Growing and expanding your preventive role

Anna Dacosta, RDH, was not happy practicing clinical dental hygiene. She teamed up with Angie Stone, RDH, to change the direction of her career and provide more preventive care in the community.

Since the profession’s inception, dental hygienists have worked to increase access to optimum dental hygiene care throughout the world, and provide care based on the evidence derived from research and practice. Being part of a growing profession can be inspiring if you want to expand your current career. If your career seems stagnant and you want to grow, where do you start? We believe there are opportunities working with underserved populations.

Vulnerable populations are in need of preventive dental services but may encounter barriers in accessing that care at dental offices because oral health care is provided predominantly by dentists in private practice settings. Efforts to use new sites of care or types of professionals have been controversial and polarizing.