Question: I’m a new grad, and I still get overwhelmed when it comes to patient education and diagnosing perio. I’ve reviewed my textbooks, but once I’m chairside, I go blank! I also feel pressured by time and end up rushing through exams like intraoral and extraoral assessments. Does this get better with time?
Answer from Kimberly Augustus, BA, RDH: What you describe is one of the most common struggles new grads face when transitioning from school into private practice. Let me be the first to tell you, it does get better with time. But let me break down a few things to help you feel more confident, starting with your next patient!
That "going blank" feeling as a new hygienist
When it comes to going blank, I want to remind you that you do know the information, but when you're under time constraints and stress your brain goes into survival mode.
Here are a few things that may help:
- Have a cheat sheet: Create a quick perio staging breakdown or probing interpretation reference you can glance at in your op. Keep this laminated and chairside.
- Practice verbal scripting: "Based on your pocket depths and what we are seeing in your x-rays, you would best benefit from nonsurgical perio therapy. Let me explain to you what that is."
- Give yourself permission to pause: Even experienced hygienists need a moment to gather their thoughts.
When the clock is loud, go back to the process of care
It’s totally normal to feel rushed when you’re trying to do it all—x-rays, assessments, oral hygiene index, scaling, and exams—all in one hour. But the truth is, speed comes with time.
Here are some time-savers:
- Preset your charting templates when possible.
- Prepare in advance: Review all your charts at the beginning of the day and prepare a day sheet, listing who needs xrays, exams, treatment, etc.
- Use the intraoral and extraoral exam as a transition tool: slow your energy here and explain as you go. Patients value it.
Confidence isn’t instant, it’s cumulative.
You don’t build confidence by knowing everything. You build it by showing up, asking questions, and doing the thing that feels uncomfortable until it becomes second nature.
Every time you educate a patient, even if you stumble through it, you’re growing. Every time you pause and recheck your staging, you’re learning. Every patient is practice!
Yes, it does get better with time. Please remember that you're not behind. You're just new. And you're blooming, even when it doesn't feel like it.
