Interview Questions & Responses: 

1. Name: Amber Capps
2. Position (job title), and where you are working: Registered Dental Hygienist and is currently working in a private practice.
3. Education (what degrees or certifications do you have): She has an “Associates in applied Science Degree with a major in Dental Hygiene.”
4. A picture of yourself (preferable): none
5. What inspired you to get into the field of dentistry? She was inspired to get into the field because of “My personal experience. I am congenitally missing multiple permanent teeth and underwent full mouth reconstruction my senior year of high school.”
6. What was your path to your current job? While each person may have a different pathway to their dream job, it was interesting to hear about Amber’s. “I started as a part time hygienist in a private practice and as a part time temporary hygienist for a hygiene temporary agency. I soon was able to get on full time on with the private practice and worked there for 10 years before moving to a different private practice where I currently work full time.”
7. Your favorite (or most rewarding) aspect about the job: Her favorite aspect about Dental Hygiene is “working with and building relationships with patients.”
8. What is the most surprising aspect of your career? no answer.
9. What is the most challenging aspect of your career? She feels that the most challenging aspect of Dental Hygiene is “getting some patients to understand the importance of perio treatment and continued perio maintenance.”
10. Advice you would give to someone getting into the health field: Some advice that she would like to give would be that “my school didn’t provide patients I had to find my own, start looking/recruiting patients now. Ask previous hygiene students for their old patients etc.”

One thing I learned from this interview was why she chose dentistry as her profession. I found it extremely interesting that her reason was because of her personal experience with the dental field and her own anatomy because mine is as well. Also, while everyone may have a different pathway to reaching their goal, it was helpful to hear her specific journey. One thing that I took away from this interview was that it is important to start looking for patients immediately regardless if the school provides them or not. I found that interesting and helpful knowledge to consider when I am in the hygiene program. I enjoyed this assignment and the chance to learn more about my desired career.