Presented by: Krystal Afzalzada, B.Ed, RDH, CDAII

Beyond the Clinical Chair: Supporting the Whole Person in Dental Hygiene Care

CE Hours: 4

Online Dates:

Part 1: Saturday, November 21st - 10:00AM - 12:00 PM EST

Part 2: Saturday, November 28th - 10:00AM - 12:00 PM EST

This mini-series builds on themes introduced in Krystal’s previous course, The Aging Population, Alzheimer’s & Oral Health: A Hygienist’s Role, expanding the conversation into focused areas that influence the care of older adults and their caregivers.

If you would like to check out that course, you may click here to learn more and register!

Attendance at The Aging Population, Alzheimer’s & Oral Health: A Hygienist’s Role is not a prerequisite; each session is designed to stand on its own while offering participants an opportunity to explore these areas in greater depth.

Course Description:

As dental hygienists care for an increasingly diverse and aging population, effective care extends beyond clinical procedures. Clients and their caregivers may be navigating grief, caregiver burden, trauma, cognitive and functional changes, nutritional concerns, mental health challenges, and complex decisions surrounding consent and autonomy.

This four-part mini-series explores the human, clinical, and professional considerations that can influence the dental hygiene experience. Participants will develop practical strategies to recognize individual needs, communicate with empathy, adapt care, and collaborate with caregivers and other health professionals while maintaining appropriate professional and ethical boundaries.

Through four focused topics : caregiver grief and burden, trauma-informed care, nutrition and the aging mouth, and ethical and legal considerations in senior care, participants will gain practical approaches that can be incorporated into everyday dental hygiene practice to support dignity, autonomy, safety, and person-centred care.

Part 1:

Caring for the Caregiver: Navigating Grief in Dental Hygiene

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

Recognize signs of caregiver burden, anticipatory grief, and ambiguous loss and describe how these experiences may affect oral health routines, communication, and care decisions.
Apply empathetic communication strategies during emotionally challenging dental hygiene interactions while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.
Adapt oral health recommendations to reflect caregiver capacity and identify when additional community or interprofessional support may be appropriate.

Empathy & Trauma-Informed Care in Dental Hygiene

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

Recognize verbal, non-verbal, and behavioural signs of distress that may indicate a need for greater emotional safety during dental hygiene care.
Apply trauma-informed principles of safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment through empathetic and permission-based communication.
Adapt dental hygiene interactions and clinical care to reduce potential triggers, increase predictability and client control, and support dignity and participation without requiring disclosure of a trauma history.

Part 2:

Seniors, Nutrition & the Aging Mouth: The Oral Health–Mental Health Connection

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

Identify oral, nutritional, medication-related, functional, and psychosocial factors that may place older adults at increased risk for oral disease and nutritional concerns.
Explain the interconnected relationships among oral health, nutrition, xerostomia, medications, mental health, cognitive function, and overall well-being in older adults.
Apply appropriate assessment, education, preventive strategies, and interprofessional collaboration when nutritional or psychosocial concerns are identified during dental hygiene care.

Ethical & Legal Considerations in Treating Senior Clients

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

Differentiate consent, capacity, autonomy, and substitute decision-making considerations that may arise when providing dental hygiene care to older adults.
Apply an ethical decision-making process to situations involving cognitive change, refusal of care, safety concerns, competing interests, or caregiver involvement.
Demonstrate appropriate communication and documentation practices that support client rights, informed decision-making, continuity of care, and professional accountability.

Can’t attend live? All sessions are recorded and automatically uploaded to your rdhu Members Portal within 2–3 days — no need to request access. You'll receive immediate access to the portal, post-test quiz, and certificate right after the course. Recordings remain available for 30 days.