F02 A: It’s Not You. It’s Your Saliva

Course Summary

It can be highly discouraging when patients continue to have cavities despite improvements in their oral health. This can disrupt their oral health philosophy and create the belief that “cavities are normal for me” or even “I just have soft teeth.” Dental hygienists have the unique opportunity to identify each patient’s specific risks and provide treatment recommendations accordingly. The best way to do this is through salivary pH testing, specifically because the pH of our patient’s saliva plays a vital role in their oral cavity’s hard and soft tissue health status.