Dental Hygiene Basics

Kevin Lopez and Paula Chebat join me on the podcast to help shine some positivity on the field of dental hygiene! They're both passionate dental hygiene educators and trainers for the Guided Biofilm Therapy system, doing amazing things with their careers. Despite their impressive accomplishments today, both Paula and Kevin faced significant challenges during their educational journeys, proving tha...

Megan Koller shares her path to becoming a dental hygienist and the sacrifices she made along the way. We discussed her challenges with mental health in dental hygiene school, a topic I think is so important to highlight for incoming and current students. Despite her struggles, she graduated and worked hard to pay off 40k in student loan debt! You can hear her tips on how she was able to accomplis...

Did you know you can survive weeks without food but only days without sleep? Sleep is such an underrated necessity and it's time you start prioritizing it! You are your most valuable asset, so let this episode be a reminder to prioritize yourself with adequate sleep, hydration, and nutrition while in school. Showing up for yourself in these ways will not only boost your performance but also help y...

Ready to learn how to make the most of your time in your dental hygiene school clinic appointments? You're in the right place! The time you have in the clinic in dental hygiene school is precious, and you want to use the time wisely to make yourself a better, more confident clinician. In my experience as a dental hygiene instructor, I've found that many students are scrambled, unorganized, and und...

Time management is a non-negotiable must-have skill in dental hygiene school and once you graduate. From the moment you call your patient back to your operatory to when they are checking out from their appointment, you are actively being productive to avoid falling behind schedule! This can sound daunting and exhausting, but honing in on your time management skills will make this a breeze. Tune in...

Andrew Johnston became a dental hygienist in 2009 and has been busy with his career since. A few accomplishments he's had include earning a bachelor's in business management, becoming a co-founder of the podcast A Tale of Two Hygienists, and working as a director of dental hygiene at a corporate dental office. Before dental hygiene school, Andrew had a successful career in retail management and in...

Saray Fung is a practicing dental hygienist who graduated from the fast-track program at NYU, finishing dental hygiene school in just 17 months! Although she experienced anxiety in school, she was able to overcome it by using mental health resources provided by her school. Today, she is a recently certified myofunctional therapist running her own practice, OroWell ! Saray can now assess patients w...

My guest, Deanna, has an inspiring dental hygiene story starting from her military experience straight out of high school, earning her bachelor's in dental hygiene while working two jobs, and then eventually getting her master's degree! Today, she still practices in the operatory as a dental hygienist while also doing public speaking, CE courses, and writing articles. Infection control is a main t...

Dental hygienists are increasingly breaking out of traditional roles in the clinical setting and exploring other opportunities. Debi Rubino Dencek is my guest on this episode- she is a dental hygienist and the founder of CordEze®. Her product was designed to reduce stress on hygienists' wrists and prevent musculoskeletal disorders. The innovation of her product is impressive, but just wait until y...

Megan McCann is on today's episode to share her dental hygiene school experience. From high school, straight into dental hygiene school, she graduated with her bachelor's by the age of 22! Now, she's 26 and back in school working on her master's in dental hygiene. She has a passion for education and aspires to teach as a dental hygiene instructor after she graduates. The key takeaway from this epi...

Saying you want to "do more" sounds like it implies you aren't currently doing enough. Chances are, you're most likely doing more than enough and working really hard to get where you want to be. Regularly self-reflecting on your personal and professional goals is crucial in helping you define what success means to you! Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (02:51) What “Doing More” Means (07:29) Check In With...

Rachael Zushin is back this week for part 2 of her amazing dental hygiene story. She shares some valuable insight on how to build a vision for your future to help strengthen your drive and motivation. We also cover another important and hot topic of conversation- the possibility for dental assistants to learn dental hygiene skills on the job. Tune in to hear our thoughts! Timestamps:  (00:00)...

Rachael Zustin was destined to have the RDH title behind her name- but that doesn't mean sacrifice and hard work weren't involved. With (literal) sweat and tears involved, she was successful in becoming a dental hygienist, facing several obstacles on the way. She is an inspiration and proof that if you set your mind to something, you CAN do it! Rachael struggled to get into dental hygiene school,...

