I had the great honor to interview my personal and family Dental Hygienist, Kerry Dryer. Her current place of employment is at Railey Hill Dental, but her career has not always taken place at that establishment. Her initial inspiration to enter the field began by speaking with her own Dental hygienist. She explained to Kerri that the job is the perfect balance between skill and flexibility with her own schedule. This appealed to Kerri because she knew she wanted to pursue something in the medical field while also maintaining a healthy family schedule. She obtained her associates degree at her local community college in Indianapolis, Indiana, and continued her education at the Dental Hygiene school at Indiana University. Once she had her degree in Health Sciences, it was necessary for her to pass the clinical state board and the written national board exam. Once all of that was completed she interviewed for specific dental practices and landed a job. 

   So far, dentistry has continued to be a growing field and advanced in its competitiveness. As far as a description of the day-to-day roles and responsibilities of a dental hygienist, you must check medical histories, document existing conditions within the patient’s mouth, looking for cavities and existing issues with their teeth and gums, and operate x-ray equipment.They give advice to their patients on how to better or maintain the proper conditions of their mouth. They clean plaque, scale hard calculus, check for gum disease and bone disease. It is also equally important to sterilize all of the equipment and clean each part of the room in between patients. You are required to navigate dental software to complete charting and schedule the patient’s next appointment. Another aspect of the job is the cosmetic procedures such as teeth whitening, veneers, and dentures. 

   She labeled the most rewarding aspect of her career to be when her patients see her time and time again over the years and she can visibly notice her earning their trust. She loves each of her patients and enjoys watching them begin to care about their own dental health after seeing her. Contrarily, the most surprising aspect would be the amount of people who do not care about their teeth at all, and would rather let them fall out then put money towards a procedure. Throughout the years of her career, she was surprised to know she would be required to be more of a “sales person” when it comes to the cosmetic side. She is asked to “plant the seed” for what a patient might desire, even if they have not considered it before. The reason for this is because all of the cosmetic procedures are what brings in the most money for the business. The advice she gives most often to people entering the field is to remember that you should only care about the patient’s health slightly more than they do themselves. In fact you should meet them in the middle by encouraging them to keep up with their hygiene, but some people simply do not care. Overall, she explains that Dental Hygiene is a super rewarding career with room for advancement, and balance for her personal life.