Conveying the Importance of Prevention

Join hosts Dr. Rachel Chau and Dr. Martijn Verhulst as they welcome award-winning dental hygienist, educator, and creator Britt Glauz (@BrushwithBritt) to discuss the evolving role of hygienists in patient education, prevention, and whole-body health.

Recorded at Sunstar Americas in Chicago, this episode explores why dental hygienists are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between oral health and systemic wellness and what needs to change to make prevention truly accessible.

Transcript

Introduction & Meet Britt from BrushwithBritt

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 0:20

Hi everyone, welcome to Let's Talk Oral Health by Gum. My name is Martijn, and I'm joined as always by my co-host Rachel.

Rachel Chau, DDS 0:26

Hello, Martijn.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 0:27

Hello, Rachel. So today we are not broadcasting from our um studio in our Swiss headquarters. We are broadcasting from Chicago because Chicago is the hometown of our American office. And we are joined here today by our um special guest of today, which is Britt Glauz. Hello, Britt.

Rachel Chau, DDS 0:43

Hi.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 0:43

Hi Britt.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 0:44

How are you doing?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 0:45

I'm good. Thank you.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 0:46

Yeah, look me forward.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 0:47

Yes, excuse me.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 0:48

Wonderful. Wonderful.

Rachel Chau, DDS 0:48

Happy to have you with us. It is.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 0:51

Many of our viewers may know you already, um, but still, would you maybe like to introduce yourself a little bit, tell a little bit about who you are and what you do?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 0:58

Yes, absolutely. So my name is Britt Glauz. I'm a clinical dental hygienist. I've been practicing for five years in the state of California. Uh, in addition to practicing clinical dental hygiene, I am the creator of Brush with Britt, where I utilize social media platforms to advocate for dental hygienists and also uh for patients and for uh prevention.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 1:21

And can you maybe tell us a little bit what sparked the project of Brush with Britt? I mean, that's what you are known by by most people. Um, yeah. How long have you been doing it? What sparked it to start this initiative?

Rachel Chau, DDS 1:32

And also what it is exactly, because it's not just a podcast, it's uh more than that, right? Yes.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 1:38

So I basically use all social media platforms and create content videos. Uh, and then I also have my podcast, and I've gotten into uh writing and speaking all as Brush with Britt, I guess you can say. Um, and I started this in 2020. I was in dental hygiene school at the time, and my program got completely shut down. And so during that time, I started to think about my process in becoming a dental hygienist, and it was very all over the place. Like trying to gather information about how to become a dental hygienist was tough at the time. So when COVID hit, I had time, and that time allowed me to get creative and start uh creating social media content. So I initially just did it to uh spread awareness on going through community college to become a hygienist and that process. Um, and then it built up from there. So now I've been a total of five years um just creating Brush with Britt.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 2:36

And it took you to uh how how large should I think in terms of size of your following uh kind of curiosity?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 2:42

Yeah, so um TikTok is a hundred and fifty thousand, uh, Instagram is a hundred thousand, and then my other platforms are a little bit smaller than that.

Rachel Chau, DDS 2:51

Uh impressive career in the sense that you said you have been a dental hygienist for five years, that you have developed this approach with with platform, but you are also actually the 2023 GUM uh RDH Award of Distinction uh recipient. And after that, in 2024, you won the World Dental Hygiene's Awards organized by the Sunstar Foundation in a new RDH category, if I'm correct, right? Yes. So impressive career path for such a such young age.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 3:18

Yes, thank you. I appreciate that. Uh it definitely was uh monumental receiving those awards and getting that acknowledgement.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 3:26

Yeah, we actually met for the first time, of course, in Seoul when we were celebrating the World Athens Award and the fact that you won. So can you maybe tell us a little bit what it did for your career or for your personal development or how you felt about winning the awards?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 3:39

Yeah, so initially starting out, you know, you're creating this content, you're doing all this work and making the podcast. And I feel like initially it's just the acknowledgement of all the work that was behind everything that I've been doing. Uh, and then for there to be a new graduate category was really valuable to me as well because it it showed me that I do have the ability to create change in this field early on. Uh and receiving the awards and all the things that come with it was was incredible. But I think the number one thing that I received from it was the connections that I was able to make with other hygienists that have 30, 40, 50 years of experience, and then to the world hygienists being able to meet and connect with hygienists from all around the world.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 4:28

Yeah, um, I mean, and that that really marks um a very steep evolvement in your own career, but um the the profession

Evolution of Dental Hygiene & Modern Preventive Care

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 4:37

of dental hygiene is also evolving. But the role has been changing, and how do you see that that change happening in the in during your career so far?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 4:45

