National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE) Dental Hygienist Practice Test

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Prepare for the NBDHE Dental Hygienist Exam. Enhance your skills with comprehensive flashcards and multiple-choice questions, each with hints and explanations. Ace your test with confidence!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

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What is the primary use of Listerine in dental practice?

Subgingival irrigation
Antimicrobial treatment
Fluoride application
Orthodontic care

The correct answer is: Antimicrobial treatment

Listerine is primarily used in dental practice as an antimicrobial treatment. Its formulation includes essential oils and other compounds that help reduce the microbial load in the oral cavity. The use of Listerine can aid in controlling plaque, gingivitis, and bad breath by targeting periodontal pathogens, which is crucial in maintaining oral health. While subgingival irrigation can involve antiseptic solutions, Listerine is not typically employed specifically for this purpose in the same way. Fluoride application is important for caries prevention, but Listerine does not provide significant fluoride benefits. Furthermore, in orthodontic care, the focus is on maintaining oral hygiene and space management rather than the specific antimicrobial effects that products like Listerine offer. Thus, its role as an antimicrobial mouth rinse stands out as the primary use in dental practices.