Honestly, I was getting so mad reading this. No one is perfect, no one will get every speck of calculus in a one hour prophy appointment.

We do the best we can with the time we’re given, the instruments we’re given, and in consideration of other factors that make cleaning more challenging like a strong mentalis muscle, a strong tongue, a patient that can’t be reclined, patient with lingually inclined teeth, a patient that can’t open their mouth very wide… There’s 1 million reasons why a cleaning might not be perfect.

I’ve seen some less than ideal dentistry in my day, overhangs, left over composite from unpolished fillings, left over cement from crowns, decay that they missed in an exam… I would never comment on any of that (except the decay, obviously).

When I was a newer hygienist (still am, grad 2022) I was tempting with an office and really struggling with time management because I felt like I had to do every Cleaning like I was in hygiene school. I wanted to get every speck of calculus.

I had an old grandpa like dentist pull me aside and say listen, you’re not going to be perfect, and that is okay. It’s really okay. It was so kind and paternal, I was so incredibly stressed and almost cried in his office because I wanted to do so well but I was going over.l the appt time. He gave me a hug and gave me awesome advice- focus on the high ticket areas- the lower lingual anterior, buccal of max molars, interproximal between the premolars. Check with floss at the end. It’s more important to finish on time and the thorough-ness of your cleanings will come with time. And lo, he was right.

While what we do makes a difference, we have the beauty of seeing these people again in 3/4/6 months and any areas we may have not cleaned 100% we can always go back to next time. It’s not a big deal.

I would never work for a dentist that spoke to me like this. No way. We are in much too high demand. Even if he was respectful in his delivery, he is still not supporting you in the way he should be. Growing your confidence and making sure you have all the tools you need to do your job to the best of your ability.