NZ Dental Hygiene REX flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

HPCA Act 2003

New Zealand statute that regulates health practitioners through responsible authorities such as the Dental Council, defining scopes of practice and competence requirements.

Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights

New Zealand code conferring ten rights on health consumers, including informed consent (Right 7), information (Right 6), privacy (Right 1) and complaints (Right 10).

Informed consent elements

Valid consent requires the patient to be competent, adequately informed about the procedure, risks, benefits, alternatives and consequences of declining, and free from coercion.

Health Information Privacy Code 2020

New Zealand code under the Privacy Act governing collection, storage, use, disclosure and access of health information, including patients' right to access their records.

Cultural safety

A practice where the patient determines whether care is culturally safe, requiring the clinician to examine their own biases and power in the clinical relationship.

Standard precautions

Infection control measures applied to all patients regardless of diagnosis, including hand hygiene, gloves, mask, eye protection, gown and safe sharps handling.

Class B autoclave

Vacuum-assisted steam steriliser that removes air from the chamber, enabling sterilisation of wrapped, hollow and porous items; requires biological and chemical indicators.

Needlestick injury response

Wash the wound with soap and water, report immediately, assess source risk for HBV, HCV and HIV, and initiate post-exposure prophylaxis within the recommended window.

Sharps container rule

Rigid, puncture-resistant, yellow container placed at point of use, never overfilled beyond three-quarters, and replaced when full or at the end of the session.

Dentine composition

Dentine is approximately 70% mineral (hydroxyapatite), 20% organic material (mostly type I collagen) and 10% water, permeated by dentinal tubules.

Hydrodynamic theory

Theory that dentine sensitivity arises from fluid movement within dentinal tubules, stimulating A-delta nerve fibres at the pulp-dentine junction.

Junctional epithelium

Epithelial attachment to the tooth surface via hemidesmosomes and internal basal lamina, approximately 1 mm long, forming the soft tissue seal against the oral environment.

Biologic width

Combined dimension of junctional epithelium (about 1 mm) and supracrestal connective tissue attachment (about 1 mm), totalling approximately 2 mm.

Salivary buffering

Bicarbonate is the principal salivary buffer, with phosphate and proteins contributing; resting pH is 6.7–7.4, and stimulated flow increases buffering capacity.

Red complex bacteria

Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia and Treponema denticola, a microbial cluster strongly associated with established periodontitis.

Periodontal staging

2018 classification dimension describing severity and complexity of periodontitis using clinical attachment loss, radiographic bone loss, tooth loss and complexity factors.

Periodontal grading

2018 classification dimension describing rate of progression (A slow, B moderate, C rapid) using bone loss/age ratio and risk factors such as smoking and diabetes.

Bleeding on probing

Marker of active gingival inflammation; its absence has high negative predictive value for stability, while persistent BOP at deep sites indicates ongoing risk.

ICDAS scoring

Caries detection system scoring lesions 0 (sound) to 6 (extensive cavitation), distinguishing non-cavitated from cavitated lesions to guide prevention versus restoration.

Fluoride varnish

Professional topical containing 22,600 ppm fluoride, applied every 3–6 months to high-risk patients to reduce caries increment in primary and permanent teeth.

Fissure sealant

Resin-based coating applied to deep pits and fissures of permanent molars, reducing caries by around 80% when placed soon after eruption in high-risk patients.

Silver diamine fluoride

38% solution that arrests active dentinal caries and stains arrested lesions black; used for high-risk, young or uncooperative patients.

Oral potentially malignant disorders

Clinical entities such as leukoplakia, erythroplakia, oral submucous fibrosis and actinic cheilitis with increased risk of transformation to squamous cell carcinoma.

Oral cancer red flags

Ulceration persisting beyond two weeks, induration, fixed or non-healing lesions, unexplained bleeding, paraesthesia or neck lump warrant urgent referral.

Oral lichen planus

Chronic immune-mediated condition presenting with bilateral white Wickham striae, most often on buccal mucosa; erosive forms require biopsy and topical corticosteroid treatment.

MRONJ

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw, associated with bisphosphonates, denosumab and anti-angiogenics, presenting as exposed bone persisting beyond eight weeks.

Gracey curette adaptation

Area-specific curette used with the terminal shank parallel to the tooth long axis, blade angulated 70 degrees, and one cutting edge adapted to the root surface.

Clinical attachment loss

Calculated as probing depth plus recession (or minus hyperplasia), representing the distance from the cemento-enamel junction to the base of the periodontal pocket.

Motivational interviewing

Patient-centred counselling using open questions, affirmations, reflections and summaries to explore ambivalence and strengthen intrinsic motivation for behaviour change.

Transtheoretical model

Behaviour change model with stages of precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and relapse, with interventions matched to the patient's current stage.

Te Whare Tapa Whā

Māori health framework by Mason Durie comprising taha tinana, taha hinengaro, taha whānau and taha wairua, used to frame holistic oral health promotion.

ALARA principle

Radiation protection principle requiring dose to be as low as reasonably achievable, supported by justification of each exposure and optimisation of technique.