ABSTRACT
The first dental hygienist on record was in 1906 and the first dental hygiene courses began in 1913 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Graduates can now earn associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees in dental hygiene with emphasis not only on removing said accretions from the teeth above and below the gumline, but to now having a full understanding of how the body reacts to such accretions and the necessary measures for disease prevention for both the patient and the clinician. Studies consistently support the correlation between poor oral health and several systemic diseases, such as periodontal disease, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, certain cancers, diabetes, low birth-weight babies, and possibly dementia. The oral cavity plays a central role in the process of infection. The majority of dental procedures allow such microorganisms to become airborne in the form of aerosols and stay suspended contaminating the air within treatment areas.
