Hygiene Rising

Ask a room of dental hygienists how they found the profession, and many give the same answer: their own hygienist brought it up. Live from ADHA26 in Fort Worth, Hygienist Inspired ambassadors Lali Williams and Pamela Graboso-Saul share their paths into dental hygiene and how they spread the word to patients, parents and high school students. Holli Seabury, Delta Dental Foundation Executive Director, explains how the chairside recruitment program has grown to 12 states and why anyone can take the ally pledge. Then ADHA Standout Seven honoree Sarah Jackson of Curaprox closes out the exhibit floor with iTOP (individually trained oral prophylaxis), a hands-on approach that trades the unopened goodie bag for touch-to-teach instruction right in the patient’s mouth. Healthier patients start with better teaching.

Guests: Lali Williams, RDH, FADHA, Hygienist Inspired Ambassador; Pamela Graboso-Saul, MPH(c), MSDH, BSDH, RDH, FADHA, Hygienist Inspired Ambassador and President, New Jersey Dental Hygienists' Association; Holli Seabury, EdD, Executive Director, Delta Dental Foundation; Sarah Jackson, RDH, MSDH, FADHA, Head of Education and Professional Relations, Curaprox
Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

Day three of ADHA26 in Fort Worth brings a lineup of partners doing the work alongside dental hygienists. Live from the exhibit floor, host Matt Crespin talks with Michele Lash of Dentsply Sirona about how research and the voice of the customer drive product innovation, plus the Graduate Student Research Program, now in its 19th year. GoTu's Thalía Diedrick and Cassidy Miller preview the fourth annual State of Work survey and Best in Dental, a program recognizing offices that treat temporary professionals as part of the team. Chikako Amendola and Amanda Booth of Henry Schein share the Empowering You webinar series and a growing push for medical-dental integration. And Kari Ann Kuntzelman of the American Dental Therapy Association explains where dental therapy stands across the country and how hygienists can pursue it. Four conversations, one message: the profession is moving forward.

Guests: Michele Lash, RDH, BA, FADHA, CDIPC, Senior Manager, Clinical Research, Dentsply Sirona; Thalía Diedrick, Chief Marketing Officer, GoTu; Cassidy Miller, Director of Advocacy and Community, GoTu; Chikako Amendola, Executive Director, Henry Schein; Amanda Booth, Senior Marketing Specialist, Henry Schein; Kari Ann Kuntzelman, DT, Executive Director, American Dental Therapy Association
Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

Trust comes up again and again on the ADHA26 exhibit floor, from spotting a patient in danger to recommending fluoride with confidence. Live from Fort Worth, dental hygienist and licensed professional counselor Kandice Swarthout explains how to recognize the signs of human trafficking in the dental chair and why survivors most want dignity and a resource on hand. Deland Basora and Andrea Johnson of Crest + Oral-B preview the 30th anniversary of their continuing education program and trade favorite Oral-B iO features. Amber Mendoza of Heartland Dental asks how new technology and AI will realistically fit into a packed Monday morning schedule. Erin Haley-Hitz of Solventum shows how caries risk assessment turns a fluoride recommendation into comprehensive care, no sales pitch required. Insurance determines reimbursement. Risk determines clinical need.

Guests: Kandice Swarthout, MS, RDH, LPC; Deland Basora, Head of U.S. Professional Oral Health, Procter & Gamble; Andrea Johnson, RDH, MS, Senior Manager, Scientific Relations, Crest + Oral-B; Amber Mendoza, RDH, Director of Hygiene Operations, Heartland Dental; Erin Haley-Hitz, RDH, BSDH, MS, FADHA, MAADH, Key Opinion Leader, Solventum

Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

Even Hygienists Have Yellow Zones
Even a dental hygienist with years of chairside experience can miss a spot, and the newest Philips Sonicare proves it. Live from the ADHA26 exhibit floor in Fort Worth, host Matt Crespin welcomes first-time guest Heather McGuire of Philips Oral Healthcare, who traces her path from dental assistant to clinician to building hygiene departments for two DSOs. Heather previews the next-generation DiamondClean and DiamondClean Prestige, launching Oct. 1, with a touchscreen mouth map on the handle that shifts each segment from yellow to blue and remembers where you left off. Instant feedback on pressure and scrubbing brings chairside coaching into the patient's bathroom. She also explains how Zoom Delivered converts an intraoral scan into custom whitening trays shipped straight to the patient's door. Turns out even hygienists have yellow zones.

Guest: Heather McGuire, RDH, Senior Manager, Professional Education & Relations, Philips Oral Healthcare
Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

Leah Johnson returns for the annual Know Before You Go episode, this time with Texas on the itinerary. She walks Matt through the biggest change attendees need to know about, the move to first come, first serve seating for all sessions, and explains what building a personal schedule online does and does not reserve for you. Leah covers getting from DFW to downtown Fort Worth on the TexRail for two dollars, hotel concessions worth asking about, and the construction at the convention center that will affect restrooms and one route in. She also runs through what is new this year, including a Crest breakfast open to every attendee for the first time, the first in-person annual business meeting, adoptable puppies on the show floor, and the Western flair coming to the President's Dinner. Practical tips on comfortable shoes, group registration savings and the mobile app round out the conversation.

