The Journey of a First-Generation Dental Hygienist: Challenges and Triumphs

In this episode, we dive deep into the journey of transitioning from dental hygiene school to the professional world, featuring a candid conversation with a recent graduate navigating the complexities of licensure and the challenges faced as a minority in the field.

Our guest shares her personal experiences, starting with the lengthy and often frustrating process of obtaining a dental hygiene license in Texas. She emphasizes the importance of financial preparation during this transition period, especially for those who may not have prior experience as dental assistants. The anticipation of waiting for her license while watching classmates begin their careers adds a layer of emotional complexity to her journey.

We explore her background as a first-generation student from Miami, with roots in Haiti and St. Croix, and how this diverse upbringing shaped her perspective. Moving to Fayetteville for hygiene school presented its own set of challenges, including navigating microaggressions and feeling outcasted. Despite these difficulties, she found solace and support through social media, connecting with other dental hygienists and utilizing platforms like Instagram and TikTok for inspiration and networking.

Our guest discusses the role of technology in her education, particularly the impact of tools like ChatGPT during her studies and board preparations. She highlights the importance of diligent studying and the need to actively engage with the material to succeed.

As we delve into her future aspirations, she shares her passion for community health and mission trips, expressing a desire to educate and provide dental care in underserved areas, particularly in the Caribbean. Her long-term goals include pursuing a master's degree and eventually transitioning into teaching and research.

Throughout the episode, we touch on the significance of community and mentorship, especially for minorities in the dental field. Our guest encourages listeners to seek out support networks and to be proactive in their professional development.

We also discuss the current state of dental hygiene practice in Texas, including recent legislative changes that impact the autonomy of hygienists. Our guest stresses the importance of advocacy and staying informed about industry developments.

Finally, we wrap up with a light-hearted discussion about the cultural phenomenon of reality TV, specifically "Love Island," and how it reflects societal perceptions and the importance of protecting one's energy in the public eye.

Join us for this insightful episode filled with personal anecdotes, professional advice, and a call to action for aspiring dental hygienists to engage with their communities and advocate for their profession.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back to Dentalers. This is season four. This is episode six. And we have a recent graduate, Maya Clark. She is one of our brown girl student members, and now she's a dental hygienist.

Welcome & Maya’s Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:12

She just graduated. The baby just made its way out. And I'm so excited and happy for her because the child had gone through some stuff in dental hygiene school. But um, I just gave her the stern auntie talk and she was like, she ain't even helped. We don't have enough students talking about the transition and how it is navigating through dental hygiene school in 2022, 2024, um, 2024, 2025 in the chat GPT social media distraction era. I don't know how y'all are doing.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

So, Maya, let's talk about you know where you are, how's life after graduation? What advice would you give in some of your experiences? You don't have to go into detail, but being a minority in a dental hygiene program.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

So let's start off with where I'm at. Um, a lot of like you mentioned, a lot of people don't talk about the transition from being a student to working in the field. Now, every state is pretty much different. They know that they have different requirements when they're getting licensed,

Life After Graduation & Licensing Hurdles

SPEAKER_00 1:10

and it's a little bit difficult starting off getting your license from an exam versus just doing a licensed transfer. Well, Texas is not the quickest uh state when it comes to getting license, and they're very particular with their things. Their processing is like four to six weeks and don't have any, you know, discrepancies or anything going on with your application because it's gonna take another four to six weeks. So if I had any advice, because currently I'm waiting for my license, I would definitely say have some money set aside for that transitional period, especially if you're not a uh dental assistant prior or working as a dental assistant, even working up front if possible, if any of the you know, uh dental offices are allowing you to do that, because that place where it's like you worked so hard to graduate, you graduated, you passed your boards and everything. And what do I have to show for it? I'm waiting, I'm waiting, that anticipation. And it can get really, it can get really, you know, dark sometimes, especially when you're seeing your classmates get their license. They're like, girl, I'm temping, I'm paying I'm getting paid this much an hour. I'm getting paid, and I'm just like, dang, like, so granted, I did have a surgery. So right after hygiene school, I gotta open my omectomy. So I'm very grateful that my partner has been helping me throughout that and taking care of me. You know, I'm really grateful I don't have any bills to pay right now. So that definitely works for me, but not everybody has that opportunity and you know is blessed in that capacity to be able to just relax and chill while they're waiting for their license. So definitely that time is it can be tough, but preparing so that you don't have to be ready, so you have to get ready.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Yes, yes, yes. No, that's absolutely so you're still waiting, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:44

I'm still waiting. They were asking me about my name, and I was like, I gave you all my documents, and then that added another four to six weeks. So I'm just here.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Wow. No, you know what? You might have the perfect opportunity. Have you contacted any offices and let them know like you're waiting and you would want to come in there just as an assistant or no, you're taking care of you, so you don't even have to do that. You can just step in.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Right, right. And I think I'm at the point where I'm just I'm not into dental assisting anymore. I'm just like, I got you.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

