Hygieia was the goddess of good health, cleanliness and hygiene in Greek mythology, daughter of the god of medicine, Asclepius, and Epione. Her sisters were Panacea (goddess of universal remedy), Iaso (goddess of recuperation), Aceso (goddess of healing process), and Aglaea or Aegle (goddess of beauty and splendor). She also had a brother, Telesphorus, by whom she was always accompanied. Hygieia was often depict ed as a young woman feeding a large snake that was wrapped around her body. Her name is the source of the word “hygiene“.
Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. Dental hygienists have a specific scope of clinical procedures they provide to their patients. They assess a patient’s condition in order to offer patient-specific preventive and educational services to promote and maintain good oral health. A major role of a dental hygienist is to perform periodontal therapy which includes things such periodontal charting, periodontal debridement (scaling and root planing), prophylaxis (preventing disease) or periodontal maintenance procedures for patients with periodontal disease.
