Hygiene Happy Hour

Hygiene Happy Hour
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Education
  • Updated Biweekly

I'm Misty Mattingly, the creator of Hygiene Happy Hour, a podcast that brings together fun and education in the dental hygiene world. My love for dental hygiene has fueled my passion for advancing patient care and innovative practices. As an international speaker, I share insights on technology and advancements in dentistry. Balancing a dynamic professional life, I'm also a devoted mom to three and a partner to my husband, Brenden, channeling my nurturing spirit into mentoring. With accolades such as the Women in DSO Winner 2023 and Denobi nomination 2024, my commitment extends beyond professional achievements. Striving to improve the dental community for patients and professionals.

  1. 5d ago

    LIVE from RDH UOR: DHY BOYZ

    Three first-year hygiene students, one accidental YouTube channel, and a road trip to RDH Under One Roof. Misty sits down live with Marty, Michael, and Javier, the DHY Boys, three future hygienists from [School Name] in New York who started a podcast after a class video was too big to email. Three months later, they're recording at the biggest hygiene event of the year. Men make up only a small fraction of the U.S. dental hygiene workforce, and each of these guys found the profession a different way. One was recruited from the chair by his own hygienist. One found it through a health podcast while working as a mechanic. One heard about it from a family friend during a summer construction job. They talk about why hygiene school's tough feedback is a gift, what it takes to make it through the workload, and why prevention is the heart of the profession. Plus: Smilesip flavor picks, a lightning round with beets and bathroom walls, a wrestling rivalry in the making, and advice for anyone thinking about hygiene, especially the guys. See you next year at RDH Under One Roof, July 8–10 in Nashville.

    LIVE from RDH UOR: DHY BOYZ

  2. Sep 25

    LIVE from RDH UOR: Kevin Lopez

    This week on Hygiene Happy Hour, we're sitting down with Kevin Lopez, national speaker, educator, key opinion leader, and one of the most fun people in dental hygiene. Just seven years out of hygiene school, Kevin has built a career that proves hygienists are never "stuck." We talk about how mentorship led him into board prep and eventually back to his alma mater, West Coast University, to teach; what being a KOL really means (hint: holding companies accountable to the evidence); and why he believes prevention should be at the heart of everything we do in the operatory. We also get into Guided Biofilm Therapy, the state of periodontal disease in the U.S., and why so few people outside our profession understand what a hygienist can do. Plus: a matcha vs. watermelon taste test, a pitch for a dental reality show, and rapid-fire questions that reveal whether Kevin is really the party or the quiet celebration. Follow Kevin on Instagram @kevstalksteeth, and find us at hygienehappyhour.com.

    LIVE from RDH UOR: Kevin Lopez

  3. Sep 23

    LIVE from RDH UOR: Shelley Brown

    Misty sits down with Shelley Brown, recipient of Sunstar's World Dental Hygienist Award in the public health category, for a conversation about what it takes to bring care to the patients the system leaves behind. Shelley shares the moment that changed everything: a caregiver whose husband was on hospice told her, "It's so sad that I have to be dying to receive care." That story drives her work today. After Utah opened the door to mobile hygiene, Shelley built her own practice, seeing homebound and nursing home patients on her own schedule while raising four boys. She walks through her full minimally invasive prevention protocol, including preventive SDF on posterior and root surfaces, Curodont in cosmetic zones, povidone iodine to target strep mutans, fluoride varnish, and BlueCheck to spot weak areas before a lesion forms. She also explains why she charges one flat fee instead of nickel-and-diming patients. Misty and Shelley dig into the barriers holding hygienists back: insurance companies that don't recognize hygienists as independent providers, manufacturers that won't let hygienists order products, and rules that keep them from reaching nursing homes directly. They also look ahead to teledentistry, AI-assisted screening, and legislative wins in Utah and Georgia. The episode closes on mentorship. Shelley offers her mobile dental hygiene course for free because, in her words, change won't happen through one person alone. There's room for all of us, and a lot of work to be done. Whether you're a hygienist dreaming of more autonomy, a public health advocate, or someone considering the profession, this episode will remind you that hygienists are oral health providers, not "tooth pickers."

    LIVE from RDH UOR: Shelley Brown

  4. Sep 16

    LIVE from RDU UOR: Demieira Lockhart

    On this episode, we sit down with Demeira Lockhart, offensive lineman for the Washington Prodigy and a driving force in women's tackle football, for a candid conversation about the game, the grind, and what keeps her going. Leah opens up about her journey into football, the mentors and moments that shaped her, and why she's committed to creating space for the next generation of women athletes. We also talk hydration on and off the field, including how Smile Sit has become part of her game-day routine, plus concussion protocols, playing for love of the sport rather than a paycheck, and the tight-knit community behind women's football today. It's a conversation about resilience, representation, and building something bigger than the game itself.

