Dental hygiene is about far more than scaling and polishing.

In this episode of The Dental Handoff, Dr. Kelly Tanner sits down with hygienist and educator Barbara Tritz, RDH, to explore how dentistry can move beyond “just cleaning teeth” and begin addressing the deeper systemic factors that influence oral health.

This conversation is for dental hygienists, dentists, practice owners, and dental educators who want to rethink prevention and reconnect with the reason they entered healthcare in the first place.

Barbara shares her personal journey from burnout in clinical hygiene to rediscovering purpose through biological dental hygiene, oral-systemic connections, airway health, and diagnostic tools like phase-contrast microscopy.

Together they explore questions many clinicians are quietly asking:

Are we treating symptoms instead of root causes?
What happens when we actually see the bacteria driving disease?
How can hygienists become true prevention specialists in healthcare?

You’ll learn how biological dentistry, airway awareness, and patient education can transform the operatory from a routine hygiene visit into a meaningful health intervention.

If you’ve ever wondered whether dentistry could be more impactful, more preventive, and more fulfilling, this episode is for you.

Barbara K. Tritz, BRDH, MSB, BSDATE, is an internationally recognized speaker and biological dental hygienist practicing at Green City Dental in Edmonds, Washington. She is also the owner of Washington Oral Wellness in Kirkland, WA, specializing in orofacial myofunctional therapy and biological dental hygiene.

Barbara is accredited in Biological Dental Hygiene by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) and serves as chair of the IAOMT Biological Dental Hygiene Committee.

👇 We’d love to hear from you:

What changed your perspective about prevention in dentistry?

Connect with Barbara:
queenofdentalhygiene.net
https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-tritz-2021/

Where to Find Dr. Kelly:

Let's Connect! Book a Call today to see how I can help you create high-performance teams, discuss educational programs, or how I can be of assistance.

https://calendly.com/drkellytanner/30min

Visit us at https://www.nextleveldentalhygiene.com

Episode 196 | Just Cleanings? Look Deeper - Barbara Tritz