HYGIENE edgeUCATORS April event

Description: Dental hygiene educators play a powerful role in shaping how future clinicians observe, think, and advocate for patient health. Every day, students are already assessing the face, the mouth, and function often without realizing how much critical information is right in front of them. Joy will highlight how dental hygiene educators can confidently guide students in recognizing myofunctional patterns and red flags during routine intraoral and extraoral examinations. Using practical, easy-to-integrate strategies, educators will learn how to help students connect what they see to function without adding curriculum overload.

Participants will also gain clarity on the role of the International Association of Orofacial Myology (IAOM), including its history, mission, and why formal certification remains the gold standard for verifying competency in myofunctional therapy. Drawing parallels to third-party testing models such as dental hygiene boards, this discussion reinforces the importance of standardized education, skill validation, and patient protection. This session…