Yeah, just within the past five years, I feel like we have a more significant focus on prevention itself and how we can elevate that to its fullest ability. So I've been seeing things like it not all of these things are brand new, but they are being implemented more frequently. So things like salivary testing, so taking a sample of a patient's saliva and finding out what bacteria is there and how much of it is there, and then taking that bacteria and seeing what systemic links it has, um, and things like using a microscope or guided biofilm therapy, um, even doing things like uh glucose testing in the operatory and being able to administer um Botox for TMJ purposes. So it's it's gone a long way just in five years.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 5:35

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And and during your um um podcasts and and articles and content that you produce, you talk about different preventative care models. Um can you maybe share us a little bit more about those and um how you've been implying them in your in your daily practice?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 5:50

There's definitely a lot out there, but I think the one that I like to focus on quite a bit is hygienist-owned practices. So it's not that we are separating ourselves completely or like detaching ourselves from dentists, but it's more so we are putting prevention and hygiene in one roof and then being able to uh refer out restorative and even other medical um things as well. So there are certain states where hygienists can actually own their own brick and mortar practices and like things like mobile bands and affordable dentistry. Uh in addition to that, we also see uh more less invasive dentistries. So when it comes to things like monitoring decay, there are things that we have that can actually remineralize those areas before actually having to like place a restoration. Uh so I'm seeing that be used in the operatory more frequently as well, like things like uh silver uh diamine fluoride.

Rachel Chau, DDS 6:49

You were talking about the oral systemic link just before with all the new uh approach of prevention. And how do you see uh because we know that there is a lot of uh information and knowledge recently on the oral systemic link with uh oral health having an impact on um chronic diseases like diabetes, um, cardiovascular disease. And recently, actually, we learned also a new research field on the impact of oral health on psoriasis. So all this knowledge is great, but how do you see that knowledge be put in practice by dental hygienists?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 7:24

I think in the current state of things, it is difficult with the way practices are ran, but there are ways to be able to implement it. And I think that it starts really with going back to the basics of reviewing, doing a thorough medical history review and actually talking to the patient about what kind of medications they're taking, their history of smoking, alcohol consumption. So really starting with that assessment, and then you're doing your things like your hypertension screenings and your oral cancer screenings. So those are things that are all preventative and start right at the very beginning of the appointment. So I think it initially it starts there.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 8:01

And is it achievable for dental hygienists in the current way they work? Um, or do or would they need additional support from whatever authority or company or more time, more funding? I don't know.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 8:14

Yeah, I think with those initial screenings and assessments, like that's vital to a preventative visit, and there is enough time in an appointment to do those things. Absolutely.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 8:25

Welcome. Looking forward um in time, I mean, we we talked about how the the the role of a hygienist is changing, and now more and more this the connection of the body and the mouth is being integrated into hygienist responsibilities. How do you see the f the future going into that direction?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 8:41

Um, do you do you do you foresee any further evolvement or yeah, I I think that there will be more medical dental integration and there is a place for dental hygienists to end up or be in uh hospitals and schools, nursing homes, uh OBGYN

The Oral-Systemic Link & Future Healthcare Integration

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 8:59

offices also. Uh so usually when I make those references, people are like, why would there be a hygienist at an OBGYN office? But there are hygienists out there that are already doing these things and it all starts with prevention. So if you have an expecting mother come in, I mean, it could even be before, it could be just the idea of wanting to start a family and you start with those, you start there. But if if it's that initial um visit, you can already start talking to them about the oral systemic link there, about their own uh periodontal disease, because periodontal disease is linked to things like low birth weight and um outcomes. And then you can also be early to talk to them about what to expect when the child does arrive and things like the the way the mouth develops and um not sharing utensils to not share the bacteria. There are so many things that you can go over before the baby even arrives. So that's a hygienist could be in OBGYN office and utilize one of those visits to educate the parents.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 10:03

Is that already happening?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 10:05

I have talked to uh one hygienist, I can't remember what state she was in, but yeah, she talked to me about that role and it was a part-time position that she has, and she just goes in during um, I think they do like a glucose test or something during pregnancy, and there's like a waiting period that you have to wait. And during that time, she would go in and she would talk to the parents about uh oral systemic health.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 10:27

That's great. Yeah, I think we'll touch more about it uh on the interdisciplinary um approach uh later, but I I think it's fantastic. And um, you see more and more this trend also in Europe, for example, where you have these at least a vision of having uh a practice where you combine all different um medical specialists and also integrate oral health in that. So but we'll talk we'll talk about that uh at a later point because I want to go back to the to the point of prevention, not even talking about the oral systemic learning, but really on prevention itself. That's it's a world where you as a hygienist you you operate in all day, but for a patient maybe it's not that obvious. So, how do you convey the message of the importance of prevention to that patient?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 11:04

I think it all just starts with like smaller steps first. I don't like to overwhelm patients with these very complex conversations. So just letting them know that we are there to prevent disease and we don't want to wait for something to happen. So that is why we might do more frequent cleanings, or that's why I might recommend a certain toothpaste or a certain product. Um but I try to kind of avoid having very complex conversations and just letting them know that we want to uh be there before a problem starts and not wait for a problem to start and then have to treat it.

