostic testing we are

seeing unprecedented results.

If your Periodontal Program needs a boost

to get you up to speed on new concepts and the

updated Paradigms, we have several exciting

options for you. We have amazing Hygiene

Diamonds coaches that are available to do a

private seminar for your team in your office.

This all day Comprehensive Periodontal

Program will help get everyone on the same page,

systemize your Perio Program and update your

practice. An intense focus on getting more

patients to move forward with more treatment

will help your hygiene team do more Perio

services. All this without having to leave home.

Of course there are resources on The

Navigator that will help you refine your

Periodontal Program. Check out the library for

Handouts on Periodontal topics. Another

valuable tool: the Periodontal Classification

Worksheet is also available for you to download.

Every time a New patient is diagnosed with

Periodontal infection, this worksheet will enable

all providers to be in agreement regarding the

findings. If you are not yet on the Navigator, call

Korey in the office and she will help you access

the members only website.

For those who have a more adventurous

spirit, On May 16th and 17th in Salt Lake

City the first series of Wendy Briggs, LIVE!

kicks off with our most requested topic: The

Secrets of Periodontal Profitability

this is your chance to hear Wendy teach these

incredibly valuable concepts to your team. See the

insert in today’s newsetter for information about

this series, and come join us. Bring your

Periodontal program up to light speed!

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HYGIENE DIAMONDS BRILLIANCE

Treating Caries“Too late it was appreciated that inserting fillings, even at a great pace, had little to do with arresting or treating disease, although it had the temporary effect of creating relief from pain and restoring function of the teeth.”- Fejerskov O, Kidd E. Dental Caries: The disease and its clinical management. Blackwell Munksgaard 2003 Oxford UK. Pp:4-5.

Did you Know? Gingival Bleeding and Inflammation are sometimes

indicators of a more serious condition?

This is a TRUE story!

• A 25 year old soldier presented to the dental clinic at

an AirForce base camp complaining about spontaneous

bleeding from the gingiva

• An Ultrasonic scaling was performed, and the treating

dentist referred the soldier to their physician for blood

tests

• Two hours later, the patient returned to the clinic with

massive gingival bleeding occurring from the gingiva

• The patient was referred to the Emergency Room,

where they were diagnosed with Acute ProMyelocytic

Lukemia

Gingival Lesions are the most common oral

phenomenon for Leukemia

Oral symptoms for systemic diseases are common, and

the dentist is often the first medical authority a patient sees.

Sometimes our attention to these details can help provide

an early diagnosis. With Leukemia, this can be a potentially

lifesaving decision. When in doubt, Refer it out! Be sure to

alert the doctor if you see any lesions that are suspect, or

notice heavier than normal bleeding with treatment.

What are you doing to help your HIGH risk patients fight the infection that causes cavities? Current research suggests that fixing the decay is not enough! For a quick reference on what others are doing, check out the list below..stay tuned for more information on this topic to come!

•Restorative treatment plan•Caries Risk Assessment•Caries Diagnostic Testing...bill under CDT code D0425•Antimicrobial Strategies: Tooth/Gum tonic, Fluoride, Sodium

Hypochlorite •Remineralization Strategies: Fluoride, Fluoride Varnishes•pH Strategies: Neutralizing and buffering rinses, sprays, gels,

toothpastes..neutralize the pH, reduce decay!•Behavior Modification: Counseling for specific risk factors

•Information and photo courtesy of Dr V. Kim Kutsch, DMD.

Periodontal Disease and OsteoporosisResearchers have suggested that there is a link between

osteoporosis and bone loss in the jaw. Studies suggest that

osteoporosis may lead to tooth loss because the density of the

bone that supports the teeth may be decreased. Did you know

that hormone replacement therapy may offer some protection?

One 2007 study in the Journal of Periodontology examined

1,256 postmenopausal women and looked for a potential

association between periodontal bacteria and bone loss.

• The study results showed that women with periodontal

bacteria in their mouths were more likely to have bone loss.

• A follow up study over 10 years concluded they could

significantly reduce tooth loss by controlling their periodontal

disease.

• Another JOP study in 1999 concludes that estrogen

supplementation in women within five years of menopause

slows the progression of periodontal disease.

What does this mean for your patients? Those

who have Osteoporosis should be closely monitored, and treated

if any signs of Periodontal infection exist. Communication

with the treating physician may also be advised to help prevent

progression of disease and loss of bone.