In dentistry, as in life, those deserving the most praise often go unheralded. Hygienists don’t typically receive the acclaim or public fanfare of dentists, but their contributions to their practices are no less valuable.

To celebrate National Hygiene Month, Ultradent asked folks in the dental industry (and patients too) for nominations of hygienists deserving of recognition.

The responses have been overwhelming—hundreds of glowing replies for hygienists all over the country. Many are being celebrated for their dedication. Others for their quality work. Patient care is a common theme; so are warm, generous, and charming personalities.

We’ll be awarding one standout hygienist with a brand new Ultrapro^™ Tx Air handpiece (OK, it’s $1, for legal reasons). While only one can win, we want to make sure to highlight some of the worthy hygienists who were nominated. Below you’ll find excerpts from the submissions we received. Names and other personal identifying information have been removed to protect anonymity—names are replaced with X, places replaced with Y.

Do any of these sound like a hygienist you know? Or maybe… does one sound like YOU? Stay tuned next week when we’ll pick our winner!

Submission Excerpts

“X brings sunshine into our office! She is a positive person and loves to make people happy. Our patients love her thoroughness and kindness. They praise her for being understanding, explaining what she is doing, and for being gentle.”

“The last 5 years, X has been working once a week in a medwaiver program where the patients are mentally and physically compromised. I have never seen her lose her patience with these patients (or any patient). The medwaiver cases are demanding yet she " gets it done" and with a smile on her face.”

“Our family loves X. My girls are always so excited to go to the dentist. They are like family. A couple weeks before our appointment my girls will ask, ‘isn't our cleaning coming up?’ That's how much they love it there.”

“X has been an amazing, exceptional addition to our office, not only is she highly skilled at her job but she is an absolute delight to be around. She is well versed, motivated, and hard working. Her calm nature and sense of humor puts everyone at ease—patients and staff. Having been a hygienist for over 20 years, she remains passionate about always continuing her education in the field and learning new things to implement, from technology to products.”

 

“X worked tirelessly for over 3 decades in this profession, dedicated to elevating the standard of care with her patients and inspiring other hygienists to be better and do better. X worked nearly every facet of the dental practice with the exception of becoming a doctor. She advanced her degrees and career to become a clinical coach and technology trainer. As a clinical coach, X elevates practices to create interoffice synergy, balance and growth while achieving clinical excellence which in turn increases patient comfort, convenience, and commitment. X served as delegate for the Y Dental Hygienists Association to expand the restricted capabilities of dental hygienists to serve the underserved population in receiving much needed access to care.”

“The patients in this practice have been here for a long time and she has cared for everyone ever so vivaciously. She has turned this practice a second home to both the patients and her coworkers. She is our warmth and our scented autumn breeze that brings a cinnamon-stick-and-hot-cocoa feeling into mind. We deeply love her and appreciate her love and service.“

 

“Throughout all of the craziness with COVID-19, X has kept her spirits high. Her attitude of ‘it will work out’ has helped to keep the office sane on crazy days. Her confidence in our office and our patients really help to ground us and help us realize that yes, we will be OK. On top of all the craziness, our patients love X. Our office is where it is at because of her positive attitude and her willingness to dig in and lift the office to the next level.”

“He can identify with all people of all ages, races, religious and social economic backgrounds while being very empathetic and sympathetic toward our patients. He is a TEAM player, always helps where needed. He makes sure his work area is always cleaned and he is never idle. One day I was missing where he was since he had a cancellation. When to my surprise, I looked out the window to see him cleaning our widows on the outside. He is the most respectful person.”

“X always stays on track, stays up to date on anything that could influence things here at the office and always has a positive disposition. She makes Mondays feel like Fridays!”

“X is amazing. She recently retired from the Army Reserves where she spent 21 years while also, for the last three years, working with us full time (and then some) as our only hygienist. She is incredibly thorough, kind, knowledgeable, and helpful. Our patients love her and so do we.”

“X is the light of the day in this office. If X is not working that day, then the day just seems off. She is a superb clinician who takes pride in her work and cares for her patient's individual health needs. She keeps the office upbeat and always manages to make us laugh even when times are tough. She is the glue that holds us together!"

“X had recently joined the public health dental team at Y county when the coronavirus hit and the dental clinics were closed. X immediately volunteered to join the nurses doing COVID-19 testing. Being bilingual, X was crucial to the success of testing our low-income, uninsured county residents.”

“X is very young but she has taken this bull by the horns. What bull you ask? Well, she is younger than 25 and has managed to start her own hygiene practice in her rural hometown.”

Want to Nominate a Hygienist?

If there’s a special hygienist in your life that you’d like to nominate, there’s still time! Click here to fill out a submission form. We’ve also put together some digital thank you cards which you can download at the link above to use on social media and share some love with the hygienists making a difference in your life.

When I was handed the Umbrella™ soft tissue retractor I cringed to prepare myself. I’d gone through years of orthodontic adjustments, as well as tooth extractions, so I thought I knew exactly what was coming. But the relief I felt—it has to be experienced. It felt like it was fitted just for me.

“Some retractors ask too much from the muscles, the ligaments, and at the end of the procedure you get this fatigue,” says Dr. Rafael Beolchi, DDS, MSc, of São Paulo, Brazil. “There is no muscle fatigue with Umbrella.”

After repressing the mild resentment of going without this product until now, I look forward to my dentist stocking it. I’ll shove it in his Christmas stocking if I have to.