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National Dental Hygiene Month

Marks Family Dentistry Would Like To Celebrate by Recognizing the Compassion and Professionalism of Our Dental Hygienists

At Marks Family Dentistry we are fortunate to have two highly skilled and dedicated dental hygienists to serve you for your preventive and periodontal care. Dental hygiene is often an overlooked profession by the media. Therefore having the opportunity during this special month to recognize Nelson and Treby’s level of expertise and service to our patients is our pleasure.

What is a dental hygienist?

A dental hygienist is a highly trained and licensed oral health professional who provides you with educational, clinical, and therapeutic services to enhance your oral and overall health. A dental hygienist uses his/her skills and knowledge to prevent, detect, and treat gum disease and tooth decay in his/her patients.

Hygienists attend college and receive intensive, specialized education and training that includes courses in chemistry, head and neck anatomy, physiology, microbiology, pathology, nutrition, pharmacology, advanced dental sciences, radiology, and dental hygiene. Prior to graduation, hygienists must complete hundreds of hours of supervised instruction in clinical practice, followed by state and national licensing examinations.

Becoming a dental hygienist in the United States requires that you graduate from a post-secondary dental hygiene program, with either an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree or a master's degree. The program must be accredited by the American Dental Association.

All dental hygienists in the United States must be licensed by the state in which they practice, after completing a minimum of two years of school and passing a written board as well as a clinical board exam. Dental hygienists are also required to complete a minimum of 20 hours of continuing education every 2 years.

What can you expect from your dental hygienist?

Registered dental hygienists can provide a wide range of services as determined by laws in each state. These services include the following:

• After assessing a patient’s individual oral health condition and incorporating the most current scientific research, including consideration of the impact of oral health on systemic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, dental hygienists plan a specific treatment plan designed to make sure each patient has the best oral health possible.
• Targeted and specific dental hygiene treatment for children, adolescents, adults, geriatrics, and patients who are medically compromised.
• Because targeted and specific systemic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, as well as other conditions, have signs and symptoms that appear in the mouth first, dental hygienists monitor for evidence of disease, and where they find suspicious conditions, inform the patient and recommend a visit to a physician.
• While assessing a patient’s overall health, they also look for problems such as caries (cavities) and periodontal (gum) disease.
• Dental hygienists perform thorough head and neck examinations to look for oral cancer and other problems.
• To prevent and treat disease, they remove plaque (a stubborn bio-film that contains bacteria) and calculus (also known as tartar) both above and below the gum line.
• To prevent caries, dental hygienists provide nutrition counseling, apply fluorides and/or pit and fissure sealants.
• Because dental hygienists specialize in preventive oral health care, they educate their patients, the community, and schools on oral health and its effect on overall health.
• They expose, develop, and interpret oral X-rays.
• In many states, registered dental hygienists may continue their schooling and education to become licensed to administer local anesthesia.
• Dental hygienists also evaluate how their recommendations are working and, when necessary, revise treatment as it progresses to help patients achieve their oral health goals.

The dental hygienist is an excellent resource who can help you and your family keep healthy smiles for a lifetime!

Meet Our Dental Hygienists:

Treby, Registered Dental Hygienist:

We are excited to welcome Treby back as a returning member of our team. She was called away to Hawaii in 2010 to care for her husband who was hit with an IED while deployed to Afghanistan.  

She earned her Associate Degree in Science from Tri-State Business Institute’s Dental Hygiene Program in 2009 with the recognition of "excellence in dental hygiene education." She has an extensive background in the dental field. She has worked in orthodontics (braces), periodontal surgery, oral surgery, and general dentistry. She has also chosen to continue her education and is now licensed to give local anesthesia. She is one of the first and proud few hygienists in Pennsylvania to gain this type of licensing. She spent numerous hours training to give Local Anesthesia both in the classroom and in the clinic. She was taught and uses painless injection techniques.

Treby has a very gentle touch and strives to make each patient feel comfortable and at ease while in her chair. What she loves about working in our office is the high level of care Dr. Marks delivers.  She also values the ample time thepractice allows her to spend serving each patient and educating them about prevention and good oral hygiene. Because prevention plays a vital role in overall health, she enjoys their return visits to her chair, with great checkups, caring about their oral health as much as we do.

Nelson, Registered Dental Hygienist:

Nelson earned his BS in biology from Wheaton College and his AS in dental health from Luzerne Community College, where he was recognized as the outstanding graduate. His professional associations include Sigma Phi Alpha – Dental Hygiene Honors and Sigma Chi - Research Society.

Nelson has a great sense of humor and likes to make his patients feel at ease with funny stories and jokes. Nelson has been enjoying working for Dr. Marks for over the past 12 years. Since Nelson has been here for that length of time he sincerely enjoys the long lasting relationships he has formed with his patients and their families. It gives him great joy to have had the privilege to have seen patients grow from children into adults with great oral health. Nelson knows each patient by name, and considers them all friends.

While caring for our patients over the past twelve years, Nelson has loved the overall commitment to excellence shown by all members of the team at Dr. Marks. He works to maintain highest of standards.