As many of you know, Beth Parkes and myself were invited to the LM-Dental Instruments Facility in Finland last June, along with 13 other dental professionals from around the world.

It was truly a Dream Come True Experience for me, as I had this on my Bucket List. To visit the LM-Dental Facility in Finland (check box insert here!).

The LM group, who spent their time with us, were amazing people. They were such gentlemen, and the women were so kind. It was amazing from the beginning, right to the end, with respect to how we were greeted, the accommodations, the saunas, the swimming in the Baltic Sea, the serenading, the food, the scenery, the islands we visited and the workshops. To be surrounded by such an insightful group of educators and experienced clinicians was a privilege. We all shared our experiences with each other and I knew once we returned back to Canada, that we would want to share these people with our members.

So, with that said, here I am sharing some of the things that we have planned for you this year with the LM-Dental Key Opinion Leaders Group!

1. The RDH View: If you missed The RDH View on Friday, it was a great show! We had our good friends Cat Edney and Nina Farmer, who are from England, and Lauren Long, who is from Scotland, as our guests. They are all Dental Therapists, which includes Dental Hygiene under this designation. We spent an hour discussing Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy in the UK. They are all trained, and it is in their Scope of Practice, to not only fill teeth, but also drill teeth. They shared some of their beautiful work with us. Nina specializes in nutrition and had some really great slides to share as well. If you missed it and would like to watch, we would be happy to upload this into your portal for you. If you don't have a portal with us, we would be happy to give you one! Just email info@rdhu.ca and we will set you up. You will also receive a 1-hour Certificate.

2. Dr. Joy Void-Holmes, from the United States: Dr. Joy was in Finland with us and we were so fortunate to spend some one-on-one time with her riding our bikes through Oros Islands and in the workshops. We have invited Dr. Joy to rdhu in Burlington, Ontario for a one-day mini conference! We have 3 sponsors who will be represented that day as well. There are two days to choose from. Saturday, April 6th or Sunday, April 7th. Click here to register. We are keeping this event intimate, and boutique style, so that you can experience the one-on-one time to help elevate your instrumentation skills. It doesn't matter what your skillset is like, we are 100% positive that you will come away with some new, refreshed techniques and treatments, to implement into your practice.

3. The 2024 Dental Hygiene Quarterly LM-Dental KOL (Key Opinion Leaders) Midnight Sun Series: This series is called Midnight Sun because when we were in Finland, we did not have any darkness. That is pretty cool, right? See the pictures below. This is myself, Beth, Cat, Lauren and Nina all sitting on the dock at midnight in Oros Isles, Finland. The other one with just Beth and I was taken at 10pm! We are thrilled to announce that this whole year, we will highlight some of the people we met while in Finland!

• Cat Edney (from England) on Digital Scanning for Examinations and Communication.
• Nina Farmer (from England) on Nutrition and Your Patients.
• Lauren Long (from Scotland) on Digital Opportunities in the Hygiene Op.
• Dr. Joy Void-Holmes (from the United States) on Instrumentation.
• India Chance (from the United States) will present on two topics: Medical Emergencies and Abuse Awareness.
• Ryan Ruter (from the United States) will present on two topics: Managing Anxiety within Ourselves and our Patients and Cultural Humility of LGBTQ patients.
• Carmen Lonaway (from Germany who is also Canadian) on Implementing a Perio Protocol.
• and Tatiana Brandt (from Copenhagen), on Oral Health of Chronic Kidney Patients.

This is the group that we have lined up for the Dental Hygiene Quarterly. We hope that you will sign up to be a part of this.

The Dental Hygiene Quarterly is approximately 12 hours per year. This year it will be more, approximately 14 hours. It is part of the membership benefit with the Canadian Dental Hygienist's Association as well, so if you are a member, it will be $169 for this series and if you are not a member, it will be $219 (CAD). We hope you join us with this series. Be sure to either select One Year ONLY or as a SUBSCRIPTION that Automatically Renews. The choice is YOURS! One Year or Subscription.

Thank you and we shall see you on the other side :)

Thank you for your support and for reading! Please take a look below for upcoming live streaming courses, events, hands-on courses, career postings and our partner specials.

Have a great week!

Kathleen

Kathleen Bokrossy, RDH ~ President