The Blog
Companion reads to every episode. Oral-systemic health, airway, sleep, and whole-body wellness — written for hygienists, patients, and curious humans.
19 posts · updated August 21, 2026
- Episode 18Dental Hygiene
The Guygienist: Matthew Bradley, RDH on Being a Male Dental Hygienist, Refusing Mediocrity, and Bridging Medical and Dental
By Lauren & Anastasia · August 21, 2026 · 13 min read
Matthew Bradley, RDH — The Guygienist — grew up with three to five cavities every six months and thought he'd have dentures by 18. Now he's one of the loudest voices in dental hygiene. We talk men in hygiene, medical-dental integration, dry mouth after radiation, and when a 5mm pocket actually needs SRP.
Read the full article - Episode 17Controversial Conversations
Everything Your Grandmother Told You About Oral Health Might Be Wrong: Dental Myths Two Hygienists Refuse to Let Die
By Lauren & Anastasia · August 20, 2026 · 12 min read
Listerine started as a surgical antiseptic and a floor cleaner. The six-month cleaning came from marketing. Baking soda is less abrasive than your whitening toothpaste. Two RDHs take a wrecking ball to the oral health advice you inherited.
Read the full article - Episode 16Controversial Conversations
The Badass Hygienist: Melissa A. Obrotka on Scope of Practice, Standard of Care, and Why Dental Hygiene Has to Change
By Lauren & Anastasia · August 15, 2026 · 12 min read
Melissa A. Obrotka, RDH — better known as The Badass Hygienist — on why hygiene school builds calculus technicians instead of clinicians, what standard of care actually means, and why the profession has to look inward before it demands more.
Read the full article - Episode 15Oral-Systemic Health
Your Tongue Has Opinions: Vitamin Deficiency Signs in the Mouth, Gut Health & Sleep
By Lauren & Anastasia · August 5, 2026 · 13 min read
Angular cheilitis, bleeding gums, a glossy tongue, dry mouth at 3 a.m. — the mouth is the body's early warning system. A full breakdown of vitamin D, vitamin C, zinc, magnesium, B vitamins, fiber, probiotics, and sleep, from two hygienists who refuse to stop at 'brush and floss more.'
Read the full article - Episode 14Dental Hygiene
Holly Moons' Bowl of Questions: Why No Dentist Is Coming to Rescue Your Career
By Lauren & Anastasia · July 29, 2026 · 10 min read
No script, no bullet points, just a bowl of questions and a hygienist who refuses to sugarcoat it. Holly Moons on bad equipment, patient control battles, staying curious, and buying your own damn loupes.
Read the full article - Episode 13Dental Hygiene
What Hygiene School Doesn't Teach You: The Survival Guide for New Grad Dental Hygienists
By Lauren & Anastasia · July 26, 2026 · 11 min read
Nobody hands you a clipboard-carrying instructor on day one. Speed, imposter syndrome, weird offices, perfectionism, and the interview questions nobody taught you to ask — the lessons you only learn out in the dental jungle.
Read the full article - Episode 12Dental Hygiene
Brush With Britt: How One Dental Hygienist Turned TikTok Into a Movement — And What Every RDH Can Steal From Her Playbook
By Lauren & Anastasia · July 16, 2026 · 12 min read
World Hygienist Award winner. Speaker. Podcaster. Educator. TikTok famous. Britt started posting during COVID with nothing to lose — and became one of the loudest voices in dental hygiene. Here's the full conversation, the playbook, and the permission slip.
Read the full article - Episode 11Oral-Systemic Health
Your Mouth, Your Gut, Your Immune System: The Inflammation Conversation Nobody Told You Was Connected
By Lauren & Anastasia · July 12, 2026 · 13 min read
Bleeding gums, bloating, brain fog, and autoimmune flare-ups aren't separate problems — they're the same conversation showing up in different parts of your body. Here's what the oral-gut-immune axis actually means, and what to do about it.
Read the full article - Episode 10Dental Hygiene
Why Curious Hygienists Will Shape the Future of Dentistry: Michelle Strange on Evidence, Independence, and Evolving the Profession
By Lauren & Anastasia · July 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Michelle Strange, RDH — 25+ year hygienist, educator, infection-prevention expert, and hygienist-owned practice owner in Colorado — on curiosity, evidence-based care, and building a bigger career in dental hygiene.
