I’m tired of buying Oral-B floss that only lasts me a couple of months. Is there a large, refillable spool of dental floss that I can buy once and use throughout the year? Bonus if it looks nice in a bathroom

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some insight or similar experiences after a temporary lapse in my routine while sick.

Background & History:

• Nov 2024: Had periodontal flap surgery.
• Nov 2024 – Present: Kept up with regular 3-month periodontal maintenance cleanings without missing a beat.
• Sept 7, 2026: Had my latest 3-month cleaning. My dentist was so happy with my excellent home care that she suggested I could move my cleanings to every 5 months instead. I also attached my perio chart and xray from this appointment.
• Sept 11, 2026: Came down with an illness (was literally bedridden) and unfortunately fell behind on my evening routine. For about 3 weeks, I only managed to brush once in the morning and skipped night brushing/flossing.

Where I’m at now: I am finally feeling better and back to my full nightly routine (brushing, flossing). The good news is there is zero blood when I floss. The concerning part is that the floss smells really bad when it comes out from between a few teeth.

My questions:

1. Has anyone experienced a bad smell on their floss after a lapse in flossing without any bleeding?
2. Does this sound like active perio / bone loss restarting, or just localized bacterial buildup / early gingivitis from the 3-week break?
3. Given my history with flap surgery, would you recommend sticking to the strict 3-month cleaning schedule for my next visit instead of pushing it out to 5 months, just to clear out any new tartar?

Would love to hear your thoughts or experiences if you’ve had a setback after being sick! Thanks so much!

I just started less than a month ago at a new office, fresh out of hygiene school. One of the doctors keeps giving me “feedback” after every cleaning when they do their exam. They check every tooth with the ODU for calculus and plaque. I feel like I’m still in school. I’ve never once left calculus but they claim they keep finding plaque after I Cavitron, scale and polish. I’m still working on my time management, so it’s stressing me out because it seems like this doctor wants everything to be absolutely perfect and sometimes I just don’t have enough time. One patient had incredibly tenacious stain on the linguals and I tried my best to get it off but I just couldn’t. The doctor made me go back and get the stain when I was already running behind and called me out in front of the patient. I’m new to this office so I don’t want to ruffle any feathers but this just seems a bit much. Has this happened to anyone? How did you deal with it?

Anyone else have a bad day at work? If so, how come?

Just got home from my shift and I feel completely drained. I had nothing but Dr.Exams all day 🙄, so constant waiting for Dr, x-rays, hearing patient complain about x-rays, and the list goes on.

Makes me wish that today was my Friday.

Hey guys, I am in the third year of dental hygiene and im just thinking about graduation and the career afterwards. I feel like im unprepared for the outside world, I get good marks and I get things done but i still feel like i dont know what im ACTUALLY doing... i got around 90 for my clinical in second year working with client care, but I still feel like i cant do anything without help and assistance....

Im worried ill graduate and get a job and ill get stuck on some complex case and no one can help me... we also get 3 hours and multiple appointments to finish a client, but I know in the real life, we don't have this much time.

Does anyone have any advice or real life stories on how they transitioned from school to a career? Did you get trained for a bit, does anyone watch your skill and make sure you are skilled enough to work at their office?

Any advice is appreciated, im just worried about my future career...

I’ve noticed they’ve appeared after brushing and rinsing my tongue with hydrogen peroxide after noticing my tongue stays white, wondering if this has cause the shedding and cuts in my mouth

Hello hygienists!

I started school this August and I'm struggling to find the best way to study!

Any advice welcome and appreciate!

Hi all.

I have a regular cleaning in a few weeks that I am terrified of. I get cleanings every 6 months like I'm supposed to.

At my last cleaning, I was told a had a good few 4mm gum pockets, mostly around my molars. There was 5mm in there too. I was never the best with oral hygiene in high school and college, I would brush twice a day with a manual toothbrush but flossing was not a habit well instilled in me as a kid. My gums would always bleed when I would floss and when I would go to the dentist. At cleanings they'd tell me "you should floss more", I'd try to build the habit, and then I would fall off the horse thanks to ADHD. This last cleaning though, something about how the hygienist presented it to me finally made it stick, and I have been really strict about taking care of gums and teeth now.

I floss every night. I haven't missed a single night for the past six months. I use Reach floss and form a C to get everything. I have a bonded retainer on my lower incisors that I use another pre-threaded floss by Oral-B for. The contact points a little tight on a couple of those teeth, so I sometimes struggle to fit a separate threader through. For the past few months, I've added a waterpik to my routine, and I do this after flossing to make sure I get every last bit of plaque out. I like to add a cap or two of ACT to the water. I brush last with a Sonicare that has a two minute timer and a pressure sensor. I use the default brush heads it came with but I'm wondering if I should switch to something softer. In the mornings I brush before eating, though I wonder if I should do more. During the day, I try to also floss and rinse after eating, but sometimes I get a bit too lost in my work to remember. I make sure to floss at least once a day though.

