Melia Lewis, RDH, BSDH
Melia has been a dental hygienist for 10 years and loves being part of the dental field. She's originally from Alberta, Canada, but now lives and works in Utah. When she's not practicing dental hygiene or working on her website Hygiene Edge, she loves being in the Utah Mountains or being with her 5 year old Georgia.
February is definitely becoming one of my favorite months. We can celebrate in so many different ways – it’s children’s oral health month, January is finally over, and we get to celebrate love! 💘
Now, I know Valentine’s Day is technically a day to send flowers to your hubby or wife, or give chocolates to your significant other. But why not spread the love and show appreciation for everyone or everything in your life? Like our career!
We have lots to love about dental hygiene and how it affects our lives. Here are just five worth highlighting:
💙 1. We help people every day
We help them through a tricky appointment that may make them feel nervous or anxious. We help them feel at ease, help them by discussing their oral and overall health, and have conversations on how their lives can be improved by great oral hygiene.
We spend a dedicated hour talking not only about oral health, but overall health, medications, and even help solve some family or work disagreements. We can help build people’s confidence by showing love and support, and addressing concerns, like stain, in a patient’s smile.
❤️ 2. We get to associate with so many amazing people
Dental hygienists are some of the smartest, kindest and most inclusive people I know. We pass intensive boards and even more intensive schooling for our careers, and we talk to different types of people all day, making dental hygienists amazing! I’ve loved getting to know so many RDHs around the country, and becoming friends with many of them.
💚 3. There’s always something to learn
Since dental hygiene is a science, we get to practice and improve what we do every single day. It also means there will be new ways of doing things, new techniques to try out, new instruments to study and new technologies regularly introduced throughout our career. Always having something to learn and new ways to grow and improve definitely decreases our chances of being bored in our profession.
💜 4. We have lots of opportunities
We’re lucky in hygiene right now with legislative changes happening each year to let RDHs do more. In many states, we can work in public health settings, see kids in school-based programs, become program educators, get into sales, and more! We can work clinically and see patients in our office, but also stretch out and try something new.
💛 5. We (usually) don’t work holidays
We’re lucky enough to work in small businesses that are able to take off major holidays. Patients don’t have a priority of seeing their dental team or having their regular six-month prophy appointment on Christmas. Because of that, we get to spend it with our families, too!
In this season of love, let’s reflect and celebrate our amazing profession and the patients that we get to see and smile with each day!
What do you love about dental hygiene?
Visit Hygiene Edge for more from Melia Lewis, RDH, BSDH.
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