Dental Hygiene Basics

Future RDHs who have been listening to my podcast for a while know I am a huge advocate for scholarships and encourage all students to apply to as many as possible. But I also want to shed light on scholarship scams and how students can avoid them. Listen now to learn some of the red flags you can look out for when applying to scholarships. 

Timestamps:

(00:00) Applying to Scholarships 

(02:33) Scams in Scholarships ...

The transition from dental hygiene school and working in a dental practice may sound overwhelming. If this sounds like something you're experiencing, you're in the right place! In this episode, I talk about all the things I wish someone had told me when entering the dental field as a new grad. You'll find advice on interviewing, when to leave an office, personal finances, clinical advice, and more! 

Timestamps: 

(00:00)...

Future RDH's, finals week is just around the corner and the stress is probably starting to kick in. Trust me, I've been there before, and I get that it can be overwhelming so I've put together my best tips for students to follow so they can be successful on their finals. They're simple and easy to implement, so make sure you tune in to get motivated and in your best headspace. Best of luck on finals!!

Timestamps: 

(00:00) S...

This episode is the second and final part of my interview with Makya Smith, the first student to receive the Dental Hygiene Basics Scholarship! In this episode, you'll get to learn how Makya lost access to her full-ride scholarship halfway through dental hygiene school and still managed to graduate with zero debt! I love her perspective on receiving scholarships because it allows her to be more committed to her education. We are ho...

Congratulations to Makya for being the first Dental Hygiene Basics Scholarship recipient!! We're celebrating with two episodes dedicated to sharing her story and showcasing her dedication to helping others. Before dental hygiene school, Makya spent three years volunteering with YWAM Medical Ships as a dental clinic manager, helping to provide dental services to underserved communities in Papua New Guinea. She talks about how excite...

Brittany Cox, a dental hygienist for 10 years, joins me on this episode to talk about her career. She graduated DH school at the age of 19 while raising a toddler and working full-time! As if that wasn't impressive enough, she recently graduated with a Master of Arts in oral health promotion and has become a key leader in implementing sustainability in the dental field. Her drive to continue learning to provide the best care for he...

Building foundational knowledge is key to being successful in school, especially in dental hygiene school, where all the topics overlap with each other. I've dedicated this episode to explaining why it's important and tips on implementing this into your study routine. As a former educator at several dental hygiene programs and tutor for the DH national board exam, I've seen a pattern in students of those who succeed and those who f...

Heather DeJonge joins me on this episode to share her journey in dental hygiene and how she's become known as The Relaxed Hygienist! Her self-proclaimed title is earned through years of working on herself and regaining her mental and physical health to achieve a more relaxed lifestyle. We cover all topics relating to burnout, stress, and the long-term effects of neglecting your health. She has some amazing stress management tips th...

In this episode, you can hear all about Jazmine's amazing dental hygiene career and how she founded a dental hygiene-independent practice in the state of New Mexico! She's been a practicing RDH for ten years, with experience as an educator and recently took over a dental business development company, Dental HyGenius. Jazmine has found many outlets in this profession that I'm excited to share with you all. I love sharing the differe...

This episode features Angy, a travel RDH who is a learning and development manager with Cloud Dentistry, the online staffing platform! She shares her arduous but inspiring journey to becoming a dental hygienist. As a DACA recipient, she had to navigate paying for school out of pocket and taking the national boards without U.S. citizenship. Angy also worked 40-hour work weeks throughout her two years in dental hygiene school. Workin...

Marisa Kibiersza, known as the financial hygienist on Instagram, joins me on this episode to share her experience of becoming a dental hygienist with a passion for personal finance. We delved into the topic of finance as a dental hygiene student as well as post-licensing to hopefully educate future RDHs on a topic that is not commonly explored in our profession. She shares how she got a bachelor of science in biology with the inten...

Some dental hygiene programs require applicants to take a TEAS test, an exam commonly used for nursing school applications. My goal with this episode was to help guide students who aren't sure where to get started when preparing for this exam. There are several tips and resources in this episode so make sure you give it a listen!

Submit your application for the DHB Scholarship HERE! Transcripts are available on Apple or by request....

My guest speaker on this episode, Daisy, shares her amazing story of becoming a dental hygienist. She practices hygiene in the state of Washington, working part-time so she can focus on her brand and marketing. Daisy and I shared a great conversation about finances and how she covered school costs; spoiler- she was the recipient of 10 scholarships! Her story is especially inspiring as she is a first-generation college student raise...

This episode might win for the best RDH Origin Story on the podcast. Amber D'Andrea joined me to talk about how she ended up in dental hygiene despite originally wanting to become an RN- it's a crazy story that I'm excited for you to hear! She also shares the experience she had in the dental hygiene program at the College of DuPage in Illinois, which allowed her to obtain a bachelor's degree by completing one extra year of schoolin...

Jose has recently graduated from dental hygiene school at NYU's associate's program and plans to continue his education by getting a bachelor's in health promotion and education. He talks about how his major in arts helped him appreciate the field of dentistry when he worked as an orthodontics dental assistant. This clinical experience helped him stand out on his application since his GPA wasn't as high as he hoped. Despite not get...

It's no secret what working in dentistry can do to your body long term... but a topic that isn't talked about enough is noise fatigue. This episode focuses on how noise fatigue is common in the dental office and how it affects both our ear health as well as our mental health. Do you want to know the simple solution to this? Give this episode a listen right now!

Submit your application for the DHB Scholarship HERE! Transcripts are av...

In today's episode, Maryam shares her personal struggles to get through dental hygiene school including the struggles of English not being her first language and how that affected her application. She got into hygiene school on the 4th try and has loved the career since! She's doing amazing things in this profession by writing articles and being a trainer on innovative technology. I found her story so motivational and I think you w...

Matthew @the_guygienist joins me on this episode to talk about his experience as a senior in dental hygiene school. It's amazing how many connections he's made so far within the dental community before even graduating! Matthew is attending an accelerated 2-year program that includes some pre-requisite courses and, although the breaks between semesters are minimal, he still finds time to work part-time as a dental assistant, apply f...

Register for "A Night with Teacher Tina" on January 28th at 7:00 pm CT HERE!!

I love sharing stories of dental hygienists who have carved out a new path in this profession for themselves. Carl Demadema, CEO of Dente Media, shares his amazing story of attending oral hygiene school in South Africa where he was assigned a school project assignment and ended up founding Dente Magazine! This really unique story is a great one and he ...