From Athleticism to Oral Artistry: Winning Strategies for Dental Health with Dr. Teryn Mendenhal

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Welcome to the Dentistry for Kidz podcast. This is Angelina here today. We have a very special guest, Dr. Mendenhal. She played competitive soccer and first went to the Utah Valley University, Utah where she obtained her associate of art in 2004. She then went on to Dixie State College and for her Bachelor of Applied Science, dental hygiene, and has more recently obtained her Doctor of Dental Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She has done research on APBs effects on cells and was rewarded the end ontic club Achievement Award at the UNLV Dental School of Dental Medicine, where she completed 10 Plus molar and adatta cases. She has worked in a variety places such as Nevada, Utah, Peru and Ecuador. We're so excited to have you here today. How you feeling?

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: Really good, really good. It's good to be here.

Ya know, we're great to have you here too. So I just want to start off with how did you get introduced to dentistry?

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: Yeah, initially, I was just trying to kind of have a plan for when I went to college. And I had a cousin who was a dental hygienist. And so she introduced me to the field through dental hygiene. And I just knew that I wanted to do health care. I knew I wanted to work with patients and things like that. And so when the college that I was going to for soccer, I found out they had a dental hygiene program. And so from then that kind of picked my path to become a high JENICE. Yeah, and I loved it. I loved being a hygienist I practiced for eight years, you get like a special patient relationship when you're a hygienist just because you're in the chair with them the whole time. Unlike the dentists, we're in and out of each room. But as I was working, I just realized I wanted more. I wanted to treat patients in more depth, I wanted to have a wider range of practices that I could offer patients. So that's when I decided to go back to dental school. Oh, I

see. Was there any like particular reason you chose UNLV? Or was it just like, you

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: know what it was? Financially, I was able to be a resident and UNLV or a resident at the University of Utah. So those were kind of my two top choices. Oh, I

see. And

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: I'm initially from Las Vegas. I had some roots here, too. So Oh,

did you move from Las Vegas to Utah? Or?

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: Yeah, yeah, I grew up here in Vegas. And then I did a lot of my schooling in Utah. But then coming back for dental school. Oh, I

see. I don't know why I just thought you grew up in Utah.

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: There's a lot of Utah in history, so I can understand where that came from.

I'd like cuz I know, you've worked in a lot of places such as like Peru, Ecuador, Nevada, and Utah. So how was that? And like, what are some of the differences you see across regions?

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: Yeah, so for my experience in Peru and Ecuador, it was mostly through humanitarian projects that were based around dentistry. So we would go to one was the Galapagos Islands. And we offered basically a free clinic for patients. There was a few dentists and I was there as a hygienist at that time. But they would wait in line and basically get as much treatment as they could that day, or if there was any emergency treatment, we would try to do that at that time. And I really enjoyed it. And then in Peru, it was like a small community that needed some dental care. The one thing I did take note of is, I think it's great to offer your services as a medical provider, especially when you offer something like surgeries or things that they don't have access to. You just have to keep in mind that you can't it's not that great to come in and then leave. You know, it's really important to come in and leave education, we hygiene things, leave something that they can maintain instead of just, of course, like those emergency surgeries are needed. I just think there's another step to it both providing the education and home care.

I see. And I know we have a lot of young listeners here. So are there any like resources or like YouTube channels or books that you would recommend them to read to kind of get more understanding

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: of home care or traveling abroad?

Oh, I just was like of health care in general, just like the education you were addressing? Yeah,

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: yeah. You know what, at the time, I mostly went through like my counselors in order to know the path like education wise. But as far as hygiene I like, I don't think there is a ton of great information out there on oral hygiene. They talk to your hygienist, ask your dentist, like have them show you physically what you need to be doing to take care of your teeth. Oh, thank

you so much for sharing that. And I know that you've had experience with Moeller endodontic cases. Could you explain what that is and why it's important.

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: Yeah, I'm, I'm was a dentist, and the dentist has little tubules that extend to the pulp of the tooth. And the Pope has your blood supply and your nerves. So if decay gets to the pulp of the tooth, what it does is it follows the canals down and affects your bone. And in that case, the only way to save the tooth and to not have infection in your bone is to have a root canal. As far as why molar is specific compared to the other teeth, it's just the fact that their root anatomy is so unpredictable. It can have you know, from three canals to five canals. And so I will do molar Endo, depending on how straightforward the X ray is. But I'm also not afraid to refer to an endodontist because as a general dentists, you kind of get to be the quarterback for your patient. If there's certain procedures that that you don't feel comfortable doing or you feel like a specialist would do better, then you can refer them for those things. So it's depends on for me as a general dentist, it depends on the case on which endo is it for which extractions I do which implants? I do?

Are there tips you would have to help? Like minimize the cases? Or is it just more of a like genetic thing? That Oh, whether

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: or not you need a root canal?

Yeah, I guess or just like mantaining what's a call like? Prevention? Okay.

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: preventatively I mean, the biggest, it's the like, oldest dental quote in the book, like only floss the teeth you want to keep, like, so many things. So many disease processes start in the adolescent years. So like, between 10 and 22. That's where a lot of the disease process starts as far as getting cavities between your teeth. So just making sure your your daily and technique is important like to hold the floss against the tooth and not just like move it up and down real fast. But um, yeah, prevention wise, daily brushing and flossing. That's kind of sounds silly. But

no, thanks for sharing. Like going along this path. What do you think are some of the common misconceptions about like, oral

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: stuff like that, that common myths and conceptions is when patients feel like if their parents had bad teeth, that they're going to have bad teeth? Because yes, like genetics does determine the acidity of our saliva. And water fluoridation determines like, how much acid our teeth can withstand before getting decay in general. And so those are some factors that come into play. But if you're physically removing the plaque off your teeth, then that biofilm doesn't progress to the point of causing disease. Oh,

I see. I know, as a dentist, you mentioned that one of your top priorities is just helping patients experience comfort, what's your secret? Making patients or even kids feel comfortable in your chair?

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: I'm upfront with them. Like I don't try to hide the needle. I don't try to like surprise them or anything. I asked them upfront, like do you prefer to know what's going on? Or do you prefer me to not say anything, you know? And then they can tell me their communication style? Yeah,

that's great. Have you like, what's it called witness a lot of scared kids. And if you have like, what are some of the advice you would give to kids to help calm their nerves? I

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: would have them or just suggest that they communicate what they're feeling or like what they're scared about. So that it can actually be talked about or addressed and not just like brushed over and then also always just like breathe, because in the dental chair, I mean, think about it, we lay the patient back, we tell them to open their mouth, we're using sharp instruments and burrs. So in general, the patient's going to be tense. So just remembering to breathe to. Oh, I

see. Thank you. Thank you for sharing. And then I know like as a dental hygienist, you're supposed to have like, a lot of cleaning and everything. How often do you suggest your patients to get their cleaning done?

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: For every six months is a good time. If you have gum disease, then that's when you're looking at like every three months. Oh, I see ice or if you're more prone to get gum disease, then you might do every three months. Just preventatively. Oh, thank

you. And then I know you mentioned flossing before. But like, obviously, with your work experience, you've done a great job of helping patients maintain oral care. What are some of your top tips for kids to keep their teeth healthy and strong?

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: My top tips, I guess I would explain it as plaque is like a sticky substance that is made up of carbohydrates, bacteria in your saliva. And you would think that maybe you could swish it off or something like that. But it can't be removed unless it's mechanically disrupted. And by mechanically disrupted I mean, the physical bristles of your toothbrush or the physical upgrade, flossing going in between. So just picture when you're brushing and flossing, just making sure that you're getting each surface like I start in the back and then slowly picture getting each tooth as I go around. Just because if you're not physically touching the tooth with those bristles, then it's not going to come off. Oh, thank

you for sharing. And I know like, often times so I go to the store. When I rent out like toothpaste or like I'm getting a toothbrush. There's a lot of different options do you suggest any brand or any ingredients to look out for.

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: I always I prefer soft bristle toothbrushes just because you can do some damage with the medium and the hard bristles with your gum tissue. And then as far as active ingredients on toothpaste, it's really good to have a topical fluoride. So like a sodium fluoride or stannous fluoride in the toothpaste is good to help prevent cavities. Basically, your teeth decay at an acidity of about you know the pH scale. Yes, your tooth decay at about an acidity of 5.5. If you have fluoride, you know while your teeth are developing, it lowers the amount you can withstand more acid before getting to k. So that is the benefit of topical fluoride.

I see. And then I know like there's a lot of acidic drinks such as like soda and everything like that. Would you recommend kids to sort of stay away for it from it or like drink in moderation? Yeah,

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: the the way that your mouth works is it takes about 20 minutes for your saliva to neutralize your mouth. So if you are sipping on a soda throughout the whole day, every you know every 15 minutes, you're reintroducing that acidic environment because you're taking another sip taking another sip. So go ahead and enjoy your soda. But then, you know, be done with it, then have water or like wait, let your mouth neutralize and let it be the environment it's supposed to be. So it's like with the m&ms diet wise someone might say like eat one m&m every 30 minutes, but teeth wise, it'd be better for you to have your m&ms and then let your mouth neutralize and not be exposed to that environment again. Oh,

I see. Thank you so much for sharing. And I do have any like fun dental facts that you think kids might find interesting or surprising.

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: I learned recently, the snail has 2760 Ti and so I was thinking a cool idea for an office would be to have like each room feature a different animal and the facts about their teeth. Oh wait, I should I think that's cute. Yeah, right. I think their whole their whole bottom their whole foot is considered their stomach and so it's all lined by these little teeth that they call her annulus Oh, we

actually didn't know that

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: kind of nerdy but

And, like, I know, some kids might be interested in dentistry out there. So what do you describe a typical day is as a dentist or even as a dental hygienists, ya

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: know, as the dentist. That typical days you have. Usually I usually do two chairs. So you have two chairs with your assistants and they kind of alternate treatment throughout the day, whether you're doing a crown or some fillings for a patient or extractions, and they're alternated. And then you'll also have your hygiene chairs where you'll need to go to do exams. So you're kind of, you're not jumping around a lot. I don't feel like rushed or anything in the practice that I'm in. But yeah, you're basically alternating between doing treatment on patients like fillings and crowns. In general dentistry, that's kind of like the bread and butter. And then you'll also be doing exams on the hygiene patients. Oh, I see. And they usually run like an eight hour day. And it's common for some dentists to work four days a week. Oh,

I see. Just because it's

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: hard on your back. Oh, yeah.

A lot back homes from bed.

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: Bending over, like the ergonomics is really important. But

you get any massages for it, or is it just like, yeah, I,

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: I had, like, there was a, I don't know, I think it's important to get frequent massages, when you're in a profession that you're bent over, you know,

for sure. And I know, like, I'm kind of jumping around right now. But, um, like, one of the things questions that kind of popped in my mind was that used to be like a student athlete. So I was just wondering, like, how you balance school while having to, like play soccer? And like, do all your extra curricular activities at the same time? Yeah.

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: I don't know, if I was the best at managing it. You know, I sometimes I would be up late doing assignments, or, you know, not, but I, I feel like it's just one of those things where you have the responsibility, and then your eyes to it. You know? And that probably sounds like a bunch of voodoo. But no, I think just managing your you your practice schedule is set every day. And you have like your days of travel already. And so it's just managing that time for exams or papers, and then still fulfilling your athletic responsibilities. So definitely, like, just calendar and planning. Oh, I

see. No, that's great. No, thank you for sharing. Do you use like, you know, like, any, like, Google Calendar? Have you heard? Like, yeah, I?

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: Yes. Sometimes I still, I mostly use my my phone calendar. And I also use like reminders for immediate things that I know, I need to pay attention to right away. And then, yeah, that's what I use. What do you use? Oh,

I also use them the calendar, but like I had I download this app called notion in, you can also have founder makes it aesthetic. So it's like, nice. I don't know, it's pleasing to look at, but it helps for sure. I know that. And then I guess we're about to conclude. But what advice do you want to give to aspiring dentists?

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: Yeah, I would say like, stick to it, don't give up because it can be really daunting with the prerequisite courses that they require. And you can get caught up in wanting to make sure you get an A in every course where you get this high score on the exam. But really, what's important is that you complete what you're, what they're requiring you to complete. So don't get don't beat up on yourself. If you know you get a lower grade. And of course, just keep moving forward. And and don't you know, compared to other students just keep moving forward on your own goals. Oh,

I see. Thank you so much for sharing. Thank you. Yeah, no, thank you so much for coming today. And now we'll wrap up the episode but I'm so grateful that we got to talk today and you got to share your journey.

Dr. Teryn Mendenhal: Thank you very much.

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