Gaby Bissett speaks with Caitlin Miller, Bupa Dental Care’s head of hygiene and remedy, who takes a take a look at the ever-evolving position and the essential half it performs in dentistry.
‘I think hygienists and therapists are much more readily recognised for their vital role in delivering great patient care. We often see our patients more than the dentist, meaning we are in prime position to get a better understanding of the patient as a whole.’
For dental hygienist Caitlin Miller, the roles of dental hygienist and dental therapist have come a good distance since she began her journey into dentistry.
‘Traditionally, the “scale and polish” model is what would usually be associated with the role,’ she says.
‘They might have been tucked away in a smaller room down the observe hall. Dental therapists have been solely working in group observe till not that way back. In consequence, they weren’t being correctly utilised.
‘But now, while challenges remain, we are seeing dental hygienists and therapists train alongside dentists. Patient knowledge is changing too – they want to understand the treatment more, they want to understand their health, they ask questions and they access online resources. All of this is contributing to a changing landscape.’
Altering language
Beginning her journey as a dental nurse for her father, she determined to comply with his footsteps and apply for dentistry at college. When she didn’t get in, she describes solely feeling reduction. ‘I knew then that being a dentist wasn’t for me, however I did wish to keep in dentistry,’ she says.
‘That was when I considered dental hygiene and therapy – three and a half years later, I finished with a BSc from the University of Portsmouth and have worked in a range of different settings – private, mixed, NHS – ever since.’
However in her first few years practising dental remedy, she describes arising towards ‘a lot of barriers and challenges’ – a lot of which she helps to breakdown in her new position as Bupa Dental Care’s head of hygiene and remedy.
‘The language is altering…we contemplate the language that we use with the sufferers, the workforce, in our notes and IT system, to point out that dental hygienists and therapists are a lot greater than a scale and polish – we’re an necessary a part of the workforce’
Appointed in March 2024 alongside a head of dental nursing, it’s a first-of-its-kind position throughout the organisation. Balancing the job with two days every week in clinic, sustaining this in-practice presence was a non-negotiable for Bupa Dental Care when it got here to recruiting for it.
Loyalty and respect
‘What is great about my role is that before it, there actually wasn’t really any dedicated person looking after dental hygienists and therapists,’ she says.
‘When I started the role, something I heard a lot was that it was nice for dental hygienists and therapists to have someone there to look after their best interests – even if I hadn’t truly completed a lot but!‘Folks felt the enterprise had listened to them, which inspires loyalty and respect from the workforce.
‘Mark Allan, Bupa Dental Care’s common supervisor, is constantly in search of methods to boost the organisation and introducing considerate modifications because of this.’
Caitlin additionally factors out that language has an enormous half to play in shaping how dental hygienists and therapists are seen – each by the general public and the broader workforce.
‘The language is changing and that’s something I’m working really hard on. We consider the language that we use with the patients, the language we use with the team and the language in our notes and IT system. This is to show that dental hygienists and therapists are so much more than a scale and polish – we are an important part of the team.’
Embracing the longer term
Thursday 1 Might marks Nationwide Dental Hygienist and Dental Therapist Day 2025, an opportunity to have a good time the achievements of the workforce – but in addition a possibility to focus on areas for change.
‘I think the challenges faced by dental hygienists and dental therapists are a worldwide issue,’ she says.
‘Many different international locations are additionally struggling to excellent the therapist mannequin inside observe and get friends to actually perceive what dental therapists can do.
‘I also think when working in a number of practices, it can be really hard for dental therapists and hygienists to connect.’
With a rising curiosity in holistic well being, Caitlin has little question that the dental hygienist and therapist will proceed to evolve.
‘I went to Portsmouth recently – where I studied – and at 9pm, there were more students in the gym than there were in the bar. Anecdotally, it’s a sign of the place a lot of younger folks’s priorities lie right this moment,’ she says.
‘The growing conversations around the mouth-body connection means we are taking bigger leaps within dentistry as a whole. Bupa Dental Care, for example, is carrying out blood pressure testing in its dental practices because it recognises that holistic care is the future.’
Caitlin provides that dental groups are additionally in a first-rate place to choose up different situations and illnesses in sufferers.
‘The amount of times we have found cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure when a patient is in our chair,’ she says.
Discover out extra by visiting, https://jobs.bupadentalcare.co.uk.
The article is sponsored by Bupa Dental Care.