Person being interviewed: Vicki Goldback

Current Job Title: Registered Dental Hygienist working at Heriford and Heriford Family Dentistry    and teaching at Old Dominion University

Education: BS in Dental Hygiene and BS in Biochemistry at Old Dominion University

Inspiration to go into the field of dentistry:

In high school she worked as a dental assistant and loved the field, so it was easy for her to decide that she wanted to do something related to it. She said that her original goal was to become a Dentist and applied to dental school and sadly did not get in. She had dental hygiene as her back up plan and says that everything worked out how it was supposed to in the end.

Basic Roles and Responsibilities:

She provides direct patient care and does the cleaning, perio, scaling, and other basic hygiene responsibilities. She also fills the role of the hygiene team leader at her office which consists of making sure everyone is on track with their responsibilities and leading in the team huddle every morning before seeing patients. This role also involves making sure the team is up to date on all the new training requirements and protocols that are in place. She says this was especially important with the recent COVID-19 outbreak and many changes had to be put in place.

Most Rewarding Aspect of the Job:

She says the most rewarding aspect of her job is when patients come back to the office to thank her for helping with improving their health. She mentioned one experience where she had found a lesion in a man’s lip, so she sent him to go get it biopsied and it came back being cancer. The man came back and told her that she saved his life by finding the lesion and was able to get it removed before it became a life-threatening problem. She says that knowing you made a difference in someone’s life is the most rewarding thing you can get out of the job.

Most Surprising Aspect of the Job:

She said there was nothing about the job itself that really surprised her, but one thing she did not know before being in the field was how much of a pain dental insurance is for most people. She says that most of the time you are paying more to have the insurance then what most people can get from it. She thinks that if a company is paying it for you then it is worth it, but to pay for it out of pocket is not worth the money spent.

Most Challenging Aspect of the Job:

She says that one of the most challenging aspects of the job is creating value for all patients. She says that most people place material goods like phones, cars, and new things over their dental health because “it doesn’t hurt right now” or “it’s just not that important”. Most people don’t realize the effect good dental health can have on your overall well being and it is very important to take good care of it.

Advice She Would Give Someone Going into the Dental Field:

The most important thing she says to do is to take care of your body. The dental hygiene career can be extremely hard on the back and hands and she says it is important to learn stretches that help with back pain and joint pain. She also recommends frequent professional massages to relieve and prevent pain.

My Takeaway from the Interview:

From my time talking with Mrs. Goldbach I learned some new and surprising things about the dental field that I was not aware of before. Like, dental insurance being such a pain for most people. The most important thing that I took away from the interview is that just because you have your eyes set on one goal, does not mean that is exactly how things will work out, but it will all work out in the end if you keep pursuing what you want. She is a good example of a hard and dedicated worker to her patients and employer and I would love to obtain those qualities for myself when I work in the dental hygiene field.