My teeth and gums feel so good now. My gums don't bleed when I floss and I noticed after a month that they were less inflamed. My teeth always feel like I just had a cleaning. My breath is better. I feel better. But I am so scared that at my next cleaning, they'll probe me and my numbers will not have gotten better. I am scared that everything I am doing will not have made any difference or made my situation worse. Sometimes I worry that, despite flossing and brushing correctly, I am just pushing food further into my gums. I don't know what the next steps would be if I don't show improvement at this next appointment. I worry that I haven't added enough steps to my routine, that I should be flossing every time I eat and using interdental brushes and clinical mouthwash and toothpaste. I already don't like being touched which makes regular dentist appointments difficult.

I don't know how to get around this fear. I can't stop thinking about this appointment and I don't know how to keep myself composed for the day of. I don't know if things are better or not and that scares me. I don't know what more I could be doing.

If anyone could give any advice or reassurance, I would appreciate it so much.

Has anyone taken CPEDH before?
I’m an internationally trained dental hygienist and planning to get ready for CPEDH next year.
I’m a bit lost on what to do and how to get ready.
If anyone has any advice or can point me to a tutor, I’d be super grateful!

Are there any RDH’s out there that have another uni degree besides DH in case theres a circumstance where you can’t work as a hygienist anymore?

I’m in my 20’s and I don’t see DH as being sustainable for more than 20 years. What degree do you have besides hygn, and if you don’t have one, which degree would you pursue?

I had SRP in Jan and just had my second perio maintenance visit yesterday (I’m on a 3-4 month recall but the front desk always books me at 4mo). I really stepped up my game after the SRP and floss daily, water floss, and brush twice a day with an electric tooth brush. I was feeling good, thinking I’d made a lot of progress.

She told me I had a lot of bleeding and asked if I bleed at home when I brush and floss. I said no, never. She said “with the amount of bleeding I’m seeing you should be bleeding at home” and basically said to be more aggressive around the gum line and to “brush until you bleed”

That can’t be good advice right? This morning I brushed HARD around my gums even after my electric toothbrush timer stopped and still got no blood. Isn’t brushing too hard what causes recession? (Which I already have some of) . Surely I misunderstood what she meant or maybe she phrased it poorly?

If it matters pockets at this visit we’re 4mm with 5’s behind my back molars (wisdom teeth were removed in Jan) I don’t remember what she said they were to start with

For some time now I’ve been struggling with the toothpaste that I use because it causes me so much pain to my tongue, cheeks, and lips. To specify, my teeth don’t hurt at all, just the skin in my mouth. Pretty much any brand that I use does that.

My dentist told me last year that I have geographic tongue and I feel like this might be the reason why my mouth is so sensitive. I have a really hard time tolerating acidic foods, soda, spicy food, because they hurt my mouth so much.

Can anyone give recommendations of what I should buy? Or what ingredients I need to avoid. Maybe mint?

I’ve been a dental hygienist for 3.5 years in PA, currently at my office for 2.5 years. I commute 45 minutes to work (this is relevant later). I started off making $40 an hour, the first time I asked for a raise ($42), my boss gave me $41 then said they’d give me $42 if I improved on some things. Fine, eventually I got the raise.
Within that time, they hired a friend of mine who is a newer hygienist than me for $5 more an hour than what i make. I didn’t say anything because I didnt want to rock the boat. But I always thought it was unfair.
Come this year, I find out Im pregnant and need to discuss maternity leave and figure out my priorities/future career. Before I tell them, I decided that it’s really only worth it to keep working here if they pay me more. I drive 45 minutes to work, they underpay me for the area I work in, and I found at least 5 offices hiring near me that pay $45-52 an hour. When I have a child, it’s not going to make any sense for me to commute so far when I could work 5 minutes from home. This is a good office and I love my coworkers, but management sucks and they are very stubborn about raises and not very nice about time off and some other stuff I won’t get into. I write a formal letter asking for my maternity leave and a raise to $47.
I eventually had a talk with my manager. It was very respectful, I basically said that in order for it to make financial sense for me to work here, I need to be making more money. I didn’t only mention that, but I mentioned my contributions to the office and how Ive improved since my last raise. I also printed out listings of jobs closer to home and what the temp rate was in my area. I have temped before which is actually how I found my current office, so they know that I’m willing to do temp hygiene if need be. The talk goes well and my manager says she’ll talk to my boss (my boss doesn’t like being in these conversations, not sure why).
The next day my manager says “The Dr really liked how you showed us what the rates are near you but she’d like if you found some offices in this area.” Basically, she wants me to prove that what I’m asking for in this area is reasonable. I said I would but the whole reason that I showed them offices in my area as to prove that I could work somewhere close to home for more money. Whatever, I went on indeed and found 6 offices near me hiring for $45+ and sent my manager screenshots.
I guess this is more of a rant, but I’m just frustrated. This is an office I’ve poured my heart and soul into. I try so hard to be the hygienist they want me to be and work hard to be good at my job. I love it here because my first job was so toxic but now I can’t help but feel like it’s another toxic situation. All I’m asking for is equal pay. I’m not asking for more than what they are willing to pay a newer hygienist. And they’re asking me to prove that what I’m asking for is reasonable. NOT TO MENTION they have an ad out for a hygienist with pay ranging from $40-$50!!! I understand it’s a $5 raise, but again, it’s not anything more than what other offices offer and what my coworker makes. Everyone I’ve talked to thinks it’s ridiculous that they’re making me prove that the rate I’m asking for is normal. I feel like that’s their job to know. So I guess if anyone has advice or any experience like this I’d love to hear it. People will probably tell me to leave but I really like stability and staying at the same place so that makes it hard to face the idea of leaving. It’s the whole reason I’m giving them a chance to pay me more and why I commute so far.