    LIVE from RDU UOR: Demieira Lockhart

  5. Sep 10

    LIVE from RDH UOR: Lora Hooper

    In this episode of Hygiene Happy Hour, host Misty Mattingly sits down for the first time with Lora Hooper, a veteran dental hygienist with over 20 years of experience in saliva testing, over 100,000 tests and counting. Known as "The Saliva Hacker," Lora pent 8.5 years as the first hygienist working directly with a cardiologist, an experience that reshaped how she thinks about the mouth-body connection. The conversation dives into the oral-systemic link: how salivary bacteria travel from the mouth into the gut and bloodstream, the role of the five high-risk periodontal pathogens tied to heart attacks and strokes, and why standard hygiene protocols often miss the root cause of recurring disease. Lora breaks down how she interprets saliva test results using a color-coded bacterial risk system (purple, red, orange), compares the major saliva testing options on the market, and explains her approach to combining scaling and root planing with targeted antibiotic protocols to actually clear systemic bacterial load, not just manage symptoms in the mouth.

    LIVE from RDH UOR: Lora Hooper

  6. Aug 26

    LIVE from RDH UOR: Kaila Mooney

    Join us live from RDH Under One Roof for this episode of Hygiene Happy Hour! We're pouring mocktails and catching up with this year's Sunstar Award winner, Kaila Mooney, a phenomenal dental hygienist making waves in her community through research, education, and outreach. Kaila shares her journey through this past year (surgeries and all), reflects on what it means to be recognized with the Sunstar Butler Award, and talks about the international work that's shaped her perspective, from attending sessions on early orthodontic intervention abroad to hearing Shelly Brown's talk on caregiver burnout and the toll it takes on the people who care for others 24/7. Of course, no Happy Hour is complete without a game, we break out the card deck for some rapid-fire questions (ghosts vs. aliens, dream decades to time-travel to, dream places to live) and plenty of laughs along the way. Tune in for an episode full of heart, humor, and a genuine celebration of what hygienists bring to healthcare. And don't forget, mark your calendars for next year's RDH Under One Roof, July 6th–8th!

    LIVE from RDH UOR: Kaila Mooney

  7. Aug 20

    LIVE From RDH UOR: Toni Meyerkord

    This episode was recorded live at RDH Under One Roof, where host Misty sits down with registered dental hygienist Toni Meyerkord — a 30+ year veteran of the field who's worked as a dental assistant, educator, and recruiter, and someone Misty calls "one of the crazy ones who believes she can change the world." Toni and Misty reflect on a whirlwind year of travel together, including the Hygiene Leadership Summit in Jamaica and the International Federation of Dental Hygienists conference, where Toni represented the U.S. among 100 hygienists in attendance. Toni shares the research she presented there — a concept model for embedding dental hygienists into prenatal clinics to support high-risk, low-income pregnant women, building on the Heart to Hand award she won in 2023 for her community health work. The conversation covers the growing role of hygienists as mid-level healthcare providers on a global stage, the power of community and mentorship in the profession, and why "you have to have a Misty in your life." Things wrap up with a lightning round of would-you-rather questions (concert picks, cheese dips, and Toni's secret life as a crochet "hooker"), plus a live taste test of SmileSip flavors to celebrate the brand's one-year anniversary.

    LIVE From RDH UOR: Toni Meyerkord

  8. Jul 22

    Hygiene Happy Hour with Misty Mattingly and Elliot Zibel

    This week on Hygiene Happy Hour, Misty sits down with Elliot Ziebel, founder of Clarify Health AI, for a conversation about closing the gap between what we know is right for patients and what actually happens chairside every day. Elliot brings a rare perspective to dentistry, 15 years on Wall Street as an investor before founding Select Dental Management in 2017 and later Clarify, built to help DSOs and practices standardize evidence-based care. He and Misty dig into why so much dental technology fails to move the needle (hint: it's not about having more data, it's about driving action), the five dysfunctions holding dental groups back, and why lack of standardized care,not lack of knowledge, is the real culprit behind gaps like periodontal disease going undiagnosed in nearly half of eligible patients. They also reflect on co-hosting the first-ever hygiene leadership conference together in Jamaica, why they built it as an open forum instead of another pay-to-play panel circuit, and what it means to actually walk away from an industry event with something to apply on Monday morning.

    Hygiene Happy Hour with Misty Mattingly and Elliot Zibel
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

I'm Misty Mattingly, the creator of Hygiene Happy Hour, a podcast that brings together fun and education in the dental hygiene world. My love for dental hygiene has fueled my passion for advancing patient care and innovative practices. As an international speaker, I share insights on technology and advancements in dentistry. Balancing a dynamic professional life, I'm also a devoted mom to three and a partner to my husband, Brenden, channeling my nurturing spirit into mentoring. With accolades such as the Women in DSO Winner 2023 and Denobi nomination 2024, my commitment extends beyond professional achievements. Striving to improve the dental community for patients and professionals.

Information

  • Creator
    Hygiene Happy Hour
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Hygiene Happy Hour

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