The first issue of RDH eVillage was posted on March 25, 2005 — 10 years ago this week. Kristine Hodsdon, RDH, has been the director of its content for every issue. RDH eVillage was emailed to dental hygienists once a month until September 2009 when it began its twice-monthly schedule.
Her “Director’s Message” is a staple of RDH eVillage, appearing in almost every issue. The first Director’s Message was published in the April 22, 2005, issue — the issue following the inaugural edition. It was titled, “Underachievement: The tallest blade of grass is the first to be cut down by the lawnmower.” She wrote:
“There are so many ways we all express our dental hygiene expertise, skills, and abilities. For example, we work in private practices, educational institutions, not-for-profit clinics, and corporations ... Whenever and wherever our worlds take us, and, in any combination, we express our individual dental hygiene talents.”
Over the years, Hodsdon emphasized the many roles of, and challenges faced by, dental hygienists in this era of digital communication. The circulation of RDH eVillage currently stands at 60,640, almost double from its early days as a newsletter and possibly why the metrics for the most popular articles below tend to be more recent articles.
Here are the top 15 articles viewed by RDH eVillage readers during its 10-year history as an e-newsletter (While a sister publication, RDH eVillageFocus is a separate e-newsletter and is not part of the ranking below; however, it also will have its own upcoming anniversaries to celebrate).
No. 15
Title
Hygiene Instrumentation: Dental professionals comment on patients' influence over choice
Synopsis
A survey examined whether patients should make the choice of ultrasonic scaling or hand instrumentation.
Published
October 2012
No. 14
Title
Spread the word: Statistics on the real wealth of dental hygienists
Synopsis
Mark Hartley, the editor of RDH magazine, commented on a trend in consumer media to portray the dental hygiene profession as being financially lucrative.
Published
July 2014
No. 13
Title
Career Satisfaction: Dental hygienists are satisfied, yet still daydream
Synopsis
A survey estimated the level of satisfaction that dental hygienists have about their career choice.
Published
February 2015
No. 12
Title
Hygienists strongly believe there are too many hygiene schools, too few jobs
Synopsis
An overwhelming majority of dental hygienists indicated the increase in the number of dental hygiene schools leads to a surplus of dental hygienists.
Published
August 2013
No. 11
Title
Cheat sheet for periodontal protocol
Synopsis
Karoline Biami, RDH, created a “cheat sheet” to help dental staffs define periodontal protocols in their dental practices.
Published
July 2014
No. 10
Title
Income power of hygienists and dental assistants in 100 U.S. cities
Synopsis
Using statistics from salary surveys and federal cost-of-living data, 100 cities were ranked, revealing the best income power for dental staff members.
Published
March 2014
No. 9
Title
Jenn’s vision: A true lesson in best practices
Synopsis
Noel Kelsch, RDHAP, shared the story of Jenn, a dental patient whose eyes were injured during a dental appointment. The article advocated safety glasses for patients too.
Published
August 2014
No. 8
Title
Stop premedicating! ADA review examines treatment of patients with prosthetic joints
Synopsis
JoAnn Gurenlian, RDH, a columnist for RDH magazine, alerted dental hygienists about the recent changes in the recommendations for premedicating patients.
Published
January 2015
No. 7
Title
Oral Exam: Oral Oil Pulling
Synopsis
We regret giving a hint to No. 1 below, but Nancy Burkhart’s column in RDH magazine, “Oral Exam,” was first published in RDH eVillage to offer a balanced perspective on oil pulling.
Published
March 2014
No. 6
Title
2013 Dental Hygiene Salary Survey, part 2: A peek at 15 urban areas
Synopsis
RDH eVillage annually publishes salary survey information. In this 2013 article, the salaries in 15 urban areas were examined. If a reader would like to review the 2014 statistics instead, click here.
Published
November 2013
No. 5
Title
No bad dentist jokes allowed. Here are Hollywood's 25 best lines about oral care
Synopsis
Mark Hartley watched too many movies that were a little too tasteless in poking fun at dentistry, so he put together the 25 best cinematic lines about oral care.
Published
March 2013
No. 4
Title
Are blue flecks in toothpaste really decorative plastic?
Synopsis
A major toothpaste brand was criticized for containing “decorative” plastic in its ingredients, and Michelle Strange, RDH, joined a chorus of dental hygienists asking, “Why?”
Published
July 2014
No. 3
Title
What is your opinion of Arestin?
Synopsis
A reader asked RDH eVillage about the antibiotic periodontal preparation, and Rachel Wall, RDH, provided an answer.
Published
February 2007
No. 2
Title
Best states to be a dental hygienist
Synopsis
Various factors were analyze to determine which states offered the most to practicing dental hygienists.
Published
December 2009
No. 1
Title
How dental professionals can respond to 'oil pulling' patients
Synopsis
Dr. Jessica Emery offered an explanation of why she accepted patients who employ an oil-pulling technique at home, and even admitted she starting doing it too.
Published
March 2014