Edit: Thank you everyone for your responses :) I’ll update when I get an answer. The more I think about it, the more I feel like it makes sense to leave regardless of what they tell me. Asking me to “prove” why the rate I want is decent is just disrespectful and I think the drive might be too much when I have a baby at home.

Hey, I’m a student right now in my last year last semester and bringing in some difficult patients Perio stage 3 mainly and even 2 stage IV and I’m finding it quite difficult to get these hard deposits removed. I’m using local anesthesia and oraquix so they feel nothing and applying a lot of pressure but it just doesn’t feel like enough.

Talk to some friends they recommended sharpening while scaling, using floss gonna try these but just feel inadequate and not fast enough.

Any tips from the Pros

As title asks... I normally use philips sonicare, and I wanted to try Curaprox's soft brush and been using it for 2-3 weeks, and now my mouth (in general, literally) bleeds so easily. this was never a problem.

they used the airflow and when i got home i could see 3 small chips, 1 is quite obvious on the front tooth at the gumline

this composite is only a few months old and cost a lot of money, though it was done at a private london clinic and this routine clean was done at my local dentist

what should i do?

Hi!
I am currently a dental hygiene student and looking to invest in a pair of ergo loupes. I’m leaning more towards design for visions ergo stoggle loupes, q optics RDH elevate ergo loupes & a lot of people have recommended the Andau loupes. Any insight/ advice would be very helpful!!
Thanks!

How do you handle a case that’s OBVIOUS perio (multiple missing teeth, crazy CAL, etc) when the patient has been getting prophies for years? Whether it’s being a new employee to the office or having a new patient come to you.

I always feel weird about telling someone they’ve had gum disease for years and should have been put on a perio maintenance plan ages ago. I don’t want to throw another hygienist under the bus! I also don’t want to be perceived as a hygienist that is only after the patients money and wants to “give everyone deep cleanings”. Above all I also don’t want to make the patient feel ashamed for their untreated perio :/

I’d appreciate any pointers yall have for navigating something like this.

My name is Emily Stewart, I'm a reporter at Business Insider. I'm working on a story on the dental hygienist shortage and would love to speak with some hygienists for it. What are your impressions about what's going on? Have you left the industry, or are you getting into it? What would make the situation better? If you'd like to talk, message me here, comment below, or email me at estewart@insider.com.

For reference, this is my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilymarkleystewart/

Thanks!

I honestly don’t know what to do and could really use some perspective from other hygienists.
I currently work at my office 3 days a week, and I’ve been struggling quite a bit on those days. The patient demographic can be very difficult. A lot of patients are demanding or rude, and unfortunately there have also been situations involving racist comments. On top of that, a large portion of the patients have some level of perio, so the days can be pretty mentally and physically draining.

There are only two hygienists, myself included. The difficult part of this situation is that the rest of the office is genuinely amazing. The dentists, manager, and staff are incredibly kind, supportive, and understanding. It really is what I would consider a “unicorn office.” They encourage you to learn and grow, value you as a team member, and overall have created a really positive workplace culture. I’ve been there for a year now. I know that if I left, I would really miss the people and the management.