Rachel Chau, DDS 11:39

Do you find any misconception before even you start explaining uh education to patients? Do you have you have already experienced like yeah, misconception about prevention uh with your patients?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 11:50

Yeah, absolutely. I mean it first starts with usually it's the blood pressure, right? So like we're doing the hypertension screenings, and they're like, why do you have to do that at the dental office? Like, what's the point, you know? And it's not that I'm just checking it just because or I'm looking for high blood pressure. It's it's a screening. So I think that that's the part that it initially sparks that conversation of like, what do you mean? Like, what do you mean a screening, right? And the same thing with an oral cancer screening. We're just looking at everything before so we can make sure we try to um catch things early.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 12:24

Yeah. Do you have a real life, a real life example of a patient who, after a consultation with you or after a few sessions sessions, really understood the value of prevention?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 12:34

Yeah. And honestly, my example is with blood pressure or in dental hygiene school. That's one of the first things that we learn how to do is check blood pressure. And I had a patient come in and you have to check it every visit for them. And so you're kind of sitting there like hoping that it's in a good range because if it's high, you have to dismiss them and like you lose points for the day. So we're always hoping their blood pressure is good. Uh, but I had a patient that came in and hers was through the roof. And so you have to provide them with a medical clearance um so that they go get seen by a doctor. And she actually went ahead and she did it and she came back and she was so thankful for the screening because she had no clue. Like there was nothing else on her medical history, no medications, no nothing. Right. Um, so she had not a clue that that her blood pressure was high. And uh, she was able to get diagnosed, get medication for it, and then she even made lifestyle changes and ultimately was able to completely stop taking medication and have her blood pressure in a a good range.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 13:32

So it all started with a very straightforward blood pressure blood pressure measurement.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 13:36

Yeah, and that's happened to me multiple times in in five years with just blood pressure alone.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 13:42

I think if you reflect on back on that, it was the core of the of their success. Was it that you from the beginning started to build a yeah, a relationship with the patient based on on trust and that they really value what you what you're doing for the for them?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 13:55

Absolutely. And then you feel like, wow, just by providing them with that screening that maybe took a minute, like I I potentially you know help to save her life because if she is walking

Patient Communication & Building Trust

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 14:06

around with that, she could have a heart attack.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 14:08

And um so that I mean that's a success story, but uh of course every hygienist will probably um agree that sometimes you're it's not that easy. And part of the challenge is of course that every patient responds different to your approach, right? Every every patient needs a different approach, yeah. Some somebody might need you know the empathy and um a warm a warm chat and uh get the you know, get a personal touch with professional, whereas others maybe just come in and looking for a solution, just saying, okay, help me. I know I'm in pain, I have an issue, help me out. That's all I'm looking for. So how do you yeah, how do you work with that? How do you make sure that you have the the right approach for each patient?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 14:46

I always try my best to read the patient as best as I can. You know, there are cues and we get vibes and things like from our patients. So I always try to uh feel how they are feeling during the visit, and I don't expect every patient to come in and be so excited to learn how to floss. I know that there are going to be differences, and um is it and sometimes patients have a bad day too. Like there are so many things outside of a dental visit. So I'm always trying to kind of gauge where they're at, and I like to start small. So I'm not going to throw every oral hygiene instruction that I know at you in one visit, but I might focus on one for the day and do that tip with you. And it might even be focusing on a certain area, so being very like goal specific, but a goal that is achievable.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 15:34

Yeah.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 15:34

Um, because then I like to celebrate wins, right? So if I have a patient come in, I might focus on one area and then have go over oral hygiene instruction for that spot. And then if they come back and it's better, it feels like an a win and then accomplishment for them. And then they might be excited to fix another area or go to the next step.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 15:54

I was going to ask about uh how you how do you deal with your time efficiently because you have you said you have time with your patient, but still it's quite limited. So how do you deal efficiently? But you're saying take take small steps and uh and take a like a gradual progressive approach with achieving goals.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 16:09

Yeah, I think when it there you'll be able to also figure out how much your patient can handle. Some patients will want to know like five tips in one visit, and some one is enough, you know, and they're good. Um but it definitely is a you have to manage your time in dental hygiene. It's it's constantly a struggle because there's always the clock is ticking for every appointment.

