Life at Work

The anticipation of starting your career path, especially in a field where you know you can make a significant difference, is exhilarating. Unfortunately, that feeling can come crashing down when there are workplace stressors. Picture your most recent workday. Take a step back and assess your work routine. Do you rush into work and quickly set up to call your...

In today’s online society, digital media has repeatedly demonstrated its power to influence, and dental professionals have been the recipients of the dreaded and unexpected negative review. Hopefully, your dental practice screens and monitors their online reviews on a daily basis. How you react to a negative review reflects the character and integrity of the office as a whole. Take...

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s that wonderful time of the year again. Beginning in January, the whole 1099 or W2 debate is in full swing for dental hygienists who do temporary or fill-in work. Temp work is certainly a great way to make some extra income, network with other professionals in your area, and possibly learn new techniques from...

You wake up one morning, look yourself in the mirror, and realize there is so much more you can be doing. You start to question what decisions need to be made to change the course of your life. All of a sudden, impending fear overtakes you as you come to the realization that it will require surrendering a comfortable...

We are in a new decade, in case you haven’t heard, which by the way, is debatable as some say the decade begins in 2021. That would be helpful to alleviate all this pressure, wouldn’t it? The voice of reinvention is loud – Be bold! Move on! All this forward-thinking can be the catalyst to begin a new future,...

There are two sides to every story except when it comes to online and social media dental practice reviews. As the consumer’s ability to review and speak out rises, you may have noticed a large increase in media for consumers to spread their opinions. The world of dentistry cannot go unaffected by this. At times, reviews can be a great...

Dental hygiene has been known as a “mommy job” in my community. We don’t have to take call, we don’t have to work weekends, and most of us work part-time. I have known few hygienists who do work “full-time,” and most of them have expressed feeling what we like to call clinical “burnout.” They end up feeling the need...

As the year winds down, many of you will be pondering about New Year's resolutions to pursue. I encourage you to add your career to that list. Something attracted you to the dental hygiene field. At one point, your heart, soul, and mind were in love with dentistry. Maybe this is still true, and you are content and satisfied. Or,...

Everyone knows that feeling you get when you walk into a space that is cluttered, crowded, or disheveled. A little anxiety starts to bubble up, and you immediately want to leave or start cleaning. You don’t want to have this feeling when you walk into your workspace, and you certainly don’t want your patients to feel that way. You...

My dental career began in Goose Creek, South Carolina, in 1987 at the ripe old age of 20. I was a certified dental assistant and immediately became hooked. I’m not sure what made me love it so; it could have been the smell of eugenol in the air, the fashionable scrubs I was able to wear, or the bright,...