Q: What's a typical workday like for you?
A: I do patient care, which includes preventive prophylaxis, x-rays, periotherapy, and helping with treatment planning by educating the patients about crowns, veneers and implants. I talk to patients about home care, prevention, whitening and products that may improve their dental health. I also talk to patients about long- term care for good maintenance throughout their lives.
Q: How does your role fit into the bigger healthcare picture?
A: By keeping people's mouths healthy, we're also helping keep them systemically healthy. Also, because we're seeing people when they're younger and doing more prevention earlier, we're helping to minimize or eliminate the need for extensive dental care later in life.
Q: Who do you interact with during the course of the day?
A: I see patients throughout the day, and I interact with the dentists and other staff members, such as assistants, hygienists and scheduling coordinators.
Q: Why did you become a dental hygienist?
A: I was a dental assistant for 11 years and wanted to do something different that would give me flexibility to be with my family and allow me to support them if necessary. I really like the dental profession so it was the most logical direction to make a change.