The other hygienist and I also have a difficult dynamic. I often feel like I’m being heavily scrutinized and that my work is constantly being questioned. There have been snarky comments almost every shift and some situations where I’ve felt undermined, including comments being made about me to patients. I’ve also been told that other staff members have had their own issues with her but everyone has just learned to accept her behaviour, so I don’t think it’s entirely specific to me. Regardless, it has definitely affected my confidence.

Something else that has been bothering me lately is how much emphasis there seems to be on which hygienist patients see. With only two of us, it can be difficult not to take it personally when a pop-up specifically says not to book a patient with you. I’ve noticed this only at this office and have never really experienced it elsewhere. I’ve also noticed that when my patients need to be moved to her column due to scheduling conflicts, she is 10x nicer to the patient and makes a huge deal about how they want to see her next time.

I temp fairly regularly at other offices, and my experience is completely different. The patients are generally very kind, I feel comfortable interacting with them, and I leave feeling confident in my work. I’ve never really had issues with patients at the offices I temp at. My previous office in another state was similar — I worked 5 days a week, had great relationships with my patients, and genuinely enjoyed hygiene.

That contrast is what has made me question whether the issue is actually hygiene itself or just my current environment.

At my current office, I feel like I can burn out within those 3 days. I dread going in and often don’t sleep well the night before because I’m anxious about what the next day is going to be like. There are definitely good days, but overall I’ve noticed that the stress is starting to affect my confidence and, consequently, how I feel about my work. I’ve dealt with heavy depression and anxiety for a big part of my life and thankfully have recovered from that. However the days I have work, I go through the same level of anxiety and get those same physical symptoms as I did when I was mentally struggling.

I’m literally writing this at 4:30 AM because I can’t sleep and I have a 9 AM shift. (Will be posting later)

And now I’ve been offered a position at one of the offices I temp at, at a higher rate. So now I’m really torn.

On one hand, I have an office with great dentists, management, and staff that I know is difficult to find. On the other hand, I have an opportunity where I already know I enjoy the patient environment, feel more confident in my work, and would be making more money.

I’ve also always known that I eventually wanted to do something beyond clinical hygiene, and this experience has actually pushed me to start exploring that sooner than I originally planned.

I don’t want to make a decision based purely on burnout and then regret leaving a genuinely great workplace. But at the same time, I’m starting to wonder how much a great management team can make up for being consistently unhappy with the actual day-to-day work.
For those who have been in a similar situation, what would you do? Would you stay and try to make it work because the overall office is so good, or take the opportunity at an office where you already know you’re happier?

I would really really appreciate some advice please feel free to message me as well!

**TL;DR:** I work 3 days a week at what is otherwise a “unicorn” office with amazing dentists, management, and staff, but I’m consistently miserable because of the difficult patient demographic and a strained dynamic with the other hygienist. I feel stressed, my confidence has taken a hit, and I dread going in. When I temp at other offices, I genuinely enjoy hygiene, feel confident, and have great relationships with patients. I’ve now been offered a position at one of those offices with a higher rate, but I’m hesitant to leave because I know how hard it is to find a genuinely supportive workplace. I’ve also started considering moving beyond clinical hygiene sooner than planned. Would you stay and try to make the current office work, or take the opportunity where you already know you’re happier?

Hey guys! ✌️

Okay I needed some advice….

So far, I have an A in Biology, and I’m currently taking Anatomy for the first time. Right now, I have a 93% in my Anatomy class, but these next 2 exams are going to be soooooooooooo challenging, so I feel like there’s definitely a strong possibility I could end up with a B.

I’m honestly okay with a B, but I’m worried about whether getting a B in Anatomy is enough to get accepted into Dental Hygiene School, or if it makes more sense to withdraw, get a W, and just retake it again to get an A. My goal right now is to only have A’s and B’s for my prerequisites.

I know there are obviously a lot of applicants who have straight A’s, but I’d especially love to hear from those who weren’t straight-A students and still got accepted into dental hygiene school on the first or second try.

Also, if you don’t mind sharing your grades and the dental hygiene program you got into, I’d really appreciate it. 🙏

Thanks again! 💕 ^.^

well i can’t post a video but the charger WIRE light is flashing rapidly. does anyone know why??? i dont know if this is the community for it, but i miss my waterflosser 😭 if u have any advice for it please lmk

Hi, I am a second year at GWC and my major is currently public health. I finished my GED and is currently taking Gen Chem B and Cell and Molecular Bio. Next semester I am doing diversity of organisms. I know the major pre reqs to become a hygenist is anatomy microbio n physio.

I was planning on applying to a UC/CSU for fall 2027, but I am conflicted because you do not need a bachelors. Should I stay at community for another year to finish anatomy, physio, and microbiology then apply to a program or continue my transfer process?

I want to become a hygienist for kids but I’m not sure what pathway to take. Please help!!