Scholarship opportunities in dental hygiene programs

Scholarship Statement

PERSONAL STATEMENT have been working in a dental office since 2003 and it has inspired me to pursue a career as a dental hygienist. The work environment is very enjoyable and I have already witnessed the profound effect that improved oral health has had on dozens of patients. As a dental hygienist, I could more directly contribute to the health, happiness, and welfare of our patients than in my current position.

In my four years at the dental office, I have seen countless patients come in with severe dental and oral health problems that caused them physical discomfort, difficulty eating, and embarrassment about the appearance of their teeth. One man had tremendous difficulty eating, because of the damage from a lifelong habit of chewing tobacco. The tobacco had caused multiple cancerous lesions and resulted in the loss of some of his jawbone. After extensive treatment with several different specialists, including dentists, oral surgeons, and maxillofacial specialists, his ability to speak and to enjoy his food was restored to a level where he could continue a normal life after surviving cancer surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

Another patient of ours was a middle-aged woman who never smiled. She said that she'd been teased about her crooked teeth throughout her childhood and that, consequently, she had always been extremely self-conscious about letting people see her teeth ever since. I noticed that when she smiled, it was always with her mouth closed and that she always looked away from me when she spoke or responded to questions about her condition and her medical history and billing information. I felt very bad for her, because she was such a nice person who clearly felt very bad about her appearance. In my personal opinion, her teeth were not terribly crooked, but I understand how cruel children can be and I could see that, even after all these years, discussing her childhood still brought her to the point of having to choke back tears from the memories. She said that she'd always wanted to have her teeth straightened, but she never could afford to do so until recently. By the time her treatment was complete (last year), the difference that it made in her life was remarkable. She is still patient and now speaks to me directly instead of turning her head to the side or hiding her mouth with her hand when speaking. The first time she laughed out loud, I realized that I had never heard her laugh before, and she even explained that she had actually taught herself to laugh without opening her mouth because of her teeth. She also said that she and her husband both cried the first time she opened her mouth to laugh out loud, because in 27 years of marriage, he had never even heard her laugh.

My experiences in the dental office have also allowed me to help parents calm their children's fears about dentistry, and sometimes, I find myself having some of the same types of conversations with adults. Several times, I have helped parents explain certain decisions to their children, and I think part of the reason I was able to do so is that I am closer in age to them. One fourteen-year-old girl in particular came in and I heard her say that she wasn't talking to her mother. Apparently, she had gone to a tattoo parlor to get a tongue piercing even though her mother had refused to sign the consent form. After the doctor removed the piercing, she refused to talk to anybody and she was obviously very angry at everybody. I spent a few minutes talking to her alone and I showed her some pictures in a medical journal that the doctor gave me.

When I showed her the second picture of a girl with a horribly swollen tongue (and face) in a hospital emergency room, she screamed and shouted "Why are you trying to gross me out?" I showed her the description under the picture which said

"Streptococcal infection caused by oral piercing." After that, she took the whole magazine from me to look at the rest of the pictures and she even read the article

(written for doctors). She asked me if she could have a copy to show some of her friends and I photocopied it for her to take home. I noticed that when she left with her mother they were talking about the article.

Through these experiences, (and others), I learned that dentistry is not just about teeth and gums, but also about people. Some people require only regular preventative dental care, but other people come to our office for problems that affect their lives in more ways than I ever knew. I enjoy my job tremendously and hope that becoming a dental hygienist will allow me to continue helping people, eventually help me pay for college, and maybe even apply to dental school someday.