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Dental
Hygienists' Guide to the Internet
As a dental
hygienist new to the web, check out our Web Terms listed below put as together by Margaret. Later browse the Dental Hygiene
Links where you can find out about the Dental Hygiene Career and Schools,
Associations, and Patient Information, as well as Research and other related healthcare
pages.
For students, there is a special page for you at Student
Cases with lots of links and other related information. See
below also for more information on the Top
Ten List of Tips and Notes
on Professional Email Correspondence.

Another Language? Hit This Altavista Site For
Translation
New
Textbook and Website on Computing in Dentistry
WEB
STYLE GUIDE, 2nd edition

Do not
let the lingo of the Internet throw you,
just browse over these Web Terms and it will all fall into place.

Bookmark - Using your Internet browser (see below) to
keep favorite Web sites in its memory.
Boolean Phrases - Certain words used to conduct keyword searches, such as
or, and, or not.
To improve your searches, see the Site server
search query language noted below.
Browser - A user interface that is used to navigate the World Wide Web
(e.g., Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Explorer).
Caching - Method of automatically saving copies of your files either in
your computer's memory or on hard disk, which allows you to recall previously visited Web
sites much more quickly than downloading a page from the Web.
Chatroom - An online discussion forum for talk sessions where users
exchange information and ideas.
Cyberspace - Term currently used to describe the whole range of
information resources available through computer networks.
Dial-up Access - A way to use a computer and modem to "dial-in"
through a telephone to access a network/host computer.
Domain - The right-most part of the Internet address. It categorizes the
type of site you are accessing. (e.g., com=commercial, edu=education). - Using your Internet browser (see below) to
keep favorite Web sites in its memory.

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Electronic Mail
(Email) - A service that allows information to be sent from one person to
another via computer.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)- Frequently asked questions and answers
about particular Internet, forum, newsgroup or subject area; it's usually pronounced
"facks".
Gopher- Text-based information system that allows subject and keyword
searches on worldwide databases.
Hacker- Someone who likes to break into computer systems and read data
that isn't intended for their eyes.
Home Pages - The first page of a World Wide Web page, which serves as a
guide to the site's contents.
Hyperlink - Special text in a web page that links to another web page
anywhere on the Internet.
Hypertext - A technology that links information resources together on the
web.
Hypertext Mark-up language (HTML) - A format used to create documents
that contain hypertext.
Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) - The computer language that browsers
use to talk to World Wide Web servers.

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Internet - A global, cooperative collection of interconnected networks of
computers allowing people and computers to communicate.
Internet Service Provider (ISP) - An online service provider (i.e.,
America Online, CompuServe, etc.), local phone companies, (i.e., Pacific Bell, Cincinnati
Bell, etc.), and national phone companies (i.e., MCI, AT&T etc.), that provide
electronic mail accounts access to the World Wide Web, as well as access to other Internet
services.
Intranet - Intranets are networks which are internal or contained within
an organization.
Listserv -Discussion groups or mailing lists on the Internet that
distribute information to a large number of interested subscribers at one time.
Local Area Network (LAN) - A group of networked computers that are
located in one area and are usually connected by less than 1,000 feet of cable.
Modem - A communication device used to connect a computer to a network
through a telephone line.
NetSpeak - Communication by email using acronyms and funny little
symbols. See Internet Guide for Smileys.
Newsgroup - Service that provides members a forum to share
in focused areas of interest.