You don't need the money, you don't need to do that.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

Yeah. So, you know, if you if I needed to, then I would. And I started like here and here and there and building some relationships with some offices. So that works, you know, talking with Heartland Dano, Aspen Dennel, looking

Financial Planning for the Waiting Period

SPEAKER_00 3:25

at what kind of schedule I want for myself. So I'm definitely preparing for when that license number comes. Yeah, I'll be great.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Okay, what part of uh Texas are you in? Houston, Texas. Oh, so did you meet up with Aliska?

SPEAKER_00 3:38

No, I haven't. No, not yet. Not yet.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Okay, there's a couple girls. I don't know if you're in Houston. Okay, I don't know if they're in Houston.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Yeah, we need a meeting in Houston.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

There's a couple brown girls in the Texas area. I don't know where they are. I kind of want to do a conference in Texas. I don't know if I want to, but something is like go to Texas and do the conference next week. So I don't know. We might have a small little seminar in there and have our big one in North Carolina that we might do something like that. But yeah, okay, so that transition period after what about during you had called me and was like, I don't need to talk to you.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Yes, okay, so a little bit about myself. You know, I'm from Miami. I'm first generation. My mom was born in Haiti and my dad was born in St. Cora, the U.S. Virgin Islands. Now, the Miami that I know um is it's very diverse, but we're all first gen or they're immigrants. It's very heavily because the Caribbean Sea is right there, so that's where most of the importing is going on. So moving to the South for hygiene school, which is the real South, because um, you know, Miami's really diverse compared to it. It was like black and white for me. And I did get some warnings prior, and I was just like, no, it's okay. I got it. You know, I'm a likable person, and um, this is gonna be

Building Relationships While Awaiting License

SPEAKER_00 4:54

great. And, you know, now that everything has happened, I wish I didn't have to go through certain things to learn how to maneuver corporate. I don't want to say corporate America is not corporate, but it's very corporate-like. It was a very difficult time for me, you know, between microaggressions, being outcasted, lied on, even assaulted. It was a very, very difficult time for me all the way to the very end. For the very end. And it was very difficult. It definitely was very difficult.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

But you made it on the other side, and you know, like if you can go through that, then it's just like anybody else can get it. And then you can advise them, like, put your head down and just get through it. Then after you get through, you can use your platform and your voice to do whatever. But from what I understand, those same instructors are not no longer the art department chair or whatever, they're no longer at that school, anyways. They have a whole new faculty.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

The director was no longer with us, but all the rest of the faculty is there. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

So okay. How is it navigating through hygiene school with the social media, the TikToks, the Instagram, like the Twitch, all of that stuff that are distractions for you guys?

SPEAKER_00 6:03

You know what? It adds it wasn't as bad for me because I'm not deep in social media like that. Like, yes, I, you know, am I on Instagram, TikTok, but not as much as um, you know, other people, my peers, you know, my age group. I would say I used it for good though. I definitely got some inspiration times that I needed a push. I definitely, you know, I networked a lot, met a lot of dental hygienists, you know, got that that feed, that feet being fed into. So it helped me. It really did. I really, I also saw a lot of things on social media

Relocation, Pay, and Scheduling Strategy

SPEAKER_00 6:35

where it was kind of like people are looking to understand dental hygiene and such like that. And there's a lot of people that are on social media that are, you know, giving um not the best advice sometimes, but there's also people that are giving great, great advice and just navigating and seeing that in real time as I'm learning things in hygiene school and you know, debunking those myths and all that stuff. It wasn't that bad. It was it really wasn't that bad. I would say, even with Chat GBT, during that time during hygiene school, it definitely was the time that chat GBT was starting to being implemented into the school systems, the work and all that stuff in total. And uh Chat GBT has helped me immensely, especially when I was studying for my national boards. That's between that and um notes, yeah. I want to say I have to say Chat GBT definitely helped me.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

So yeah, did you do any board reviews?

SPEAKER_00 7:27

I did do some board reviews. I did, I did, I did some board reviews, and I would say they helped me tremendously. I did do some private tutoring kind of situation, and that helped me the most between that, but you can do board reviews all day, every day. But if you're not gonna go back home and reread those notes or take that time out every single day, I'm talking about I was studying two to three hours a day, and that was the most studying I've ever done in my life. But I know the information enough to teach it back.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

So yeah, yeah. So board reviews like they're just cramming everything into a couple days that you learn. So that's a refresher, but you still have to look back at that. So board review doesn't mean you're guaranteed to pass. You need to study too.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Oh, yeah, you definitely have to study. Yeah, I mean, they can give you the information like they've been doing throughout the whole hygiene program, but if you're not gonna go back home and read those chapters, it's not gonna help that much. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

I can't believe you moved. So, what is the pay difference in North Carolina versus Texas? Have you done the I have I do my market research?

