The "Hygiene Message in a Bottle Mailbag" is a new monthly feature of the e-newsletter, Pearls for Your Practice: The Product Navigator. Each month, Colleen Olson, RDH, the editorial director for the Hygiene Product Navigator,will answer reader-submitted questions to help you navigate your dental hygiene product decisions (and more!). This month, she replies to a question about the type of saliva ejector she uses.
QUESTION:
Alex from Coffeyville, Kansas, wrote: What type of saliva ejector do you use?
ANSWER:
One of my favorite products in our office is the SecureTip saliva ejector. Before trying this product, I thought all saliva ejectors were essentially the same. Once I tried the SecureTip saliva ejector, I quickly found that wasn't the case.
While all of the other brands I'd used in the past relied on the friction between the ejector and the rubber valve tip to hold them in place, the SecureTip Saliva Ejector screws securely into the valve. The way it locks into the valve makes it virtually impossible for the ejector to fall out. While I wouldn't say that having a saliva ejector pop out of the valve during the middle of ultrasonic scaling was a common occurrence, it was irritating and a nuisance when it did happen. Since switching to the SecureTip saliva ejector, I don't ever have to worry about this happening.
The other great feature is the embedded copper wire that runs the length of the saliva ejector. The wire helps the ejector retain its shape and makes the saliva ejector strong enough to allow hygienists to use it for cheek retraction. As an added bonus, the tips are available online via Amazon Prime. These features set the SecureTip saliva ejector apart from all others and make it a worthwhile investment for our office.
LAST MONTH'S HYGIENE MAILBAG | Products for dry mouth relief
Editor's Note: Do you have a question for Colleen? Is there a product you'd like to see her review? Or would you like to submit your own hygiene product "Pearl"? Send an email to [email protected]. You might just see it in the Hygiene Product Navigator! If you're not a Product Navigator subscriber, click here to sign up.
Colleen M. Olson, RDH, is an editorial director for the e-newsletter, Pearls for Your Practice: The Product Navigator. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M University in 2008 and worked in sales for five years. She graduated from the Blinn College Dental Hygiene program in 2013. She is currently a full-time hygienist in private practice in San Antonio, Texas. Colleen enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, Zach, and their dogs, a Great Dane named Shiner and a shepherd mix named Duddley.