Rachel Chau, DDS 16:29

So it is a challenge to navigate. But I would like to ask you though, um, some patients, like I said, you have you have different profiles of patients and different personalities. And some might be resistant or reluctant. How do you deal uh with uh with this profile of patients? You know, resistant to a prevention and to the advice that you might give them.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 16:50

I think it a lot of it comes back to just education and how you speak to the patient and if you're able to get through to them on something that's relatable. So I always like to use things like analogies because I feel like they're just make it easier to understand. So sometimes I use that or photos. Photos do a really good job to show a patient, like, hey, this is what's actually going on, because a lot of times we don't look in our own mouth. So I try different techniques or visuals like brochures and things like that to show the patient um different things, but sometimes you have to have small steps with with uh patients that are resistant.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 17:27

Yeah, we talked about the oral systemic link. Um, can you also leverage that from the perspective of connecting with the patient? Well, you mentioned already blood pressure, so that's already one example, but do you maybe have more examples where um educating or explaining the importance of your oral um oral health for the rest of your body can sort of help building this relationship with the patient and pointing to the importance of oral hygiene?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 17:50

Yeah, I think I always like to say the bacteria in your mouth has also been found in places like your brain and your heart. And that right there is like a pretty big eye-opener for patients to be like, wait, really? Like I didn't know that this was connected to everything else, but that's kind of where I always like to start and go from there.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 18:10

Because that's actually the the the next topic of our conversation is um we talk about the oral systemic link from uh from your perspective purely, um, and in your relationship with the patient, but it goes beyond that, and you also need to work together closely with other professionals

Collaboration Between Dental & Medical Professionals

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 18:25

outside of dentistry field, so with the medical professionals. So, how do you approach that? Um, I don't know how it exactly it works in this in the States, but is there a close close collaboration between dentistry and and and medicine?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 18:37

I would say no. We're we're very much separated. Like I think that that has also made us feel like they are disconnected because medical is so separated from dental. Uh so there is that disconnection there. Uh, but it could be something as easy as you know writing uh a summary to that patient's doctor or having a phone call with the patient's doctor. Uh, but it definitely is, I would say, a bit of a challenge to kind of bridge that gap.

Rachel Chau, DDS 19:04

And do you have an example of your own uh practice that you really improve the patient a patient's health thanks to a collaborative work with a physician?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 19:15

Yeah, I so I had a patient that came in, they had a lesion on their lip, and it was something that wasn't healing, and it had been there for over six months. And I let them know, like, I'm I'm concerned about this, this spot is not healing, it had irregular borders. Um, and they said, Oh, well, I have an appointment in a few months to see the dermatologist. And I said, you know, this actually concerns me, and I think you should try to get in there sooner. So I actually had a phone call with the dermatologist to help uh expedite that appointment to get them in sooner, and it ended up being skin cancer. Yeah. And that it the patient's fine now recovered, but they had to have that entire spot removed. So something as simple as that definitely goes a long way.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 19:58

I remember from working myself at the time with uh with family physicians, and um I experienced, to be fair, some resistance in um, you know, trying to bridge the gap between medicine and dentistry. Um sometimes I felt like I'm a lobbyist for the for dentistry, uh, you know, selling my own story, whereas they may perceive it differently. And I can I can imagine that sort of barrier is is everywhere when when we try to bridge the the gap between dentistry and medicine. So do you have any any tips or any thoughts on how to um break down those barriers and bring the two disciplines together? Is it just a simple matter of putting them together in one room and let them talk it out, or what are your thoughts on on those barriers and how to break them?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 20:43

I think in dentistry we have to start all all different dental professionals, dentists, hygienists, you know, periodontists, everybody has to start making our presence known in these places, like conferences that aren't just dental conferences. Like we need to go to medical conferences. And I actually went to one, it had over 12,000 attendees, and there was two to three hygienists there, and a couple of dentists there, you know. So I think we have to really start uh being the ones to get out there and be the voice for not only our profession, but most importantly for our patients.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 21:16

Yeah. And the other way around, do you also see um that it would be great to have medical professionals coming to dental conferences or dental conference conferences? Absolutely, yeah.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 21:27

It would be amazing.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 21:28

Yeah. And in terms of policy and guidelines, is there is there anything in place in the US that brings two two together? I I I I know, for example, in diabetes care from where I live in the Netherlands, there are a few sentences where it's recommended for diabetes care professionals to um be mindful of periodontal health and refer to a periodontist or a dentist if it's necessary. Um not that many people abide to those guidelines, but it's it's uh at least it's in there. How is that in in the United States? Is there something in policy or in guidelines as well?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 21:58

I think the only thing I've seen like Recently is uh in medical offices being able to apply like a fluoride varnish. Um, some insurances have been uh starting to cover salivary testing. So little things, but it's it's not a big enough jump that we need we need.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 22:19

So that that incentive is not really uh there yet.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 22:22

