Hygienist Spotlight

Over the past three years of clinical experience, I have been introduced to many different dental professionals, especially hygienists. Everyone possesses their own opinions, perspectives, and experiences about the profession. My goal here is to have hygienists reflect on their dental hygiene career based on their experience − a new graduate, a hygienist with a few years under her...

Advocacy is a huge part of working with the community and different populations. When I think of advocacy, my first thought was Alicia Murria, RDH, MS(c). She has been a dental hygienist for eight years, is the executive director of a non-profit, and a hygiene faculty member with a dental technology company since 2017. My other articles in this series...

Switching settings now, we enter the public health sector, which includes the school-based community. According to the American Dental Association, dental public health is defined as "that part of dentistry providing leadership and expertise in population-based dentistry, oral health surveillance, policy development, community-based disease prevention and health promotion, and the maintenance of the dental safety net.”1 I asked Paula Morrison,...

When we first entered dental hygiene school, we were taught that as dental hygienists, we perform many different roles such as clinician, advocate, researcher, educator, and administrative/manager. Some of us work in different types of dental offices such as private practices, general, perio, and pedo to name a few, while others work in the public health sector. Some hygienists have...

Yes, this article will focus on my own personal experiences doing some good in the community. My story could show some insight on how to find what you are passionate about in your own community. Sometimes opportunities such as this are unexpected, and they present themselves to you when you aren't even looking. In my case, I was attending a...

Angie Abramowicz is a recent, 23-year-old graduate of Fox College in Chicago. A first-generation American, Abramowicz offers a unique perspective about embarking on a career in dental hygiene. It was exciting to learn more about Angie and her goals and dreams for her professional future. In recent months, Decades of Dental Hygiene has interviewed Fran Tourdot, Barb Orth, Renee Ahlf, Kelli...

Dental hygiene comes to each of us in a unique way. This is a description of the journey by Candy Malone, BSDH, a 2003 graduate of Marquette University. As a nine-year-old, Candy was an orthodontic patient of Dr. Gregory Kubik. She had the most positive, wonderful experience as he worked his miracle, creating her now infectious smile. Candy also had...

Lori Cackovic, RDH, BS, is a 35-year-old dental hygienist who has overcome many battles with being severely dyslexic. In recent months, Decades of Dental Hygiene has interviewed Fran Tourdot, Barb Orth, Renee Ahlf, Kelli Dash, and Kym Dallstream about a wide variety of career experiences in dental hygiene. Jensen: Lori, tell me a little about your family background? Cackovic: I was born...

We’ve met some amazing dental hygienists, all at different points in their careers: Fran Tourdot, age 82. Barb Orth, age 75. Renee Ahlf, age 67 and Kelli Dash, age 56. The next chapter in our Decades of Dental Hygiene introduces us to Kym Dallstream, RDH, BS, age 42. Kim is a nonstop volunteer and has used the networking connections...

Dental staffing agencies have evolved along with the rest of the profession, and a recent interview with Kelli Dash, RDH, in Illinois reveals her perspective about how temping has changed for dental hygiene. These interviews shared in the Decades of Dental Hygiene column gives us a glimpse into the rich history of dentistry. I have enjoyed interviewing Fran Tourdot, Barb...