Dental Practice Heroes:
Taylor Harrison, RDH
Taylor Harrison is a registered dental hygienist since 2014 and has been with Zebulon Dental Center since 2015. She is beyond blessed to have a career she loves in an office that feels like family . Taylor strives to carry her passion into every operatory she enters and to every patient she meets. Taylor was born and raised in Georgia and is happily married to her husband since June 2020.
I believe that periodontal disease not only impacts oral health but overall health and when caught early I can protect my patients from future health issues. Not diagnosing periodontal disease in its early stages puts the patient at risk for not just tooth loss but high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, and other major health conditions. By fighting periodontal disease at its early stages, we can begin to reverse the damage and equip the patient with tools to manage the disease in the future.
When I speak to patients, I ask them, what do they think causes periodontal disease? I say, “I have my patients take part in the discovery of their periodontal condition. To do this, I perio chart out loud and educate them on what is healthy and what isn’t in terms of what the numbers mean. I use my radiographs and intraoral photos to show them what is happening and then I talk about the risk and the effect on their overall health. Lastly, I go into different protocols that can help and which one best fits the needs of my patient.”
The biggest obstacle is that in most cases my patients are hearing about this condition for the first time (whether it be from never seeking regular dental care due to fear or that their old dental office never told them) and getting them to believe and trust me with their care moving forward. I earn my patients trust by explaining everything at a comprehensive level and giving them all the time to process it and go about next steps at their own pace. Another obstacle is the cost. Often, periodontal treatment is not completely covered by insurance and many of my patients don’t understand why they can’t just have a regular “cleaning”. Additionally, scaling and root planning (SRPS) is normally a process that involves needles and more time off work. I work with my patients to encourage them to invest in themselves and their health with the promise to be there every step of the way.
Like previously mentioned scaling and root planning or deep cleanings involve needles and time off work. I offer Perio Protect as an initial therapy and sometimes an alternative one . My patients love that Perio Protect kills the bacteria responsible for periodontal disease in a much less invasive way. Perio Protect allows my patient to treat their periodontal disease at home on their time. In borderline perio cases I have my patients start with Perio Protect and reevaluate them for SRPS after in most cases this cuts down on the amount of SRPS needed and may even eliminate it entirely. This is great for my patients with dental fear. I also use Perio Protect to ensure my patients’ periodontal maintenance success. Most of my patients currently enrolled are perio maintenance patients that even after SRPS still show signs of active disease. Perio Protect gets my patients off the SRPS roller coaster.
