Common Courtesy.

I would like to vent a little.

A lot of patients tell me, "I don't know how you do your job." Most of the time, I laugh a little and say, "to each their own," but sometimes....I look at them and want to say, "the crap in your mouth is 1,000x's less disgusting then what you've got going on on your face!!!"

Now....before you judge me, read on:

Okay, here's what's up. I tend to have a problem with details, especially regarding appearance. If I am going somewhere, I like to make sure I look decent and, depending upon the situation, I may get really detailed (ie. going to get a pedicure: I shave/lotion my legs, prep my toenails a bit, if my hairlady is coming over, I've washed my hair, my eyebrows have been plucked and I make sure my skin looks okay, etc.). Granted, if I'm running down to Circle K for a fountain CZ or over to Walmart for...whatever, there are times I've FOR SURE looked just like s***, but really that's it.

Now, my profession involves getting up close and personal with people and their facial region. And I mean VERY close (like, I wear 5x magnifiers). For the most part (probably because I work in a fairly affluent area in this town), the people I see are fairly well groomed....but I'm still amazed at some of the stuff I see, regularly!

So, without further ado, here's my PSA/Personal PLEA to anyone and everyone planning on going to see their hygienist anytime soon:

Nose Hairs:

Trim. Them.

Bad Zits/Blackheads:

Pop. Them./Extract. Them.

(I'd MUCH rather see a HUGE zit scab than a GINORMOUS, pus filled, YUCK thing on your face, same goes for black heads)

I recommend:

or

Neglected Eyebrows:

Trim! Pluck! Handle that!

Dandruff:

Yeah.

Your head of hair and I get VERY close during the appointment. Be SERIOUS. If you show up with this, expect me to clean your teeth with a garden hose...from 10ft away.

Boogers:

I'll throw up just looking at this.

But yeah, if seasons are changing, you just blew your nose, you have been sneezing, allergies have been bothering you or...if you're just plain courteous...

PLEASE. CHECK. OUT. YOUR. NOSE. HOLES.

before the appointment.

Facial piercings:

take them out!!!

(I've never seen anything as bad as the 1st or 3rd, but the 2nd one is more common then you'd think!)

Mustache:

Gross.

I'd rather you shave it altogether, but at the VERY least, clean it up. If I'm catching my glove on your mustache hair or if the hair is going in your mouth as I'm rinsing your mouth out or as you close on the suction....I'll throw up on your face.

MOLE HAIR:

please fix it.

Cold Sores:

GO. HOME.

I'm LEGALLY not allowed to clean your teeth (until the sore goes away). You have herpes (no, it's not a "stress sore," no, it isn't because "the weather is changing," no, it's not a "fever blister."). That's right. You. Have. HERPES. Own it. If I clean your teeth with that thing on your face, I WILL unintentionally spread herpes to the other parts of your face I touch, potentially even your eyes...which can lead to blindness, which will mean you'll possibly try to sue me and...I'm not having any of that.

Coated Tongue:

BRUSH/SCRAPE IT

(ps. if your tongue resembles this, your breath is deadly.)

Chapped lips:

Use lipbalm. chapstick. vaseline. lotion....

I don't care. just use it.

It amazes me how many people come in and ask, "can I have some chapstick?"

...REALLY? Do you want me to reach into my purse and let you have some from my personal stash? Or, better, did you assume I purchased an entire supply for patients, just in case you forgot your own?

BE. SERIOUS.

I think that concludes my list.

Think about it. How well could you do your job if a mere INCH away, there was a HUGE glob of booger just waiting to ooze out onto your glove....or if the head of hair that is RIGHT by your pant leg was COATED in dandruff? Or if you were expected to retract the lip and at the EXACT place you need to put your finger, there happens to be a zit the size of a baseball?

I hope you were able to understand a little of what I endure...BEFORE I even get to the gross part (actual food chunks, balls of plaque, bridges of calculus (/tarter), bloody gums, pus filled tonsils, etc).

Be kind and courteous and plan ahead for WHATEVER appointment you have next...