It is a brilliant sunny windy February day and I am sitting down dead tired and tremendously satisfied by my morning activities. I have come to realize what an outstanding profession I have been a part of for 44 years (I am old). I am a retired dental hygienist but remain very active. It is Dental Health Month and we, the local dental society, the dental school (faculty and students), community dental hygiene and dental assistant programs have just treated bus loads of underserved kids from the local Boys and Girls Clubs. They came streaming in wearing name tags, clutching new toothbrushes, some a little frightened but ready to meet with the equally beaming dental students.
My career has moved along a varied path from private practice, dental hygiene education, professional speaker, and administration. I have finally landed where my heart truly is: community outreach, public health, free clinics, mobile dental vans, school sealant programs, Special Olympics, wherever or whenever there are needs.
The local dental community is involved from screening babies being seen for their vaccines, to begin the pattern of whole body health early in life, all the way to placing denture relines at the elder care facility and all the rest of life that is in between. We give testimony in the legislature to get fluoride in the water, advocate for community based sealant programs, and participate in the Mission of Mercy. The dental folks are there knowing we have a profession based on prevention.
Along the way we have been aided by the dental industry, which manufacture effective preventive products, state-of-the-art equipment and outstanding patient education resources. These companies have given tremendously in terms of both financial support and manpower.
An example of one incredible resource has been dentalcare.com, a website sponsored by Procter & Gamble, which has extensive downloadable patient education materials. The robust library - which includes 17different topics in 20 languages, all available to be customized with local practice information – has recently been refreshed. There are also instructional videos on brushing and flossing in 7 different languages and an instructional audio guide to teach professional key dental phrases and Spanish.
So in the twilight of my career I end up doing the best, treating those noisy, happy kids marching from the buses to get that smile secured. I am proud of the fact that my profession will be there preventing disease and helping them care for that healthy smile themselves.