I never knew that I would be in the Dental Hygiene program until I moved to the US.

In

fact, I really didn’t know that there is such a profession. I have always studied science and have

worked as an alternative medicine practitioner, I never thought I would choose another career.

After moving to the US with my family, I decided to pursue another career. I arranged a meeting

with the student advisor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences at Little Rock

(UAMS). I must say that I was discouraged to hear that I will have to complete 39 credits of

prerequisite classes even before I can apply for this program. For a few days, I forgot about this

program and started looking at other options. Meanwhile, I talked to one of my friends who is a

dental hygienist and I still remember she said that everything else would fall in place if I am

determined. I applied and started working on my pre requisites. I was told that it will take 2 years

to complete prerequisites but I was able to finish them in a year. Also, I had to do observe a

dental practice for 20 hours as a part of the application process to get familiar with the

profession. I fell in love with this profession. I loved the fact that I would be working one on one

with my patients and there are many patients who would be my lifelong visitors. I was never

exposed to the world of dentistry before so I was really fascinated to learn more about this

profession. Following year in the fall, I got selected into the dental hygiene program at UAMS.

I still remember that the first few days were very overwhelming. I am thankful to my

parents and in-laws who stayed with me during the first year of the program to help me with my

baby. Dhyani was 9 months old when I started. First few days, I learned about how all the classes

will go and how clinics will run. It was in a week or two that I stepped into the clinic and started

learning on basic skills. It was really hard to keep up with the classes and clinics because of the

many test outs I would have every week. I still remember my first general anatomy test was 90
minutes long and had 120 questions on it! My first clinical test out was unit preparation and I

failed that one. Almost everyone in the class failed. I realized that this is harder than I thought. I

remember my clinic instructor said to stay calm and try again and we all did it. I laugh at this

today since unit preparation has become like second nature now but it was a stressful event when

I had to test out on it the first time. I started to realize that I will have to stay calm and patient but

hard working to get through this program. I was in the middle of the second semester when my

husband decided to move to Iowa and so I applied for a transfer at the Kirkwood community

college. I am really glad that I took this decision because not only it helped me to stay with my

family but also, I got an opportunity to learn from some very experienced and educational

instructors that Kirkwood has.

It is really amazing how much I learned about oral health during the program. When I

started in the program, I had very little knowledge about prevention in oral health. I have learned

why and how the simple regime of brushing and flossing can prevent many oral diseases such as

gingivitis, periodontal disease, and caries. Initially, I use to be very shy to ask questions but

gradually I started asking questions to educate and treat my patients effectively. I started making

notes of what I felt has been my weakness during the entire clinical time and I made sure to work

on it. I used my instructor’s knowledge effectively to help me answer my questions. I also love

reading. I keep reading articles from ‘access’ ‘journal of dental hygiene’ and ‘dimensions of

dental hygiene’ to keep up with my knowledge. One more thing that is fascinating about this

profession is that it’s constantly growing. There is always something new happening to help you

grow.

Community outreach rotations were also very educational. It is a different experience than

a routine clinic day. I was able to treat more complicated patients and I am glad that I was able to
provide them oral hygiene instructions. I still remember one of my patients said: “you gave me

new teeth!”. It was really a great moment to hear that from a patient. Coming from a developing

country where people do not often visit the dental clinic regularly, I realized how much more

oral health education is still needed. I wish I knew as a child that I should ideally be going to see

the dentist every six months. I would like to arrange few workshops to make people aware about

the need of getting regular dental care.

I am really happy and excited that I am going to be a dental hygienist. My perspective

towards this profession has changed tremendously since the day I started into this program. I am

looking forward to a successful career and I cannot wait to educate more people about oral

health.