In the video below, Dr. Tom Giacobbi breaks down the two most common polishing mistakes hygienists still make: over-polishing and overusing prophy paste. He also offers quick guidance for polishing smarter, not harder.
Video transcript
Still polishing every tooth, every patient, every time? Let's rethink that.
For practices that have coarse prophy paste available, please use it sparingly. This can damage enamel, irritate dentin and cause more damage than help when we're using it everywhere all the time.
When we're polishing our patients, we should be focused on using prophy paste in the areas where there's visible stain, because that's what the prophy paste is for. We could be more efficient with our cleaning and when we're dispensing the paste in general, a little bit goes a long way. It doesn't need to be the size of a golf ball. Just a pea size will do your patients will thank you and you'll be done faster.
Now, let's get back to work.