Guest: Leah Johnson, CMP, DES, Director of Meetings, Corporate Development & ADHA Foundation

Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

GLP-1 medications are everywhere, and dental teams are already seeing the effects at the chair. Pharmacist Anne Misher joins host Matt Crespin for a conversation rooted in the oral-systemic link, and why these drugs are far more than a weight-loss story. She explains how GLP-1s work across diabetes, weight management, heart disease, fatty liver, and sleep apnea, and how their anti-inflammatory effects may even support gum health. Misher breaks down the side effects worth watching, from dry mouth and enamel erosion to the facial changes that follow rapid weight loss. She also shares a practical way to capture an accurate health history when patients hesitate to disclose. The evidence is still emerging, and this episode gives hygienists a real head start. When patients will not say it, the mouth often will.

Guest: Anne Misher, PharmD, MBA, CPP

Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

Host Matt Crespin brings you voices from Milan, where dental hygienists from 47 countries gathered for the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene. Outgoing IFDH President Jill Rethman describes what it was like to sit on a World Health Organization panel as the only dental hygienist in the room, alongside dentists and health ministers from around the world, and what she learned about how many countries have never heard of our profession. That first appearance led to an invitation for IFDH to join the WHO's new Global Coalition on Oral Health. U.S. delegates Kelli Swanson Jaecks and Tammy L. Filipiak share what happens in the two years between symposiums, from committee calls scheduled across a dozen time zones to a new IFDH fellowship program and the decision to open the federation to dental therapists and oral health therapists. They also celebrate ADHA's first ever IFDH Impact Award, First Place in the Large Association category, for the Hygienist Inspired Ambassador Program. Plus, meet newly elected IFDH Secretary Loes Velthoven-Verlinden of the Netherlands and Vice President Cole Gilbert of South Africa, who explain what scope of practice looks like in their countries.

Guests: Jill Rethman, RDH, BA, FADHA; Kelli Swanson Jaecks, MA, RDH, FADHA; Tammy L. Filipiak, RDH, MS, FADHA; Loes Velthoven-Verlinden; Cole Gilbert

Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

www.ifdh.org

www.ifdh.org/isdh

www.ifdh.org/podcast

www.adha2026.org

Anne Rice, RDH, BS, has spent more than 35 years as a clinical dental hygienist — and the last several years working at the intersection of oral health and Alzheimer's prevention. In this live conversation recorded at ADHA's Integrated Care Summit 2026, Anne joins host Matt Crespin to talk about why reducing oral inflammation is a direct act of brain health protection, how blood pressure is a non-negotiable clinical data point, and what hygienists can say chairside to connect the dots for patients. She also makes the case for why dental hygienists need to start showing up in medical spaces — and stop waiting to be invited. The brain health conversation needs us at the table.

Guest: Anne Rice, RDH, BS, FAAOSH, CDP

Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

Important Links:

www.alz.org

www.adha2026.org

www.adha.org/events

ADHA has been building its federal presence, and this spring marked a milestone: members on Capitol Hill for the profession's first formal lobby day in 20 years. President Lancette VanGuilder and Advocacy Advisory Committee Chair Alyssa Aberle sit down with Matt Crespin to break down what brought the Advocacy Advisory Committee, ADHA leadership and sponsoring organizations to Washington on April 16, with three specific asks spanning community water fluoridation, Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement for hygienists, and expanded FSA/HSA access for oral care products. They share what the reception was really like, why some offices had never met with a dental hygienist before, and what it felt like to walk through their own state's office doors and make the case for the profession. The follow-ups are already coming in. This is what showing up looks like.

Guests: Alyssa Aberle, MBA, RDH, FADHA; Lancette VanGuilder, BS, RDH, PHEDH, CEAS, FADHA

Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

What does truly integrated care look like in practice? Host Matt Crespin captured the conversations at ADHA's first-ever Integrated Care Summit in Broomfield, Colorado this past weekend — bringing together physicians, dentists, periodontists, and public health professionals making the case for breaking down silos. (1:56) Dr. Mychi Nguyen, Chief Medical Officer at Asian Health Services, shares how a patient's powerful words — "How can I be healthy if I don't have teeth?" — launched a dental clinic at her FQHC and explains the AHA's Healthy Smiles, Healthy Hearts initiative transforming dental visits into preventive health opportunities. (8:48) AGD President-elect George J. Schmidt reflects on the growing ADHA-AGD collaboration. (15:19) Dr. Elizabeth Ramos of the American Academy of Periodontology makes the case for hygienists as key communicators of the perio-systemic connection. (24:08) Michael Lazzara, VP of International Business Development of Dento, introduces oral health biomarker testing that gives patients real-time data to motivate behavior change. And (35:37) Holly Kingsbury of the Colorado Community Health Network walks through a promising model for integrating behavioral health screenings into dental visits at FQHCs statewide.

Guests: Mychi Nguyen, MD; George J. Schmidt, DMD, FAGD, FICOI; Elizabeth D. Ramos, DDS, MSD, EdD; Michael Lazzara, Dento; Holly Kingsbury, MPH

Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA