Mastering Collaborative Care: Elevating the Patient Experience with Seamless RDH-Doctor Synergy
Dental Hygienist CE Course
Boost your hygiene-dentist synergy with this hands-on Dental Hygienist CE Course. This comprehensive 1.5-day continuing education experience is designed for dental hygienists and dentists who want to streamline collaboration, improve time management, and enhance the overall patient journey. With a strong focus on patient-centered care, this course provides practical strategies to strengthen co-diagnosis, utilize intraoral imaging and digital tools to tailor treatment plans, and build efficient hygiene workflows. Learn how to confidently manage a range of patient conditions—from health to gingivitis to periodontitis—while aligning your clinical team around predictable, complete dentistry.
Description
Learning Objectives
Details
Instructor(s)
Unlock the full potential of your hygiene-doctor partnership in this hands-on Dental Hygienist CE Course. This 1.5-day program is built for dentists and dental hygienists ready to elevate collaboration, streamline patient care, and boost practice performance. With a patient-centered approach, you’ll gain real-world strategies to improve co-diagnosis, leverage intraoral imaging and digital tools for treatment planning, and develop efficient workflows for managing everything from healthy mouths to periodontal cases.
Through a mix of interactive lectures, case reviews, and hands-on workshops, you’ll also uncover key performance indicators (KPIs) that impact both clinical outcomes and business growth. Leave with your entire clinical team aligned—ready to reduce stress, improve efficiency, and deliver a higher standard of care that drives patient satisfaction and case acceptance.
Design an efficient hygiene schedule that supports comprehensive care by integrating preclinical records, functional assessments, and co-diagnostic moments to identify early signs of instability in the masticatory system, while ensuring smooth patient transitions and reduced provider fatigue.
Refine the art of co-diagnosis by training hygienists to identify signs of functional disharmony—including wear, mobility, abfractions, and TMJ symptoms—through intraoral imaging and occlusal screening, supporting the doctor’s comprehensive treatment plan with confidence and clarity.
Implement advanced screening protocols that distinguish between health, gingivitis, and periodontal disease while integrating functional diagnostics, including muscle palpation and occlusal risk screening, to uncover the root causes impacting both hard and soft tissue health.
Review hygiene innovations to help reduce the risks of hard and soft tissue disease.
Develop hygiene-to-doctor handoff language and patient-facing scripts that incorporate Dawson’s language of stability, balance, and predictability—empowering the team to present treatment options in a way that motivates patients toward long-term health.
Establish a cohesive care model that aligns the doctor and hygienist through shared diagnostic philosophy, team calibration, and preclinical screening protocols that prioritize airway, TMJ health, esthetics, and function—leading to increased trust, elevated outcomes, and a culture of complete dentistry.
Understand the pathway to predictable restorative outcomes with an overview of the Dawson Academy’s Concepts of Complete Dentistry®.
Develop a foundational understanding of the impact the airway and temporomandibular joints have on oral and systemic health.
Be able to identify the signs and symptoms of occlusal disease and how to begin communicating with your patients about these concerns.
Learn the key components of a complete dental examination and, specifically, the critical role the hygienist plays in the record gathering process.
Dates: September 19-20, 2025
CE: TBD
Duration of Class: 1.5 days
Tuition: $1,895
Amber Auger, RDH, MPH
Amber Auger, MPH, RDH, is an international lecturer, 2019 Sunstar/RDH Award of Distinction recipient, and creator of Thrive in the OP and the certified Functional RDH. With more than 24 years in the dental field and practicing hygiene since 2010, Amber empowers professionals through on-demand courses and coaching. She specializes in root-cause soft tissue management, practical protocols, and career development, inspiring clinicians to enhance patient care and achieve career satisfaction.
Amber Auger, RDH, MPH
Shannon Johnson, DMD is an associate faculty member at the Dawson Academy. She also leads two Dawson Study Clubs and teaches the Core Curriculum. Dr. Johnson owns and operates her practice in Louisville, KY.
Create clear, efficient systems between doctors and hygienists to reduce stress, save time, and deliver consistent patient care across all conditions.
Improve Diagnosis and Case Presentation
Train hygienists to use intraoral imaging and digital tools to identify issues early, support co-diagnosis, and increase patient understanding and case acceptance.
Track and Grow with Key Performance Indicators
Learn how to measure hygiene performance with key metrics like reappointment rates and case acceptance — and use the data to drive predictable practice growth.
Quick chairside workflows and eliminating bottlenecks.
Leveraging Intraoral Technology for Co-Diagnosis.
Review intraoral cameras and digital charting tools.
Treatment Differentiation and AAP Classifications.
Case-based exercises on gingivitis, healthy, and periodontal patients.
Day 2 (Half-Day)
Addressing KPIs that Drive Growth.
Setting achievable KPI goals for hygiene and clinical success.
Actionable strategies to meet reappointment and production benchmarks.
Elevating Patient Experience with Collaborative Communication.
Developing treatment presentation scripts
Aligning doctor-hygienist workflows for seamless care.
Understanding Your Path to Complete Dentistry
Who is this course designed for?
This dental hygienist CE course is ideal for dentists and dental hygienists looking to improve collaboration, streamline workflows, and improve the patient experience. Whether you’re seeking better time management, improved co-diagnosis strategies, or ways to integrate digital tools, this course provides practical solutions for a more efficient and profitable practice.
What makes this course unique?
Our dental hygienist CE course goes beyond theory by providing hands-on workshops, real-time case reviews, and actionable strategies for integrating intraoral imaging, voice-activated charting, and digital diagnostics into daily practice. You’ll also learn how to align doctor-hygienist workflows for seamless patient care and increased case acceptance.
How will this course improve my practice?
By optimizing hygiene schedules, refining co-diagnosis skills, and leveraging digital technology, this course helps you create a more efficient, patient-centered practice. You’ll leave with specific strategies to improve communication, increase case acceptance, and track key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive growth.
Is this course hands-on?
Yes! In addition to engaging lectures, this course includes interactive case reviews and hands-on training with intraoral imaging, digital charting, and workflow optimization techniques. You’ll practice real-world applications that can be implemented immediately in your practice.
How do I sign up?
You can register both you, the doctor and you hygienist directly through our website. With limited spots available, we recommend enrolling as soon as possible to secure your place in this interactive learning experience.
Who can take Dawson Academy elective courses?
Electives are open to all dental professionals, including dentists, specialists, hygienists, and dental assistants. Most electives do not require previous Dawson Academy courses, making them a great way to enhance your skills in a specific area of dentistry.
What elective topics are available?
Dawson Academy electives cover a range of focused topics, including: Restorative & Esthetics, TMD & Airway, Implants & Prosthetics and Practice & Team Development Explore the full list of electives here.
Where are electives held?
Electives are offered in multiple locations across the United States, including Florida, Texas, and other major dental hubs. All courses are taught by experienced Dawson Faculty who actively practice dentistry, ensuring real-world application of the techniques you’ll learn.
Are the electives hands-on or lecture-based?
It depends on the course. Some electives are hands-on, allowing you to practice techniques. Others are lecture-based but highly interactive with case discussions.
Do electives offer Continuing Education (CE) credits?
Yes! All electives provide CE credits, with the number of credits varying by course. You’ll receive official documentation upon completion.
How do I register for an elective?
You can register directly on The Dawson Academy website or contact our team for assistance. Some courses have limited seating, so early registration is recommended.
Select Your Location
Invest in Your Future with Easy Course Financing
Take the next step towards mastering occlusion and smile design — without the stress of upfront costs. Explore our financing and secure your spot in Core 1 today.
For registrations paid in full at time of registering, requests to cancel or transfer registration in a Dawson Academy course, lecture, or event will be accommodated until 90 DAYS PRIOR to start date. Upon request a refund will be provided minus a $200.00 non-refundable deposit, or a one-time course, lecture, or event transfer, which remains valid for 12 months. Less than 90 days prior to course, no refunds or transfers will be issued.
*Students who finance tuition through the Lending Club financing program are subject to special terms and conditions.
Please contact The Dawson Academy at 1.800.952.2178 for full details.
The Dawson Academy is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. The Dawson Academy designates this activity for 18 credit hours continuing education credits.
Scholar Study Club
For Dawson Scholars Graduates
Atlanta Study Club
Atlanta Study Club
Bourbon State Study Club
Mid-Michigan Study Club
NYC Study Club
NJ Study Club
NJ Study Club
Ohio Study Club
South Carolina Study Club
St. Petersburg Study Club
VIRTUAL: Northeast
VIRTUAL: Virtually Aligned
Mastering Collaborative Care: Elevating the Patient Experience with Seamless RDH-Doctor Synergy
The Dawson Academy is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider.
ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.
Concerns or complaints about a CE provider may be directed to the provider or to the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition at ADA.org/CERP.