Finally, my husband becomes my patient

Today my husband came in because my morning patients cancelled.  I was going to see two children but that didn't pan out.  This guy hasn't been in for a dental cleaning in 5 years.  I can't even believe that some people live that lifestyle.  I haven't always known I wanted to by a hygienist, but I always valued dental visits and made sure to see the dentist at least two times a year.  My parents were really good about making sure that standard was kept.  For individuals and families without dental insurance, it can seem a considerable burden to make it to the dentist regularly.  It is our responsibility as dental providers that our patients understand the links between oral health and overall wellbeing.  Professor Perry has made the joke a few times that people seem surprised when they learn that they have developed a cavity in 6 months.  They say, "how could I have a cavity.  Everything looked good 6 months ago?!"  He comically replies, "You can practically create a baby in 6 months!  You can definitely develop a cavity."  That really puts things into perspective.  Ryan, my husband, must have pretty great genetics, because his calculus buildup was miniscule after that 5 year period and I know from first hand observation that it feels like pulling teeth getting that boy to floss.  I'm lucky if I can get him to floss once a month.  I told him that his days of no dental visits were over.  You cant marry a hygienist and not expect to see the dentist regularly.  That's like a boarding an airplane and not expecting to fly.  Anyways, I passed all sorts of PE's off on Ryan (3).  We performed a caries risk assessment on the poor guy and it turns out that his saliva does an excellent job of buffering the pH of his oral cavity.  That boy has a lot of good things going for him.  We made him a dental appt and look forward to hearing what his dentist has to say about his perfect smile (thanks to me!, haha).