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.
Rafael Rondon, RDH, known as Mr. RDH, joins Hygiene Happy Hour for a candid conversation about empowering hygienists and why the profession can’t afford to stand still. Friends for more than 20 years, they cover why waiting for 30% bone loss before treating periodontal disease leaves patients behind, how new tools like AI and saliva testing can strengthen early prevention, and why so many new grads feel they can’t practice to the full scope of their training.
They also discuss the debate over hygiene diagnosis and autonomy, how gender shapes the way hygienists are heard in the operatory, and what doctors and hygienists can do to work as true partners. Rafael closes with advice for every clinician: keep learning, build protocols in your own practice, and never stop advocating for your patients.
Pour a glass and join us. Cheers!
Connect with Rafael: mrrdh1993@gmail.com
9 Oct 2026
Hygiene Happy Hour with Misty Mattingly and Merkaba Advisors
Products don’t change. People do.
This week on Hygiene Happy Hour, Misty sits down with Amy Bell and Kendra Flowers, the duo behind Merkaba Strategy and Health Advisors. Named for a sacred geometric shape made of two interlocking pyramids spinning in opposite directions, Merkaba pairs Amy’s outward energy in sales and commercialization with Kendra’s inward focus on clinical operations and workflows. Within a month of launching in March, they had three clients.
Together, they help dental product companies turn real innovation into clinical reality. We get into where adoption actually breaks down, why a 30-minute training on a new product rarely sticks, and why the bottleneck is almost never the shiny new thing. Kendra explains her rule for any new protocol: if it adds to the hygienist’s plate, something else has to come off. Amy shares why Merkaba turns down companies without clinical research behind them, and how her three-touch approach keeps clinicians engaged long after launch.
Plus: the AI, salivary diagnostics, and oral cancer screening tools shaping hygiene’s future, the case for blowing up dentistry’s current care model, a preview of Merkaba’s hands-on Connected Patient Journey event at the 3Shape facility in Dallas, and the story of how Amy set her first dental office on fire and still got hired back.
Connect with Merkaba at merkabastrategy.com, or find Amy and Kendra on LinkedIn and Instagram.
30 Sept 2026
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.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
36
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
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Questions about Hygiene Happy Hour
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Misty Mattingly host the show. Published by Hygiene Happy Hour.
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