New York Dental Hygienists Association

New York State Annual Session Report 2022
By Susan P. Burzynski RDH, MSEd, WDHA President/Delegate 2022 

What a great session!!! If you didn’t attend, shame on you! The NYDHA planning committee did an outstanding job of lining up outstanding speakers. You could get up to 12 CEUs in two days! 

My day started out with Community Dental Health Coordinators: Bridge-Builders of Oral Health with Jane Grover and Betsy Bray. Here we learned what it took to be a Community Dental Health Coordinator (1 CE). Next was a hands on Instrumentation Workshop: Advanced Scaling, Special Fulcrums, Root Planing with Laura Fassacesia (4 CEs). If you haven’t heard Laura, what are you waiting for??? She is not only informative, but funny. I told her, after she explained a certain fulcrum, that I had a patient that who couldn’t open as wide as a typodent (haven’t we all had those patients???). Her response was to cut off their ear! In one day I received 5 CEs! Easy! 

Day two: Common Oral Soft Lesions with Dr Christopher Bowers. Here we reviewed most of what we learned (and may have forgotten) in hygiene school (2 CEs). Then lunch! Current Issues in Dental Hygiene Practice: Policy, Law, Scope, Regulations, Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities with Dr Dorota Kopycka-Kedzierawski, Lorraine Carhart and our own VP of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy, Robin Grasso. This was a 2 hr CE where we learned about populations that don’t have access to care. We were encouraged, as hygienists to apply for our NPI number. And finally, to go periodically to our practice act page and see if there have been changes as to what we can and can not do, as well as changes in our CE requirements. Finally, we took a 2 hr CE on Patient Communication: Motivational Interviewing with Kristin Hofer. How many of us have had patients that said “I HATE coming to the dentist” or “I HATE to floss” or “ you’re hurting my gums!” the list goes on. In one day I got 6 CEs! So a two day total of 11 CEs!!! That is 1 year worth of CE requirements! 

I wrote this report with joy and sadness….can you do that? Can you have two emotions at the same time? It is with sadness that I write my last report as a WDHA delegate. I will be retiring from the WDHA board effective May 31, 2023; as well as I will no longer be your WDHA President. PLEASE, if you feel so inclined, to help this board, do so! Most of the board will be retiring, so even if you can’t give 100% of your time, offer to give SOME of it. Help sending out emails, or if you are “techy” help with the technology. 

I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve these last two years as your president and the last four years as your delegate. WDHA is an amazing group of dental hygienists!