Tooth Fairy Tish is back on the podcast to update us on what she's been up to in the dental hygiene world! Since our talk last year, she has been busy in entrepreneurship expanding her mentorship program for new grad dental hygienists, publishing articles, and continuing her journey with public speaking. Letitia is an advocate for prioritizing mental health, preventing burnout, and staying involve...

Are you considering shadowing a dental hygienist? It's one of the best things you can do before applying to dental hygiene school! Tune in to this bonus episode to hear about ideas on how to dress, what to bring with you, and questions to prepare for the dental hygienist you're shadowing.  Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (01:23) Attire for Shadowing at a Dental Office (03:51) What to Bring With You...

Florie Mancilla is a dental hygienist in California with experience as a dental assistant and dental hygiene instructor, public health hygienist, and laser trainer. She became a dental assistant and did that for 10 years before fulfilling her dream of going to dental hygiene school. As a first-generation college student, she figured out a lot of the college process on her own yet still managed to...

Jose is back again to host his second episode with guest Maria Paula Rodriguez, his dental hygiene classmate from NYU! Maria Paula works as a clinical hygienist in both general and pediatric dentistry; she loves that dental hygiene allows her schedule to be versatile and can switch up where she's working throughout the week! Originally from Venezuela, she explains what it was like for her to start...

Jose, a guest on the podcast back in February, is back on this episode to host his very first podcast episode with guest Shelby Wagenman! It's no surprise that we dental hygienists love to nerd out about patient education, so you can expect to hear some great oral hygiene instruction tips from Jose and Shelby in this episode. Another one of the great topics covered was how Shelby overcame the stru...

Part 2 of my episode with Lily and Marcus is here! We talk in depth about their dental hygiene school experiences and navigating parenthood, as well as employment during their programs. Both originally graduated with their associate's in dental hygiene and explain the steps they took to get into a master's program. Don't miss their final words of wisdom to all dental hygienists at the end of the e...

Lily and Marcus are pursuing master's degrees in dental hygiene, and both join me to share their unique journeys as RDHs. Lily has been a hygienist for over two decades and, outside of studying, works part-time and volunteers as a hygienist, while Marcus has been a hygienist for seven years and currently works in pediatric hygiene. They share how they both came from completely different careers (t...

This episode is a deep dive with your host of the Dental Hygiene Basics Podcast, Dana Paladino, on the Toothbytes Podcast with Mia and Nicole! We dive into the timeline of my entire academic and professional timeline and how I ended up with all these different jobs as a dental hygienist. To name a few, I am a public health hygienist, national board tutor, ADEX examiner, and business owner. I hope...

This episode is all about self-talk and analyzing our inner dialogue to shift our feelings and actions for the better! We underestimate the power of our thoughts and how they can impact our performance. Being able to recognize negative thoughts and understand where they're coming from can help us gain clarity on our emotions and navigate them in a positive direction. No matter where you're at in y...

An Chih Do has been a dental hygienist for 10 years and has 19 years of dental experience. Her journey started when she received her degree in film to then working as a dental assistant, and eventually becoming a pediatric dental hygienist. She has built a platform of community with dental hygienists and has tailored content for pediatric care. She is someone who doesn't shy away from being involv...

Scholarships can help to relieve the financial burden of tuition in school, which is why it is my passion and goal to continue awarding dental hygiene students money with the Dental Hygiene Basics Scholarship! In this process, I've reviewed a plethora of applications and picked up on where students are going wrong when applying to scholarships. This episode goes over my tips for students when appl...

Amanda Hale, a dental hygienist for 18 years, has developed such a versatile resume and has truly done the most she can with her career! Our conversation in this episode covers her RDH origin story, her journey as a clinical hygienist, and what keeps her busy outside of the operatory. If branching out of clinical hygiene piques your interest, I highly recommend giving this episode a listen. A...