Even for diabetic patients? Not that I'm not that I'm aware of. Some of them sometimes you can get extra coverage for an additional cleaning um for certain systemic conditions, but it's definitely difficult.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 22:35

And can you refer as an ORCA professional, as a hygienist or dentist, can you refer patients to a GP, uh to a family physician, or you can, but I would say it's it's probable it's pretty rare. Really common.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 22:46

Yeah, like we might give them a generalized like medical clearance and they can kind of just take it wherever they want to go. So it's yeah, it's kind of hit or miss.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 22:55

I think the is more or less the same patterns in Europe, so it's not that much different from uh all across the world. So well, uh a completely different topic, but that's something that's very close to your heart, is social media. Um, as we already mentioned very briefly in the introduction, you're a native to social media, your Brush with Britt initiative is it's living on the on social media, so it's a big part of your life. Um how do you

Social Media's Impact on Oral Health Education

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 23:19

think it has changed um the way patients and and people in general think about oral health and prevention?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 23:25

I think that it's it's done a lot of positive and that it's made it uh relatable and accessible, right? So I think before social media there is some information online, but most of the time you have to go to an actual dental office to learn any type of information. But now we have creators all over, you know, talking about the C-shaped flossing technique, how to use all these different uh oral hygiene aids. So I I think that it's it's done a great job of normalizing it. Like it's not something that we have to be um so afraid of, and it's important for our overall health.

Rachel Chau, DDS 24:01

Are all the platforms similar, or do you or are some platforms more used than others to um by the by the dental hygienists?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 24:08

I would say probably Instagram and TikTok are the most most used, in my opinion.

Rachel Chau, DDS 24:15

What kind of content connects most the oracle professionals and uh and the patients?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 24:20

I think things that are educational and fun and probably have a little bit of humor in it make it make it more uh engaging. More engaging and more like patient friendly.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 24:31

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Rachel Chau, DDS 24:32

Among all these platforms, which one do you think for a dental hygienist who would like to start uh social media, what would would which one would you recommend first?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 24:41

I would say I would probably start with Instagram first. Um if I were to you know have to start everything all over again, I'd probably start with Instagram, but also TikTok, the way that it works, the algorithm, it is very favorable to being able to grow quickly. Uh harder to grow on Instagram, but um I think um yeah, I'd probably start with Instagram.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 25:05

Who are you mostly connecting with? Is it because you you you publish it and and generate a lot of content, is it mostly for oral care professionals or for patients?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 25:14

I'd say mine is more so dental professionals with like a little bit of patient care sprinkled in. Yeah. So it's a bit of both, yeah.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 25:21

So the majority of your following and the ones you ga engage with is with a hygienist.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 25:25

Uh uh yeah. Dental dental professionals in general. I I do have a lot of assistants there as well, some dentists as well, too.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 25:31

So in that sense, it's also a way to um connect with um your peers, but also to educate the them where where necessary. So it's not necessarily a platform where you would educate your patients, but it's also to well, yeah, educate and connect with your peers.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 25:46

Yeah, absolutely. You can obviously take it whatever direction you would want to go in, but mine is kind of a little bit, a little bit of both.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 25:54

Um well, you already mentioned the the educational and the more entertaining stuff. How do you um make a nice balance between um purely educational and and showing examples of your of your own life and also the sponsored content because uh well most people know um for the influ for the influencers sponsored content is also you know an important part of their content. How do you balance that those two?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 26:22

I think for me it's being authentic to the things that I actually use in clinical practice, um promoting things that are research-based and have they're backed by research and not just, you know, in brand new product, nothing has been done with it. Um but really staying true to my platform and knowing that the things that I'm talking about I actually like, I use, and I love. Um I think if it wasn't that way, it would be very difficult to promote product. And that's really like how you end up building your brand is is by promoting things that you truly believe in.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 27:00

Yeah. How do we see the future of social media in dentistry?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 27:05

I see it kind of following the beauty community. So I feel right now we are very behind in that sense, and I do see it kind of going more in that direction and having things like branded sponsored events and you know, a whole group of creators, because we already have that. There's a, you know, a big group of creators in all different dental professional um categories. So I I see it growing to to be more towards the beauty industry.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 27:34

So um but besides your um your work on social media, you still are active in in uh in practice. Um we talked of course about the importance of prevention. Um, what are your recommendations or ideas about building a prevention-focused

Building a Prevention-Focused Practice

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 27:50

practice?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 27:52

I know that there are a lot of dental offices that are already out there running and everything. So I feel that it can even start in with a simple thing as implementing blood pressure, which I know I've brought that up so many times, but there are so many offices out there that are not doing it. And that in itself is starting to that ball rolling on prevention um and making sure that you are implementing things like the the oral hype uh the oral cancer screenings as well. That's another thing that I think um a lot of it gets missed, and just being able to start with that small step is definitely an achievable goal and kind of building up from there.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 28:30