SPEAKER_00 8:25

That's a fair market value. But um, they're about the same. They're about the same. The only thing is Texas doesn't have state income tax, so it's a little bit more take home than North Carolina. Um, about 45, I think start. I don't know. I heard some people starting off at 38, but um in Houston, you can start between 45.50. And if you're temping, you're about 5560.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

So are you going to temp or are you gonna look for a home?

SPEAKER_00 8:51

I'm going to do part-time and I'm gonna temp on the sides. Oh, you're gonna do temp T. I value, I value having my own uh time, you know, being able to say, I don't want to go in today. So my ideal schedule is probably working Tuesdays

Navigating School as a Minority

SPEAKER_00 9:07

and Thursdays um out of office and then Mondays and Fridays tempting. So okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

So has mentorship, has brown girl RDH helped you along the way? I know you talked about one of our members, Maria, reaching out to you and providing mentorship. How did that matter?

SPEAKER_00 9:22

I love Maria so, so much. You know, and I recommend every anybody that like that's a minor minority that speaks to me, I'm like, go on the Brown Girl R RDH, you know, Facebook, ask for a mentor. There's gonna be people that are wanting to feed into you. And that has helped me so much. Just during the times that I even just need somebody to just listen to me about what's going on in hygiene school. She has helped so much with just advice, chatting, I mean, and just plugging me in as well. So I love that. And you mentioned Jasmine too, another brown girl that yes, I actually met Jasmine last um at the last conference in DC. And she's the only reason I knew about um the master's program at University of Michigan that I'm I'm at right now.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

Oh, are you taking the master's program? You're working on your master's wow, what are you doing with that? You want to have your own mobile mobile public health? What are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 10:13

Mobile public health. Um, but I also want to do I'm big, big on community health. Mission trips, I'm talking about everybody, let me know when is the next mission trip. I'm I'm there. So between mission trips, community health, and education, I'm thinking about my exit plan before I even entered. So I knew that one day I wanted to be a teacher working from home, uh teaching at a university, some or some sort research. Um, those are my goals, and especially um influencing laws.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Oh, so we might be having a mission trip in uh December or January. So I'm gonna count you in.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Yeah, because we definitely need to do it at least one a year. The Bahamas or Jamaica is where we go. And I know Jamaica we see over 600 kids, and it's a small um little church that we work out of. And and the one in the Bahamas, we haven't done it yet, but it's with this company called Twice, and they have a dental clinic, um, a really nice dental clinic. The only thing is the Bahamas is super expensive, so we have to go get an Airbnb, we have to get flights. Like, I don't know why the Bahamas is so expensive, but like it's a big tourist spot. Okay, yeah. I'm like, well, we might as well get on a cruise and hop off for a couple hours and clean some day in the house.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Right. But no, I definitely am into mission trips. And another thing that I what even made me want to become a hygienist is that there's not a lot of education within the Caribbean with dental hygiene. Like I know that there's a lot of mission trips to Jamaica, but I'm also looking to branch out to other islands like St. Croix, St. Thomas, even those are just, you know, US owned. So you don't need a passport, such Trinidad, Guyana, St. Lucia, you know, all these different islands that um definitely need the help as well. Where do you see yourself in about five years? Um in about five years, I will be finishing, I will have finished my master's by then. And I'll probably still be in clinic between clinic and doing mission trips, research. That's where I see myself in five years. I

Social Media, ChatGPT, and Studying

SPEAKER_00 12:09

know that I want to be in clinic for a little bit, but the master's just to help me transition out a little bit easier.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Okay, so when you actually get into the field, so you want to do more teaching, um, more mission. You probably will have something to where you like break up your your career. And I see you as uh, you know, being someone that you didn't have in hygiene school, like really advocating because we don't know, we really don't know where the profession is gonna be. And I don't know if things are the same in Texas, you know, but with your message, you can certainly teach, you can become a department program. Um, you know, you can do so much more out there in Texas. There, do you remember when you first learned about Brown Girl RDH? Like what happened and how did you integrate?

