Hygiene Rising

Leah Johnson returns for the annual Know Before You Go episode, this time with Texas on the itinerary. She walks Matt through the biggest change attendees need to know about, the move to first come, first serve seating for all sessions, and explains what building a personal schedule online does and does not reserve for you. Leah covers getting from DFW to downtown Fort Worth on the TexRail for two dollars, hotel concessions worth asking about, and the construction at the convention center that will affect restrooms and one route in. She also runs through what is new this year, including a Crest breakfast open to every attendee for the first time, the first in-person annual business meeting, adoptable puppies on the show floor, and the Western flair coming to the President's Dinner. Practical tips on comfortable shoes, group registration savings and the mobile app round out the conversation.Guest: Leah Johnson, CMP, DES, Director of Meetings, Corporate Development & ADHA FoundationHost: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

GLP-1 medications are everywhere, and dental teams are already seeing the effects at the chair. Pharmacist Anne Misher joins host Matt Crespin for a conversation rooted in the oral-systemic link, and why these drugs are far more than a weight-loss story. She explains how GLP-1s work across diabetes, weight management, heart disease, fatty liver, and sleep apnea, and how their anti-inflammatory effects may even support gum health. Misher breaks down the side effects worth watching, from dry mouth and enamel erosion to the facial changes that follow rapid weight loss. She also shares a practical way to capture an accurate health history when patients hesitate to disclose. The evidence is still emerging, and this episode gives hygienists a real head start. When patients will not say it, the mouth often will.Guest: Anne Misher, PharmD, MBA, CPPHost: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

Host Matt Crespin brings you voices from Milan, where dental hygienists from 47 countries gathered for the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene. Outgoing IFDH President Jill Rethman describes what it was like to sit on a World Health Organization panel as the only dental hygienist in the room, alongside dentists and health ministers from around the world, and what she learned about how many countries have never heard of our profession. That first appearance led to an invitation for IFDH to join the WHO's new Global Coalition on Oral Health. U.S. delegates Kelli Swanson Jaecks and Tammy L. Filipiak share what happens in the two years between symposiums, from committee calls scheduled across a dozen time zones to a new IFDH fellowship program and the decision to open the federation to dental therapists and oral health therapists. They also celebrate ADHA's first ever IFDH Impact Award, First Place in the Large Association category, for the Hygienist Inspired Ambassador Program. Plus, meet newly elected IFDH Secretary Loes Velthoven-Verlinden of the Netherlands and Vice President Cole Gilbert of South Africa, who explain what scope of practice looks like in their countries.Guests: Jill Rethman, RDH, BA, FADHA; Kelli Swanson Jaecks, MA, RDH, FADHA; Tammy L. Filipiak, RDH, MS, FADHA; Loes Velthoven-Verlinden; Cole GilbertHost: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHAwww.ifdh.orgwww.ifdh.org/isdhwww.ifdh.org/podcastwww.adha2026.org

Anne Rice, RDH, BS, has spent more than 35 years as a clinical dental hygienist — and the last several years working at the intersection of oral health and Alzheimer's prevention. In this live conversation recorded at ADHA's Integrated Care Summit 2026, Anne joins host Matt Crespin to talk about why reducing oral inflammation is a direct act of brain health protection, how blood pressure is a non-negotiable clinical data point, and what hygienists can say chairside to connect the dots for patients. She also makes the case for why dental hygienists need to start showing up in medical spaces — and stop waiting to be invited. The brain health conversation needs us at the table.Guest: Anne Rice, RDH, BS, FAAOSH, CDPHost: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHAImportant Links: www.alz.orgwww.adha2026.orgwww.adha.org/events

ADHA has been building its federal presence, and this spring marked a milestone: members on Capitol Hill for the profession's first formal lobby day in 20 years. President Lancette VanGuilder and Advocacy Advisory Committee Chair Alyssa Aberle sit down with Matt Crespin to break down what brought the Advocacy Advisory Committee, ADHA leadership and sponsoring organizations to Washington on April 16, with three specific asks spanning community water fluoridation, Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement for hygienists, and expanded FSA/HSA access for oral care products. They share what the reception was really like, why some offices had never met with a dental hygienist before, and what it felt like to walk through their own state's office doors and make the case for the profession. The follow-ups are already coming in. This is what showing up looks like.Guests: Alyssa Aberle, MBA, RDH, FADHA; Lancette VanGuilder, BS, RDH, PHEDH, CEAS, FADHAHost: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA