Students & New Grads

Working interviews: Are they good? Or bad? Not all types of career options have the opportunity to have a working interview. In the dental world, this type of interviewing does exist, and looking at working interviews from all sides is important to get the most out of them. A working interview is an opportunity for an applicant to prove their...

Planning has always been pivotal to becoming an effective dental hygienist. Prior, proper, planning is another beast. I’m borrowing this mantra from a trusted colleague/mentor because I have reflected, and recognized this coined phrase has been following me since I began my journey as a dental hygiene student. This mantra is still expected from dental hygiene students, which is...

Dental hygiene students begin preparing for board exams starting from the beginning of the program up until the day of the exam. Whether it be honing in on instrumentation skills or hitting the books, students have a lot to master before they are deemed competent in the practice of dental hygiene. As a student, some of the most daunting...

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, I walked into my first day at my brand-new hygiene job. I had all the knowledge from completing hygiene school floating around in my head. I was confident in my ability to connect with patients, educate on oral health, and eradicate disease. Full of good intention, I was ready to tackle my career. Little...

It is the exam you’ve studied your entire dental hygiene education for. The upperclassmen have groaned to your class about it, your faculty has alluded to it, and you’ve already asked for board review books for Christmas. You’ve walked through the steps of grief, beginning with denial, “Maybe if I do well in school, they will let me skip my...

If I were to ask you to think back to dental hygiene school, some would remember the feelings of being overwhelmed, being stressed to the max, and the tears that were shed. Others might remember the friends they made and the happiness they felt when hard work turned into successfully earning that dental hygiene degree. When I think back,...

The real world can be a scary place. Whether you’re a newly-licensed hygienist or a “seasoned scaler,” there is always something new to discover and learn, whether it’s new technology or a dental hygiene technique.Yet wouldn’t it have been nice to have someone give you advice on how to brave the real world of dental hygiene? This is guidance...

I remember finally graduating and passing my boards and thinking now what? I was both scared and excited. I thought I just had to write a resume and prepare for interviews! Had I only realized there was more I needed to do and think about to prepare my mind and body. I’ve come up with some practical advice, to...

Hygiene students learn so much from the hygiene program. However, there’s so much more to learn once we have graduated, passed boards, become licensed, and enter the working world. As a new grad, there are many “first time experiences.” One such experience I encountered as a new grad was treating an autistic patient for the first time. Yes, we...

In 2009, when the economy was taking a nosedive, I was working for a small dental practice in a wealthy suburb of Chicago, Illinois. I was under the false impression that, as long as there were still patients on my schedule, that I had “job security.” Needless to say, I was stunned when the dentist took me aside one...