Yeah, so the these prevention focused uh practices already operate, uh I I imagine in this in the US.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 28:37

Um, I mean there are do you mean like hygiene-owned practices? Oh yeah, there are hygiene-owned practices already in the United States and in certain states, and you can really implement if you're starting your own practice, you can implement anything. So, I mean, if I were starting my own, I would have the salivary testing, the guided biofilm therapy, go over, you know, nutrition counseling and also having um the oral hygiene aids that I'm recommending in office so that the patient can leave with them instead of having to outsource and buy them somewhere else.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 29:09

What do you say it's challenging for a hygienist to start uh to start a prevent a practice like that or to work in a practice like that?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 29:16

Yeah, I I would say it's definitely a challenge. It it's not impossible. There are hygienists doing it, but just the way everything is structured, there are a lot of barriers for us that make it difficult. And in order to be profitable, uh you also have to put in a lot of work for that.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 29:33

No, yeah, yeah.

Rachel Chau, DDS 29:34

What would be the the mistake, the first mistake that people do when they want to shift the practice toward a more prevention-focused uh dental dental office? What is the first mistake that they that they do?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 29:47

I think a lot of offices focus on uh a regular recall schedule. So they're just telling patients six months, six months, six months, and then they use this narrative that hygiene isn't profitable, but that is when gum disease isn't being properly assessed and treated. So I think that's the first misconception. It's not just about numbers. Like you can't just that's not going to be long term, that's not going to be profitable. It's more about quality, comprehensive care for our patients, and ultimately you're building trust and then uh retention. And that is what will build a profitable practice.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 30:24

It's tailoring your care also to the patient needs.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 30:27

Yes, and not just everything is, you know, one way for every single patient. Oh, six months, six months. You know, we really have to be looking at all the different risk factors for our patients and um individualized care, it it should really be the focus.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 30:40

Yeah, yeah. Now it's interesting because um already a few years ago the WHO put a h a big focus as as an example, put a big focus on the importance of prevention. So it's another very new concept and is gaining traction. But I also feel sometimes there's a big misconception of how to make um prevention profitable and and make it worth um opening a practice for. So how do you see those misconceptions?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 31:05

What are the yeah, I think in the current landscape of things, we can be profitable by, like I said, properly assessing and treating gum disease, but there is a lot of other things that need to change to make it better. So right now, everything is kind of bundled into one fee. So everything that we're doing, the hypertension screening, the oral cancer, nutrition, OHI, all of that stuff is in one fee. And that fee is really only just covering the scaling part of what we do. Um, so really starting to break that down and being able to get reimbursed for the actual approval we're actually doing would be a start. And then in addition to that, using things like uh the SDF, which helps to remin or arrest decay, um, or there's other products out there that can remineralize decay. Like there are a lot of things that we're not utilizing right now in the prevention category that we we can add to that reimbursement list.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 32:03

No, I was I was thinking uh one of the more recent trends that you see in in the US, and I think more or less similar also in Europe, is this uh rise of the DSO, so the dental support um organizations. Um, do you see that it's that's helping with uh what you're achieving with the whole prevention approach practice, or is it working against

Dental Service Organizations

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 32:23

that trend?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 32:24

I think there is good and bad in both, and uh there is room for a DSO to really focus on prevention and elevate that rather than just focusing on profit and production. Um so I I think that they they can definitely um enter the field and make a difference in in prevention if they tackle it the right way.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 32:49

You see that happening in ultra truthfulness?

Rachel Chau, DDS 32:53

Maybe a little bit.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 32:54

Yeah.

Rachel Chau, DDS 32:55

So we discussed we just discussed about the DSO, but however, I just would like to ask you um to define a bit what DSO is, because not everybody knows what DSO, the dental support organizations are. Maybe, yes, maybe it's on the rise in Europe, but not everywhere. I don't know. So could you just explain to us how they work actually, what it is exactly and what they how they work?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 33:17

Yeah, so uh DSO is an organization that basically buys out different dental practices and owns them and manages them, so handling all the financing and and all of that. And so um in the US, there is privately owned offices, which is usually owned by a dentist, and then you have these DSOs which own multiple offices, and each office probably runs pretty similar or has uh similar protocols, and so they're really um basically like like the owner of all of these uh different dental practices, not not the dentist owning the practices.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 33:53

I think in Europe we would call them chains, like dental chains. Yeah. Um it sounds like that they they can improve the efficiency of a of a of a dental office in that sense, in terms of administration, uh buying of software.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 34:07

