California Dental Hygienists' Association (CDHA) 2026 Spring Scientific Session

California Dental Hygienists' Association (CDHA) 2026 Spring Scientific Session is organized by California Dental Hygienists' Association (CDHA) and will be held on May 15, 2026 at Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort, Anaheim, California, United States of America.

When Worlds Collide: Medical and Dental Integration presented by Kriston Reisnour (3 CEs)

Description:
Learn how to successfully navigate through this unfamiliar territory.

Medical and dental integration is inevitable! The evolution of healthcare systems, latest science, and research is driving the two modalities to unite and address, treat, and prevent chronic disease. Addressing all the “Root Causes” of disease, inclusive of the oral cavity, is vital in the attempts to eliminate the underlying chronic inflammation which is the initiator of almost all disease. There are numerous studies indicating the direct connection between oral and overall systemic health. In fact, periodontal disease is considered a medical condition of the mouth and has been known to impact 57 other whole- body diseases. The diseases of the oral cavity are complex, biofilm induced, host modulated, and affected by many factors inclusive of genetics, nutrition, and the environment. This course will help participants access and identify comorbidities associated with oral health, implement lifesaving screenings, nutritional counseling, and provide a step-by-step process in collaborative approach to optimal patient care. Oral and medical healthcare providers must collaborate to adequately extinguish the “fire within” This course will help you identify triggers and solutions and prepare you for the changes that are to come.

The battle against inflammation, associated oral systemic health conditions and how to incorporate optimal care into your dental hygiene department.

Learning Objectives:

• Optimum care and the changing medical dental integrated health care system
  • The hygienist’s role in risk assessment and disease prevention
• Understanding arterial disease and event reality
• Inflammation and how it affects your hygiene patients
  • Associated medical conditions
  • Oral bacteria and their role in inflammation, disease progression, and arterial events
• Implementation and treatment protocols to achieve optimal care
• Case studies and discussion
  • Provide an elemental understanding of inflammation and how the inflammatory process causes disease and destruction. Why the “fire” (inflammation) gets out of control
  • Describe the role oral bacteria play in the systemic inflammatory cascade and disease progression
  • Learn to identify “smoke signals” within the medical history and understand the relationship between common health conditions and the systemic inflammation which leads to disease progression
  • Enhance the clinician's ability to critically analyze a patient’s health condition and determine optimal treatment plans
  • Review case presentation and final discussion

The Airway-Centric Hygiene Superstar: Breathing and Sleep’s role in Periodontal Health presented by Dr. Mike Czubiak (3 CEs)

Description:
We know the important role we play in the mouth/body health connection. Now, we learn how a skinny nose, a tongue that is too big, or crowded lower anteriors can be a sign of poor sleep and breathing which will adversely affect our periodontal health.

Hygiene Superstars help decrease inflammation, recession, and bone loss by dealing with a major root cause- airway dysfunction.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the health consequences of a compromised airway
• Learn how to identify risk factors for sleep-disordered breathing
• Understand what we can do to help our patients breathe better