Name: Jonneisha Roane

Occupation: Dental Hygienist/ Subregional Hygiene Mentor

Job company: Norfolk Dental Care, Norfolk Va

Education: Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene

Q: What inspired you to get into your field of work?

A: I love teeth, it is the first thing I noticed when I meet a person. Initially I wanted to be a dentist but after hygiene school I decided to stick to just being a hygienist

Q: What was the path like to get to your current job?

A: I went to ODU and graduated in 2013. After I worked at Kool Smiles for a while then I found this job. They had a location in Fredericksburg so I went there to get my foot in the door, then I transferred back down here when they had an opening

Q: What are your basic roles and responsibilities as a dental hygienist?

A: We do preventative care, such as preventative cleaning, deep cleaning, x-rays, charting, it is important to get to know the patient before the dentist comes in

Q: What is the most rewarding aspect of being a dental hygienist?

A: My most rewarding aspect is getting to change someone smile and how thankful they are to you for taking care of them

Q: What is the most surprising aspect of your career?

A: The most surprising aspect dealing with the different types of people that we come in contact with

Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your career?

A: The hours, we work Monday- Friday, and I have children now so I feel like I am gone a lot from them.

Q: What advice would you give someone getting into the healthcare field?

A: Make sure it is something you really want to do, and if your skeptical try and have maybe a minor to have something to fall back on. With dental hygiene there are not a lot of options for career advancement like you will always be a hygienist unless you work for a corporation with different roles within there. If you need to need to keep things different in your life, I would say reconsider dental hygiene because it is repetitive.