This is a recorded, on-demand course.
Trauma-informed hygiene begins with the understanding that the dental chair can feel vulnerable long before treatment begins. For some patients, being reclined, touched, judged, silenced by instruments, exposed to sounds or sensations, or asked to “just relax” can activate fear, shame, or a need to regain control.
In this one-hour group coaching session, dental hygienists will explore how trauma may present during routine care and how small shifts in communication, consent, pacing, and clinical delivery can make the appointment feel safer for the patient and more manageable for the provider.
Learning Objectives
✔️ Identify common trauma responses that may appear during dental hygiene care, including avoidance, hypervigilance, startle response, shutdown, anger, excessive apologizing, and difficulty tolerating touch, sound, position, or loss of control.
✔️ Apply trauma-informed communication strategies that support patient autonomy, consent, predictability, and trust during assessment, instrumentation, radiographs, and periodontal therapy.
✔️ Modify the hygiene appointment using practical care adaptations such as stop signals, positioning choices, sensory cueing, pacing, permission-based language, and collaborative treatment planning.
*After registering, you will receive an email confirming your registration, giving you access to the course. The email will come from Next Level Dental Hygiene
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