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Online - The
status of being connected to the Internet.
Offline - The status of not being connected to the Internet.
Random Access Memory (RAM) - Storage/memory capacity of a computer.
Search Engine - Computer programs/applications that exist in the Internet
that locate and catalog. Users then query these programs to locate specific resources on
the Internet (e.g., Hotbot, Lycos, Yahoo, Altavista, Excite, Web Crawler, Infoseek, etc.).
To improve your searches, see the Site
server search query language noted below.
Spam folder- Filter for your email. Messages stored in the Spam
folder should be regularly monitored as real mail may be incorrectly
identified as Spam.
Surf - Term used to access and navigate the World Wide Web.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) - An addressing system used on the web to
identify and locate sites on the World Wide Web. (i.e., http://www.adha.org).
Web Page - One of many pages that together make up a Web Site.
World Wide Web (WWW) - A system for finding and accessing Internet
resources.
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Site Server Search Query Language
Enter a query term that
unambiguously defines what you are looking for: use a multi-word phrase or more than one
search word, separated by spaces or commas. With more information, you are more
likely to return the results you seek: Enter Dental Hygiene, not just Dental. Boolean
phrases and proximity operators can be used to create a more precise query:
| To search
for |
Example |
Results |
| both terms
in the same page |
dental and hygiene
-or- dental & hygiene |
pages with both the
words "dental" and "hygiene" |
| either term
in a page |
tooth or paste
-or- tooth | paste |
pages with the words
"tooth" or "paste" |
| the first
term without the second term |
tooth and not fairy
-or- tooth & ! fairy |
pages with the word
"tooth" but not "fairy" |
| both terms
in the same page, close together |
periodontal near
treatment -or- periodontal ~ treatment |
pages with the word
"periodontal" near the word "treatment" |
Hints:
You can use parentheses to
nest expressions within a query. The expressions in parentheses are evaluated before the
rest of the query.
Use double quotes (")
to get an exact match of the phrase such as an example "Fehrenbach and
Education" will match pages with the exact phrase, not pages that match the Boolean
expression for both Fehrenbach and Education..
The Not operator can only be
used after an And operator in content queries; it can only be used to exclude pages that
match a previous content restriction.
Queries are
case-insensitive: you can type your query in uppercase or lowercase.
You may search for any word
except for those in the exception list (for English, this includes a, an, as, and
other common words) which are ignored during a search. Words in the exception list are
treated as placeholders in phrase and proximity queries such as and, not, or near.
Punctuation marks such as
the period (.), colon (:), semicolon (;), and comma (,) are ignored during a search.
Commas only help separate words like a space.
Top
10 List of Tips from Margaret J. Fehrenbach, RDH, MS (from her past
Internet Seminars)
1.
View sites in text-only mode by turning off the graphics. To speed
things up, turn off the images in your web browser. If you are using
Netscape Navigator, de-select Auto Load Images under the Options menu.
With Internet Explorer, select Internet Options under the View menu, then
click the Advanced tab. Now uncheck Show Pictures.
2. Use the Stop button.
If you get tired of waiting, click the Stop button to view the files that
have already been downloaded. Then you can decide if you want to continue.
If you do, click the Reload or Refresh button.
3.
Use History Icon to Revisit Sites Use the History icon to revisit
old sites and save yourself from remembering long URL’s or where you
were five minutes ago! HINTS
To
see a list of all Internet addresses you have typed during this session,
click the small down arrow at the right end of the Address bar. This can
be cleared when you clear History under Tools and Internet Options.
4.
Save keystrokes by using Favorites. Web addresses or URLs can be
unwieldy. Worse, if you type it wrong, you will get an error message. To
avoid these problems, save the addresses of sites you want to
revisit. If you are using Explorer, go the Favorites menu and
select Organize Favorites. Now you can click on the folder icon to create
a new folder, then drag the appropriate bookmarks into the folder.
Sometimes the names of the bookmarks
aren't clear, so you may want to alter them. With Explorer, select
Organize Favorites, then click on the bookmark you want to change, then
click the Rename button. Now you can type a new name. After you're done
organizing your bookmarks, close the window to return to your browser. The
next time you select the Bookmarks or Favorites menu, you will see all the
topic names with arrows next to them. By holding your cursor over a topic,
you will get pop-up list of all the related bookmarks.
HINTS
When you add a Web page to your Favorites list, you also make it available
to read when you're not connected to the Internet. You can send a Web page
in email by clicking the File menu, pointing to Send, and then clicking
Page By Email.
5.
Use the Find feature of your web browser. Once you've downloaded a
document, the Find button can quickly locate a particular term in which
you are interested. Why take the time to scroll through the entire
document?
6.
Pick two search engines and learn how they work. The difficulty of
finding specific information is by far the biggest complaint. Although
dozens of search engines are available, pick two, then take the time to
learn them well.
7.
Choose your own home page and customize it. Both Netscape and
Microsoft set their websites as the default home page when you launch your
web browser. So now you can change it...HINTS
Web pictures and backgrounds make great desktop wallpaper. Just
right-click the picture you want, and then click Set as Wallpaper. You can
quickly put a shortcut to any Web page on your Desktop by right-clicking
in the page and then clicking Create Shortcut.
8.
Adjust Text Size through View. Different text sizes are available
for better viewing for tired dental professional eyes!
9.
Surf during off-hours. Most commuters experience rush hour, when highways
bog down with traffic. The same phenomenon happens on the Internet,
usually in the late afternoon and early evening, when people log on to
check Email, chat and play games. If you want to avoid the slowdown, go
online in the morning or late at night, when traffic is lighter. Wednesday
is the big night of the week!
10.
Get a faster connection. If you are still using a 28.8 modem, it's
time to upgrade. Most people these days access the Web at twice that
speed. Recently however, new modems offer access at 33.6 Kbps and even 56
Kbps. Before you upgrade, however, make sure your Internet service
provider supports 56 Kbps modems. And do not ask me to explain this type
of jargon further… it’s like a car, just buy it and turn the key and
add gas once and awhile! Or get DSL or get High Speed Cable.

Notes
on Professional Email Correspondence
*** See article in RDH
Magazine by Margaret: Professional
E-Mailing in the Dental Office
-
'
Netiquette'- Learn
the rules of communication on the Internet before implementing the
technology. For example, using CAPITAL letters in a message is
considered yelling.
-
Be careful when
using sarcasm and humor. Without
face to face communications your joke may be viewed as
criticism.
-
Keep paragraphs
and messages short and
to the point. When quoting another person, edit out whatever isn't
directly applicable to your reply. Be professional and careful what
you say about others. Email is easily forwarded. Note: Cc:
(stands for "Carbon Copy", which is meaningful if you
remember typewriters) This header is sort of an extension of
"To:"; it specifies additional recipients. Bcc: (stands for
"Blind Carbon Copy") The idea is to be able to send copies
of email to persons who might not want to receive replies or to appear
in the headers.
-
Focus on one
subject per message and
always include a pertinent subject title for the message, that way the
user can locate the message quickly.
-
Set up a signature
that includes your dental office name, address, fax, Email, etc. This
information will be automatically added to every Email you send,
giving your correspondence a professional look. Program
on Signatures .
-
Use an automatic
spell checker in your Email program to keep your documents looking
professional.
-
Finally, How
to Use Mailing Lists: Posting and Replying to List Messages.
-
Messages stored in the Spam
folder should be regularly monitored as real mail may be
incorrectly identified as Spam. Once a message is deleted from the
Spam folder, it cannot be recovered.
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We
comply with the HONcode
standard for health trust worthy information:
verify
here.
Updated 3/2008

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