Yeah, yeah, they can. And and that's why I always say that there is positive there, because within a DSO, I did work for one and I had a positive experience in the sense that I did learn a lot about production and the business side of dentistry. And as a hygienist, I think that that's incredibly important for us to learn about because it it empowers us as a clinician to be able to advocate for the things that we need. So if you're working in a DSO, you learn about the numbers, you see what you're bringing into that practice, it might allow you to advocate for the instruments that you need or um you know things in the operatory that might actually elevate patient care. To use it to your advantage. Yes, yeah, absolutely. And and even with um, you know, having to see a lot of patients, if you're able to implement a periodontal uh therapy program in the practice and you see those numbers rise, you could potentially lessen the amount of patients that you're seeing because you're hitting your production goals.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 35:07

Yeah, people in the Europe also talk about these chains as something very negative, but it sounds like the you can turn it into your benefit, definitely.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 35:14

Yeah, I think both private practices and uh corporate practices, they both have good and bad in both. Yeah. You know, it all depends on the leadership.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 35:22

Aaron Powell Staying on this more organizational and financial uh element of being a hygienist and building a practice and um yeah, operating in in the field specifically to the US, you've also been a very strong voice and a very strong advocate of the fact that the dental insurance system that is currently uh applicable in the US doesn't really live up

Dental Insurance Reform & System Challenges

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 35:42

to the standards and to the needs of the patient anymore. Could you maybe share a little bit of that voice and about your yeah and your your perspective on that?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 35:49

Yeah, absolutely. So in the United States, uh reimbursement rates for prevention services, some of them haven't gone up since the 1970s. So you have a hygienist working in 2025, you know, with an hourly rate of of whatever, but the reimbursement rate for their the cleaning that they're providing the patient with is still a range, hasn't changed since our 1970s. So that's where the big discrepancy is is coming from. And it it also is not um following all of the things that we do now in an appointment, right? Like we were breaking down that appointment. So, you know, all of those things might not have been in the the that prophylaxis appointment back in the 1970s. Um so that's one thing. And most dental insurances only give you $1,500 to $2,000, maybe $2,500 if you're lucky, for the entire year. So if you have a patient that comes in and they need uh a deep cleaning, they need a crown, they need a root canal, you might be able to get one of those things done.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 36:51

Right.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 36:52

And then you don't have any more coverage. You're you're maxed out for the rest of the year and you can't get anything done. So there's definitely room for um dental insurance uh reform.

Rachel Chau, DDS 37:04

And what what kind of changes do you see to um better support prevention and and and dental hygienists in general?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 37:13

I think the first thing would be those reimbursement rates and starting to add additional codes for all of the things that we do and increase the the fees for all of the different types of cleanings that we do. Um and also the maximum. The maximum amount that patients get per year is is just it's not enough in today's world. So increasing um all of those things and ultimately prevention will save money. So I think that it's there's enough evidence for that even in in research.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 37:43

I mean, it's it's pretty obvious.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 37:45

Yes, and and with um the prophylaxis cleanings too, those are generally two per calendar year. I don't know where that number came from or where that was set, but it should really be based on the patient and the systemic conditions that they have and your risk factors, not just everybody gets two.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 38:03

No.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 38:04

Yeah.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 38:04

It's interesting as you mentioned that this gap uh starts to to form because people can afford because usually the people who cannot afford these preventative uh treatments, they are the ones who need them the most. So I I I would say that system sort of reinforces the the gap that is existing between uh yeah people who can afford prevention and those who cannot but need it.

Rachel Chau, DDS 38:29

Mm-hmm. It's definitely flawed. But do you see an improvement or an evolution?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 38:35

I haven't seen very much change, honestly. In in five years and even before that, you know, I I've been I was the dental assistant prior to that uh for eight years, and there has been like little to no change. There might be some of the insurances that increased their fees, but it's very, very minimal.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 38:52

Um Do you think this current system favors treatment over prevention?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 38:56

Oh yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, there's there's not a focus on prevention in in the current system. It's all just based off of uh being reactive.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 39:06

Yeah, because we talked a lot about how to make the practice more um more prevention oriented, make a hygienist more prevention-minded or be able to be more prevention-minded. Do you think this uh this insurance landscape is really blocking that movement?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 39:20

Absolutely.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 39:21

So changes are needed. Yeah, and uh uh so in Europe we have uh a slightly different system, I would say. We have uh a lot of social insurance um that cover the basics. Um, do you see those trends start popping up in the United States as well?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 39:37

Yeah, possibly. And I think too, a lot of patients are starting to value prevention. And if you can get to that point that you are just preventing disease, now it's almost like cheaper to pay out of pocket than it is to have mental insurance. If you can stay in the prevention category and not need treatment, it's it's almost bad.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 39:59

But that needs a lot of awareness from the patient, so they would need to be educated and yeah, be made aware of that of that principle.

