Samantha Via, RDH
Samantha Via, RDH, better known as Sam, is a Registered Dental Hygienist in Raleigh, North Carolina. She graduated from the Dental Hygiene Program at Wake Technical Community College in 2006, earning the Student Total Achievement Recognition Award. Prior to hygiene school, she worked as an Orthodontic Assistant and Dental Assistant II with expanded functions.
Enjoying all the aspects of Dentistry, Sam’s dream was to become a General Dentist and open a practice in Wake Forest, but she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer during the last year of Hygiene School, at the young age of twenty-nine. After her diagnosis, she came to terms that being a Registered Dental Hygienist was her calling and since graduating, she has worked five days per week for the last eleven years, enjoying every second.
When Sam is not working, she enjoys family time with her husband and two children. She considers herself a self-less, hard-worker and spends a lot of her free time volunteering with church free dental clinics. Sam helps care for her disabled Veteran Father, and she is an Administrator for Children of Camp Lejeune Water Contamination on Facebook, helping dependents file claims for cancers through the Veterans Administration. She also wants to be an advocate for Dental Hygiene and help share her views on oral health with other dental hygienists.
The Safest Dental Appointment Begins with an Updated Medical History
"Why do I need to fill out another medical form when everything is still the same?" This is a common question dental practices deal with on a regular basis with many patients. While it may seem like an inconvenience to update a medical history, it is imperative to make sure each patient has given you all of their past...
Sleep Apnea Sufferers: Dental Solutions to Help Improve Quality of Life
Do you find yourself waking up during the night because you snore, and it is affecting you and your partner? Have you ever had to watch your child sleep and fear that your child will stop breathing due to pauses in breathing during their sleep? Snoring and pauses in breathing during sleep can be one of the first signs...
Sam’s Journey: Beating Breast Cancer during Hygiene School
I was halfway there; it was right before my summer classes were to begin the last year of dental hygiene school. One night I noticed a little bump on my right breast, so I did an exam on myself and felt a small, rock-like lump. Being only twenty-nine years old, and having no family history of breast cancer, I wasn’t...
Charcoal Whitening Toothpaste Trend: Should it Stay or Fade Away?
The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word "charcoal," is a great tasting chargrilled burger. What I do not think about is rubbing a charcoal powder to cleanse my face or use as a facial peel. I also don't think about plastering black clumps of charcoal all over my teeth to try to whiten...