Hygienist.co.uk, which in its present format is 10 years old, is hosted and run by its founder John Stanfield MSc RDH, a hygienist with over 30 years’ experience and who was Dental Hygienist of the Year 2010 and highly commended 2011. John has also held the position of editor of team in practice and serves as the hygienist representative on the DCP committee of the FGDP as well as being its vice-chair.
Hygienist.co.uk allows members of the dental team to discuss matters affecting the profession and wider issues affecting dentistry in a secure environment. Topics range from Direct Access to classification of furcations to blockages of Airflow tips and even sometimes just to let off a little steam in an environment where others understand your frustrations. It also serves to educate and mentor those who, because of the way hygienists work (often the only hygienist in the practice) may find it a lonely existence and do not have peers to bounce ideas off.
As well as their online presence Hygienist.co.uk also hosts some face to face meetings, the next of which will be early in 2013. Members can put faces to names; have a day of education from some of the top hygienist speakers and an evening of socialising. As with previous years the socialising and the education go hand-in-hand and you can’t attend one without the other, which, as all of those who have attended in previous years will attest, is a successful formula.