Letter to the Editor regarding “Implant boom outpaces hygiene education and training”

Dear RDH Editor,

Lynn Pencek’s September 11 article, “Implant boom outpaces hygiene education and training,” hit the nail on the head. A lack of formal training for hygienists in implant maintenance can negatively affect patient outcome. Conversely, training in the maintenance of dental implants and peri-implant disease certainly benefits the implant patient.

I have seen in my own periodontal and implant practice just how valuable it is to have hygienists who are confident in their ability to properly maintain the oral health of our patients with implants, and to report any discovery of peri-implantitis to me for assessment and a treatment plan if necessary.

It is unacceptable that nearly half of dental hygienists do not have this same confidence because they have not had access to professional training.

Dental hygiene implant training from the AAP

This need to educate our partners in dental health is precisely why the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) invested years in developing CE-accredited dental hygiene study clubs to fill the education gap. I am proud to say I participated in the creation of this hygienist-centered initiative, with the goal of helping hygienists expand their treatment skills.

Among the Academy’s study club topics are two that address the urgent need for implant education: The Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment of Inflammatory Peri-Implant Disease and Peri-Implant Diseases: Classification and Clinical Tips.

As a study club provider, I have presented on these topics and others to help dental hygienists gain self-assurance in their treatment of patients with dental implants and gain the ability to detect and provide care for peri-implant disease.

Dental hygienists who have attended our study clubs have responded to the course material with pertinent questions and, more importantly, have had detailed discussions with their peers related to the patients they see. All agreed they were eager to incorporate the methods and techniques they’d learned in the evaluations of their patients.

As I and my fellow periodontists place an increasing number of dental implants each year, it falls on us to be sure that all dental hygienists have the professional training to confidently treat these patients. The AAP’s Dental Hygiene Initiative and Dental Hygiene Study Clubs fulfill that responsibility. I encourage all hygienists to take advantage of them.

Find a list of providers near you.

Wayne A. Aldredge, DMD, is the former president of the American Academy of Periodontology.