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Course Description

Advanced Scaling and Ergonomics: Elevate Your Career to a New Level!
This course will provide a hands-on scaling experience designed to enhance scaling efficacy and proper ergonomics to prevent work related pain, musculoskeletal injuries, and disability. Through video clips and hands-on participation coupled with the use of instruments with wider handles, attendees will learn advanced reinforced scaling techniques in every quadrant on a typodont model attached to a portable simulation unit. Attendees will receive personalized instruction while scaling during the workshop to improve upon instrumentation skills, and postural ergonomics for career enhancement and musculoskeletal protection from injury.

First Hour Topic:
Information pertaining to past and present dental hygiene practice will be presented. Current statistics pertaining to musculoskeletal issues in the dental profession will be reviewed. An audience test will determine if attendees have experienced musculoskeletal pain while practicing in the dental profession. Another audience test will discover if any attendees have hyper-mobility in their hand, thumb and fingers when holding an instrument and while scaling, making instrumentation techniques challenging and painful. Instruction for hand and joint stabilization will be discussed, shown on slides, and demonstrated by attendees with an instrument in hand to learn how to prevent musculoskeletal pain, and injury which can lead to disability.

Second Hour Topic:
Reinforced periodontal instrumentation scaling techniques and ideal intraoral and extraoral fulcrum rests will be discussed, shown on photographs, and video clips. Attendees will then practice these protective scaling techniques on a typodont attached to a portable simulation unit using ergonomically designed instruments with wider handles which help reduce pinch force and lateral pressure while scaling.

Third Hour Topic:
Attendees will learn and then implement neutral hand, wrist, and arm positions during the scaling exercises on the typodont. The implementation of larger muscle groups in the arms will be incorporated during the workshop to obtain increased lateral pressure, dexterity, and precision. Pull strokes will be demonstrated and then implemented while scaling in place of repetitive wrist rocking strokes. These enhanced techniques help prevent repetitive motion injury to the smaller muscle groups in the fingers, hands, and wrists. The importance of alternating sitting and standing will be explained and practiced while scaling on the mandibular arch. Attendees will receive personalized instruction to enhance scaling efficacy and ergonomics while practicing dental hygiene.

Fourth Hour Topic:
An overview of musculoskeletal pain and the impact on the dental hygiene profession will be discussed. Newer strategies for ergonomic positioning will be reviewed while sitting in a chair and saddle stool. The importance of understanding ergonomic products on the market such a wider handled instruments, loupes and lights, and hands-free suction devices that help protect our hands will be discussed. Attendees will be encouraged to visit the exhibit floor to speak with exhibitors to learn about state-of-the-art instruments, and ergonomic equipment. The importance of stretching and exercise will be discussed and practiced before the workshop comes to completion. Lastly, there will be time allocated for questions and answers to assure that the attendees feel well equipped with their learning experience during the hands-on workshop.

The educational teaching methodology used in this course is a hand-in workshop presented in concert with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation. Both the hands-on and the PowerPoint presentation incorporate a variety of audio and visual cues to enhance audience members’ understanding and retention of key concepts. In addition, audience participation will be encouraged and facilitated by group discussions as well as question and answer periods provided for at the conclusion of each section of the hands-on workshop."

Register

To register by phone, please call (603) 736-9200

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What People Are Saying

• "I always enjoy these seminars: easy registration, great course topics & great speakers"
  M.W. - RDH
  Dallas, TX
  
  
• "I enjoy these Live Webinars and have taken many over the past year. I hope Concord Seminars continues offering them even when we are able to go back to in-person learning. Thank you!"
  
  
• "I love the flexibility of doing it from home. I was able to throw a load of clothes I the wash at lunch break. I also like that is so easy to ask questions."