Making dental home care stick

I’m revamping our dental discharge kits to make home care realistic for clients and low-stress for patients. What’s in your kit and education flow that improves compliance — specific handouts, a 60-second brushing demo at pickup, VOHC-approved chews, or 0.12% chlorhexidine wipes — and does anyone have printable owner instructions we can adapt?

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We made it stick by sending clients home with a toothbrush clipped to a 7‑day ramp card and doing a real 60‑second demo at pickup, then texting a 20‑sec refresher video the next morning. For cats or mouth-averse dogs, we start 0.12% chlorhexidine wipes every other day for 2 weeks and pre-circle two VOHC options on our handout with the link (https://vohc.org) so they choose one, not ten. Happy to share the printable one-pager; it’s mostly photos and costs under 10¢ to print.

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Quick example: we do a 20‑second “taste test” at pickup — think speed‑dating for toothpaste — then send a fridge magnet that reads “smear, count to five, stop” for days 1–3, and text a link to one VOHC‑accepted chew sized for their pet (Accepted Products | Veterinary Oral Health Council). If you’re using 0.12% chlorhexidine, we recommend every‑other‑day for toy breeds to cut staining and taste blowback. Want the magnet template to adapt?

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I’ve had good results on Oahu by checking Google Maps “Popular times” for each office and calling during the quiet window (often 7:50–8:10 a.m. or after 4:30), then emailing a 1‑pager with “available this week — CPR/TB current” in the subject so they can triage fast. Remote roles are legit, but a few are temp‑to‑perm and expect you on‑island within 30 days, so ask upfront. @xander.luke81 your timing tip lines up — catch them before the morning huddle and you’re golden.

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