Anna M. Pattison, RDH, MS, is a former associate professor and former chair of the Department of Dental Hygiene at the Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. She is also editor in chief emerita of Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, leading the journal for the first 10 years of its publication. She is the co-author of the textbook, Periodontal Instrumentation, with her husband, Gordon Pattison, DDS. This text has been used in dental and dental hygiene schools throughout the United States and around the world and has been translated into six languages. She has also contributed several chapters to the last six editions of Carranza’s Clinical Periodontology, which is available in seven languages and is the most widely used periodontology textbook to date. These textbooks have established Pattison as one of the world’s leading experts in the field of periodontal instrumentation. Currently, the Pattisons are co-directors of the Pattison Institute, which offers periodontal instrumentation courses throughout the US and Canada. In 2005, she received the Pfizer-American Dental Hygienists’ Association Excellence in Dental Hygiene Award and the USC School of Dentistry Alumnus of the Year Award. In 2006, she received the California Society of Periodontists Award. In 2010, she was inducted into the USC School of Dentistry Hall of Fame.
Keeping up to date on the various ultrasonic units and tips available will help you make the most efficacious choice when using ultrasonic instrumentation with your patients.
On October 8, Dr. Esther Wilkins sent me an email announcing great news— the governor of Massachusetts signed a bill into law adding local anesthesia administration to the dental hygienist's scope of practice.
This month marks the third anniversary of the terrible fall day that each of us remembers so vividly. Like other shattering events, we can recall exactly what we were doing, who we were with, and how we felt on September 11.
Growth is an important concept in dentistry and dental hygiene. It creates new treatments, better trained clinicians, and furthers the oral health of this country.
Yesterday, Esther Wilkins, RDH, DMD, and I spoke to an audience of 250 dental hygienists in San Francisco for International Dental Seminars. Esther spent the morning giving a great update on periodontal disease, caries, remineralization…