Read the full article - Episode 09Oral-Systemic Health
Your Mouth Is the Messenger: The Oral-Systemic, Airway, and Gut Connection Nobody Told You About
By Lauren & Anastasia · June 25, 2026 · 11 min read
Bleeding gums, snoring, scalloped tongues, dry mouth, recurrent cavities — these aren't isolated dental issues. They're your body snitching. Here's what your hygienist is actually reading.
Read the full article - Episode 08Dental Hygiene
Skip the Scrape with Joy Davis: Air Polishing, Airway, and Rethinking Modern Hygiene
By Lauren & Anastasia · June 25, 2026 · 11 min read
Episode 8 — Joy Davis (RDH, founder of Skip the Scrape) joins Lauren and Anastasia to challenge the six-month-recall myth, talk biofilm-first care with Guided Biofilm Therapy, and explain why hygienists are the airway profession nobody told them they were.
Read the full article - Airway Health
Mouth Breathing and Sleep: The Hidden Airway Crisis Nobody Diagnosed
By Lauren & Anastasia · June 12, 2026 · 9 min read
Mouth breathing is not a quirk — it's a downstream symptom of an airway your body is fighting to keep open. Here's what the science says, and why hygienists are the first line of defense.
Read the full article - Episode 07Healthcare Burnout
Imposter Syndrome in Dental Hygiene: Being Qualified and Still Feeling Like You Don't Belong
By Lauren & Anastasia · June 11, 2026 · 10 min read
Episode 7 — Lauren and Anastasia get raw about imposter syndrome: the wiring, the trauma, the people-pleasing, and how hygienists can stop shrinking and start owning the room.
Read the full article - Episode 06Functional Medicine
From Free Scrubs to Functional Medicine: Amanda Hale on Biological Hygiene, Microbiome Testing, and Healing Your Whole Body
By Lauren & Anastasia · June 8, 2026 · 10 min read
Our very first guest, Amanda Hale (RDH, biological dentistry advocate, functional medicine health coach), joins Anastasia and Lauren to talk sleep, SIBO, mitochondria, oral microbiome testing, 80- and 140-pound transformations, and why dentistry profits when hygiene fails.
Read the full article - Episode 05Dental Hygiene
What We Actually Do With Our Patients (That Most Offices Don't): Airway and Whole-Body Dental Hygiene
By Lauren & Anastasia · June 8, 2026 · 10 min read
Spoiler: it's way more than scraping tartar and reminding you to floss. Anastasia and Lauren walk through what a real airway- and whole-body-focused hygiene appointment looks like — from GBT and biofilm to perio probing, oral cancer screening, sleep-disordered breathing, and CBCT airway analysis.
Read the full article - Episode 04Healthcare Burnout
Undervalued and Underappreciated: Why Dental Hygienists Are Burning Out (and How We Fix It)
By Lauren & Anastasia · June 8, 2026 · 10 min read
Dental hygienists are highly educated healthcare providers — not 'the girl who cleans teeth.' Anastasia and Lauren unpack where the perception came from, the truth about the six-month cleaning myth, and how hygienists can reclaim their voice.
Read the full article - Episode 03Myofunctional Therapy
Lauren Kennedy's Journey: From Flight Attendant to Myofunctional Therapist and Unhinged Hygienist
By Lauren & Anastasia · June 8, 2026 · 10 min read
Lauren Kennedy shares her wild ride from aspiring therapist to United Airlines flight attendant, Home Depot flooring expert, and finally the myofunctional therapist changing lives one airway at a time.
Read the full article - Episode 02Women's Health
Anastasia's Journey: From a Lost Greek Girl to a Healthcare Advocate Who Refused to Give Up
By Lauren & Anastasia · June 8, 2026 · 10 min read
Anastasia Dallas shares her raw, unfiltered story — strict upbringing, accidental career, divorce, autoimmune crisis, and the year-long battle with chronic hives that taught her the power of self-advocacy.
Read the full article - Episode 01Oral-Systemic Health
Welcome to The Unhinged Hygienists: Why Dental Hygiene Is About Whole-Body Health
By Lauren & Anastasia · June 8, 2026 · 9 min read
Meet Lauren and Anastasia — two dental hygienists with 40+ combined years redefining what oral health really means for your gut, airway, sleep, and nervous system.
Read the full article