DH 220 Fall 2006

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November 26, 2006

SADHA day 2006 - A Reflection

After hearing about SADHA day all semester long, I was excited when the day of the event finally arrived. In class, we discussed the importance of interacting with our peers in our professional association and I was looking forward to getting to know some of my fellow dental hygiene students from other programs. After a night of bonding with some of the women in my program, we got up bright and early ready to attend the seminar.

We started off the morning by visiting various vendor tables. We received samples of different products that will be important to us as dental hygienists, such as polishing paste, disposable prophy angles, disclosing agents, et cetera. These tables are important because as hygienists we will need to stay abreast of all of the products available to us in the market, so as we can best serve our patients' dental needs.

As we congregated into the main ballroom with our goodies, we sat down to listen to number of speakers, including the day's keynote speaker Sandra Burns. Ms. Burns' lecture, Images to Teach Diversity, brought mixed reactions from the audience. Ms. Burns is affiliated with the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University and accordingly focused her lecture on the resources available to her from this museum. Her focus on racist memorabilia from the Jim Crow era did not coincide with the diverse message the title of her lecture inspired. I understand the point of her lecture was to use those hateful images to educate us on the obstacles the African American culture still faces as a result of their tumultuous history, which she did attempt to convey by showing us slides of racist memorabilia available in today's market. The problem with Ms. Burns' lecture though was that she failed to qualify her presentation's limitations within her own expertise which then alienated the audience with its implications that all racism is directed toward African Americans. Also, although she started her lecture by citing the importance for dental hygienists to gain competency in other arenas applicable to our patients besides their dental health, she failed to tie this to the broad scope of her lecture, which ultimately left us as the audience wondering how this topic was pertinent to our profession. The most irresponsible, however, was the failure of the event makers to then allow us the opportunity to discuss the theme of the lecture in a structured setting. As the keynote speaker, Ms. Burns' lecture was to set the tone for the day and without an opportunity to bounce our opinions off our peers in our profession, we were left either dazed or angry, which only succeeded in leaving a bad taste in our mouths.

Following our short break, we then ventured back into the ballroom for our round table "discussions." I put discussions in quotation marks because I think presentations would more aptly describe these sessions as we were not so much discussing with our peers but listening to a presenter communicate to us an overview of their topic of expertise. My first table focused on the dental appliances available to correct snoring and sleep apnea. Our presenter, Dr. David Heeke, is a dentist who practices once a week, leaving him the rest of his time to devote to the treatment of sleep disorders. Dr. Heeke stressed that although dentists are licensed to treat sleep disorders with the appropriate appliance, they are not licensed to diagnose sleep disorders. The dentist refers the patient to a sleep specialist for diagnosis if a problem is suspected. This is important because the patient will most likely see his dentist and hygienist more regularly than his physician and we can then direct the patient towards a path for treatment. Dr. Heeke is the inventor of the appliance DeSRA, although he did not use this presentation as a platform to promote his product, but went through the benefits and disadvantages of various appliances. Most important is comfort as this will best motivate patient compliance.

My next round table was a presentation on the Sonicare by Jennifer Christensen. Ms. Christensen used competitors' brushes and the company's gimmicks to point out the benefits of the Sonicare. She explained the technology of the Sonicare and how this enables the Sonicare to most effectively remove plaque making it the best powerbrush on the market. I admit I am skeptical of salesmen, even when they cite studies on their product. I would have liked Ms. Christensen to have supplied us with at least one study she cited to corroborate Sonicare's claims of superiority. What Ms. Christensen did though was to supply us each with a sample Sonicare charged for 2 weeks worth of brushing. Now this generosity on the part of Philips is what sold me because even after one use I was ready to recommend this brush to a patient! With the information Ms. Christensen supplied to me at her presentation, I can explain to a patient how the technology of the Sonicare powerbrush can best facilitate their dental health care needs and effectively remove plaque. And since I have used this brush myself, I can personally recommend the brush giving pros and cons from my own experience as opposed to spouting off some company jargon I picked up from a salesman on an expensive brush I've never even tried.

Following a generous lunch, the day's events concluded with presentations from each of the participating dental hygiene programs. It was nice to see how the other programs compare to ours and see a little school pride too. All in all, I have mixed feelings about SADHA day. I learned a lot, but feel as an event sponsored by our professional association I would have appreciated more interaction between schools and students. That way we can learn new things and get feedback from the individuals most affected by them - us!

-Maria Alspaugh

Posted by malspaug at November 26, 2006 11:49 AM

Comments

Posted by: megganj at December 2, 2006 12:59 PM

Posted by: megganj at December 2, 2006 12:58 PM

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