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Editor's Note

Professional Excellence

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My December memo typically reviews the past year and highlights accomplishments and news from the previous 12 months. As I looked back at the Dimensions of Dental Hygiene issue archives for 2021, I also re-read my memo from 1 year ago, December 2020. A year like no other due to a global pandemic, we weren’t completely sure how 2021 would fare. Would the year be better? Would we finally return to “normal?” Would a vaccine impact the incidence of SARS-CoV-2? And would effective treatments be introduced to stem the sickness and death many experienced? I ended that memo with this thought: “We remain hopeful, with you, that 2021 will usher in a new year of prevention and treatment. And we know you will be there to greet the challenges and successes with courage and passion!”

The year 2021 did bring improvements in prevention and treatment, and our new “normal” continued. We ventured out more and traveled to meetings and family visits, businesses re-opened, and we decided to carefully live our lives. Dental and dental hygiene practices returned to prepandemic patient loads, and thus Dimensions brought relevant content to our readers. We featured the following cover stories:

  • January: COVID-19 Vaccines: Fact vs Fiction
  • February: Oral Healthcare From Tots to Teens
  • March: Successful Dental Care for Patients with Fragile X Syndrome
  • April: Screening for Oral Disease with Salivary Diagnostics
  • May: Help Your Patients Prevent Heart Disease
  • June: The Role of Proteomics in the Management of Oral and Systemic Disease
  • July: Oral Signs and Symptoms of Tuberculosis 
  • August: Effective Instrumentation: a Key to Successful Periodontal Outcomes
  • September: The Role of Cannabidiol in Treating Periodontal Diseases
  • October: The Positive Oral Health Effects of Tea Revealed
  • November: The Risks of Dermal Fillers in the Dental Setting plus our annual supplement Perspectives on the Midlevel Practitioner
  • December: Combatting COVID-19 With Vaccines

Just like that, another year ends. And as I knew you would, you greeted the many challenges and successes of 2021 with courage and passion. All of us at Dimensions are grateful for your dedication. We are also very appreciative of our contributors; members of our Editorial Advisory Board, Peer Review Panel, and Corporate Council; and the companies that support our mission. As stated on every cover, we strive to be The Journal of Professional Excellence.

So let’s salute a successful year. Let’s salute your professional excellence! May you and yours have a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season.

Jill Rethman, RDH, BA
Editor in Chief
jrethman@belmontpublications.com

From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. December 2021;19(12)8.

Jill Rethman, RDH, BA, has been involved in dental hygiene for more than 40 years—from clinical practice to speaking to publishing. She currently serves as the editor in chief for Dimensions of Dental Hygiene:. A visiting clinical instructor of dental hygiene at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and assistant professor at Ohio State University, Rethman is also a past president of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association. She is the president elect of the International Federation of Dental Hygienists. Rethman has published extensively in dental hygiene and dental journals as well as textbook chapters. She speaks both domestically and internationally on topics ranging from periodontal updates to patient motivation.


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