Modern Hygienist - October 2008 - (Page 34)

career | MENTORING Professional rewind e backstory of Deborah Dopson-Hartley. by Thais Carter MENTORING Proﬁt isn’t a dirty word Great patient care and a thriving practice can go hand in hand. It could be you Hygienists working as consultants or speakers started in your position. So what’s your dream? Usually, the focus of an article like this is to profile an everyday dental hygienist—someone you’d find working in the practice down the street or teaching at the community college across town. We love to uncover the simple but extraordinary ways that they impact their practice, patients and community. This month, we’re working backwards. Many of you are familiar with the name Deborah Dopson-Hartley, RDH. Whether you’ve heard her speak, read an article she’s written, or met her at a tradeshow, she’s a dental hygienist who is out there, making the case for the business of dental hygiene on the national stage. Someone on that kind of platform is often too easily dismissed as an anomaly in the profession or too intimidating to be a “mentor.” We want to share some of Ms. DopsonHartley’s history so that you can draw connections to your own story and appreciate the personal side of a more public personality in the dental hygiene community. IT ALL STARTED WITH BAD TEETH “I had bad teeth and lived at the dental office,” Ms. DopsonHartley begins with a broad smile that makes you doubt her teeth were ever that bad. “My dentist offered me a job as a dental assistant and I ended up cleaning teeth as one of the first preceptorship dental hygienists. I started doing check-ups and exams in 1970.” Soon, she decided to “make it legal” and attend dental hygiene school at Pensacola Junior College in Florida. Those years of training laid a critical foundation that Ms. Dopson-Hartley would build on in the years to come. “With the love in my heart, the knowledge in my brain and the skill in my hands, I can help lead patients from infection and disease to health and wellness for not much money and not much time,” she explains. “No other profession can do that.” FIRST PATIENT, LIFELONG LESSONS Ms. Dopson-Hartley advocates for polishing teeth prior to scaling. Today, that belief is 34 modernhygienist.com | October 2008 http://www.modernhygienist.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Modern Hygienist - October 2008

Modern Hygienist - October 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Letters News Modern Solutions Trends: Homecare Trends: Perio Trends: Ergo Trends: Mid Care After Chemo Professional Rewind Esthetic Expertise: Make or Break Relationship Hands-on Hygiene: Have You Seen the Light? Going the Distance Training for Life Presi-dental Politics Ad Index Moonlighting

Modern Hygienist - October 2008

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