{"id":8538,"date":"2022-04-22T12:00:03","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T17:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/?p=8538"},"modified":"2024-08-14T14:12:06","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T19:12:06","slug":"how-do-you-speak-testing-with-katherine-gutierrez-rdh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/2022\/04\/22\/how-do-you-speak-testing-with-katherine-gutierrez-rdh\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do You Speak Testing? With Katherine Gutierrez RDH"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Patient Bio:<\/strong> Your patient is 34 years old, and she is new to your practice. She recently moved back to the area to be closer to her father who was recently diagnosed with dementia<\/strong>. Her partner<\/strong> and two children<\/strong> will also be joining your practice<\/strong> soon. She is not taking any medications and her last dental visit was before she moved about 9 months ago. She presents with these clinical signs.<\/p>\n

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How would you introduce therapy including MyPerioPath\u00ae to this patient?
\n<\/strong>In our practice, the doctor completes the examination on the patient and provides information on the diagnosis while stating the treatment recommendations. As the hygienist, I will reiterate and review the doctor’s treatment plan with the patient along with repeating the Mouth Body Connection\u2122 linking her oral health and her risk for dementia originally educated by the dentist.<\/p>\n

Visual aid tools are important. I use a sample report of the OralDNA\u00ae lab test called MyPerioPath\u00ae and a periodontal board depicting the stages of periodontal disease. The board is handed to the patient to help them visualize what we see and provide clarity of their situation. The treatment plan for the patient is broken down into five steps.<\/p>\n

Here is an example of my hypothetical conversation.
\n<\/strong>Patient, we have evaluated the depth of your gums with the probe, the x-rays reveal a risk for losing teeth due to the amount of bone loss, the plaque and calculus build up around your teeth could be contributing to your bleeding, inflamed gums, and these are all clinical signs of infection. Harmful bacteria and inflammation originating in the mouth can increase your risk of 120 different systemic diseases. You shared that you have a family history of dementia. Research has linked enzymes and bacteria residing in the mouth to patients who have suffered from dementia; therefore, knowing what specific bacteria are present in your mouth is important. You may also want to have your family members evaluated as certain oral bacteria can be transmitted between family members.<\/p>\n

The test called MyPerioPath\u00ae will give us insight into what bacteria may be causing the current active infection and reveals what we can’t see. The lab test screens for 11 different species of bacteria associated with periodontal disease and some systemic diseases. The bacteria are divided into three sections including high risk, moderate risk, and low risk. The results will also inform us whether the bacterial load is above what is considered the normal reference level. If bacteria are above the reference level, the doctor may consider prescribing an antibiotic to augment periodontal treatment.<\/p>\n

Your patient says yes to testing, you collect the specimen and provide same day therapy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Therapy is broken down into five steps.<\/p>\n