Rachel Chau, DDS 40:05

Going back to prevention, education, uh, indication of prevention, I think.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 40:10

Yeah, but so we we talked a little bit about um the role of of hygienists in in the mouth-body connection. Uh, we talked about the importance of prevention. Um, if you would look ahead, what change would most strengthen the role of a hygienist in the future?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 40:25

I think if we initially start with acknowledging that we are healthcare providers and we are prevention specialists, and then also just all over the United States advancing our scope and allowing us to do the things that we are educated on and licensed to do uh outside of a dental office. Of course, that role in a dental office is important. But if we could have the autonomy to practice in these places like hospitals and schools, that would definitely help to expand our reach and be able to get to more patients um early with prevention.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 41:02

And what type of uh what type of treatment or what type of um things that you would like to do you're not allowed or you're not really and forced to do now?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 41:11

Most things. So, you know, just providing patients with x-rays and the different types of cleanings and even things like local anesthetic, um, you know, being able to have your own hygiene practice if you want

The Future Role & Autonomy of Dental Hygienists

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 41:23

to do that, have to be able to practice without a dentist being physically there. So right now it really feels like prevention is kind of being um gate kept and it's locked in just a dental office. But in order to expand outside of that, we have to have the autonomy to be able to do it.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 41:41

And where does this resistance come from?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 41:44

I think just the way everything has been structured, and right now a lot of what we do is controlled by dentists and we really are a separate profession. So while we need to be kind of uh detached or separated, separate the two roles, we still very much need to work in collaboration with each other.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 42:02

Yeah, yeah.

Rachel Chau, DDS 42:02

So with the dentist, but coming back to what we were saying at the beginning, also with the physician, so there is a really a a triangle of collaboration between all the uh the disciplines. Yeah, absolutely.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 42:14

So we would be able to refer to a dentist for restorative treatment. We could work in underserved areas and also provide patients with referrals to maybe like a medical doctor. So just being able to get to more patients and increase access to care.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 42:29

It sounds like a very um weird is maybe not the r the right term, but in lack of a better one, a very weird situation where I feel there's a very um uh strong advocacy from within the dental hygiene field to be become more um independent and more uh gain more autonomy. Whereas on the other hand, what I learned in the United States is that the assistants also get more and more um liberty is not also not the right term, but they can do more and start start to do more and more Yeah, the scope of work of the of the hygienist. So how do those two movements go hand in hand? From the one side, does the resistance in the hygienist uh becoming you know more independent and doing a wider scope of work, whereas for the assistants, um this seems to be opening up. How does a dynamic work?

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 43:15

I think a lot of that is uh financially driven. Um, as a previous dental assistant of eight years, uh, you know, you don't know what you don't know. And I I thought, oh I'll be a hygienist is so easy. And I didn't know anything about you know the body, the oral systemic connection. And so going through that experience and knowing what I know now as a hygienist, I know that prevention cannot be taught in a weekend course or even like a week course.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 43:41

Yeah.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 43:41

Uh so unfortunately, I think a lot of that comes just from um being financially driven and ultimately uh keeping our role as hygienists kind of locked in and not allowing us uh to be independent and autonomous.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 43:55

Yeah, funny, because um you're of course operating in in in the United States. But you see exactly the same movements in Europe as well, where there's also a a strong fight for a wider scope of work among European hygienists and and yeah, more autonomy. So it's funny that even though you're separated so much and the care systems are totally different, the advocacy for a yeah, a more independent, more autonomous, more wider scope of work, type of hygienists, it's a global movement almost.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 44:25

Wow, I didn't even know that. Yeah, and and even if we just started with the basics of what we went to school for, what we're educated on and licensed to do, starting with the assessment and treatment of gum disease, taking x-rays, there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to do that in other settings.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 44:45

So I think we uh we've come to an end of our uh of our conversation. It was uh very interesting to hearing your perspective on uh the role of a dental hygienist um and uh yeah the future as well of uh of the of the um dental hygiene field. I think you're a very strong, strong voice in that in that movement. So it was a pleasure having you and and listening to you on this uh on the show.

Rachel Chau, DDS 45:05

Yeah, and thank you for bringing a different perspective because it's not necessarily the type of conversation that we've had until now in our podcast series. So it was very interesting, uh listening a lot to uh really get this perspective and your angle. So thank you for being listening. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 45:21

I hope you also enjoyed it.

Rachel Chau, DDS 45:22

Yes, I did.

Brittany Glauz, BSDH, RDH 45:23

Thank you for having me.

Martijn Verhulst, PhD 45:24

And uh thank you also for the audience for for tuning in again. Um, if you're interested, we uh have a lot of other uh very interesting educational videos on our YouTube channel. So go check them out. You can also listen to them uh as a podcast on Spotify and on Apple Podcasts. So I hope you enjoyed it. Um again, thank you, Britt, thank you, Rachel, and we'll see you all next time.