SPEAKER_00 12:54

Very vaguely, you know, despite what other people may think, I am a shy person, but when it comes to networking, especially something that I'm new in, I'm going to find everyone that I can that is where I want to be. And I just kind of stumbled upon a brown girl RDH maybe on Instagram, I think, or maybe Facebook. Yeah, I it was Facebook. Um, and then I found that you guys had an Instagram and just started going through. I I'll go through the following list. Oh, she's a hygienist. Let me talk to her. He's a hygienist, let me talk to him and um just chat with people.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Isn't that crazy how we'd be like, hey cousin, what's up? And they're so like, you know, in the community, they're so like, hey, they just like we just connect. It's not like it's really like, hey, cousin, like I, you know, I love that so much.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

It's very important to be a part of a community, especially when you are a minority within whatever profession that you're in. You need that support. Can't I can't express that enough.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

So I've I've just seen a lot of uh people, you know, just be scared or you know, think like what's gonna happen with the profession? They're changing laws, they're creating dental assistant programs, and dental assistants are now doing hygiene. And with that being said, like that can be scary for a new grad. It definitely is. Yeah, what happened when you heard about that part?

SPEAKER_00 14:13

You know what? I I was a little scared. I was um because I had put so much effort into this. I I am a registered dental assistant in the state of Texas as well. So I have that skill and that's something that I can have for the rest of my life. But again, with me pursuing my master's specifically in dental hygiene, this is showing my passion and commitment to the profession as a whole. And we're gonna need people, you know, to be a part of these programs, brown girl RDH, ADHA, even the ADA, if there's any chairs or just show up because I mean they're gonna start, they're gonna continue to take away autonomy if we're not advocating for ourselves and backing it up with research.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

I think I don't know where it went left or why it went left or why dental or where did it come. I don't know if it was the money thing. I don't know if it was, you know, we really don't have enough providers to treat patients. Like I'm really not sure where it came through, but I do know, you know, it's active and it's passed in Alabama. I don't know about the Nevada one if it actually passed.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

It actually didn't. It didn't.

SPEAKER_01 15:14

It did not. There were talks about it happening in Georgia and North Carolina, I think.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

But you know, North Carolina in South Carolina, I think it passed.

Board Reviews, Tutoring, and Study Habits

SPEAKER_01 15:22

Oh, South Carolina it did pass.

SPEAKER_00 15:23

I believe while I was in school, yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

Oh, I do not know that.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

I'm not mistaken.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

But in the meantime, we're trying to fight for local anesthesia and you know, nitrous and botox and you know, working independently without a provider under direct supervision. So it's just like if that's the case, then you might as well go ahead and just flip all these switches for this stuff. So and it's so interesting too.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

I mean, Texas just became too, you know, for dental hygienists to be able to do local anesthesia, but we can only do blocks. I mean infiltrations, I'm sorry. So if you're doing a whole quad and they're saying only you can only do infiltrations legally, it's kind of like, what was the whole point? You're kind of giving me half autonomy, but then we're sacrificing, you know, patient comfort as well. So things like that need to be brought up. And I hate that it gets to a point where it's on the ballot, and then people are like, no, no, no, no, no. We have to show up before we have to influence before and continue to be active.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

Right, before he even gets on the ballot.

SPEAKER_00 16:20

Right.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

Before it's even a discussion. Like, what do we think? We have to be able to shut that down. But I don't know what you know, those board meetings look like, and I don't know what they're composed of, and I don't know if it differs from state to state, or people are just on the board and they're just like, well, yeah, okay, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 16:35

I mean, sometimes sometimes it is like that. So I mean, if you if and I encourage all dental hygienists to not just be a part of the ADHA, but be active as well.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

Okay, my dear. Are there any social media accounts that um well you're not on social media, but any accounts that inspire you or um that you get your resources from or that has helped you? Any social media accounts or mentors or anything like that?

SPEAKER_00 16:59

Okay, so when I first first started and I found dental hygiene

Mentorship and the Power of Community

SPEAKER_00 17:03

on TikTok during the pandemic. So I just kind of went down a whole rabbit hole. And um, the only person that was making content at that time was Tasha, and we all know Tasha. Um, now it I don't really see a lot, but um I do have one girl that I mean we're close friends now, actually, social media friends, but still close enough. Um, her name is Krista, but she's a dental hygienist in, I believe, Toronto, Ontario area. I know that for sure, but you know, that I don't really have any mentors when it comes or pages that I follow in regards to dental hygiene, except you know, the company's Brown Girl RH. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

What? So what advice would you give to someone an aspiring dental hygiene student or dental? They're not even dental hygienists, they're aspiring to be a dental hygienist. Like what are what advice, what helped you navigate, you know, what helped you turn left, you know, when you didn't know anything that you can give them to besides, you know, going on TikTok?

SPEAKER_00 17:55

What would be a good I would say, and this might be very direct, but I would say you have to open your mouth. You have to ask questions, you have to ask for help. There are people that are willing to feed into you, just like in my journey, there have been so many women that have fed into me, and I'm very grateful for that. You guys can even reach out to me. I I can yap all day and help anybody when it comes to that. So you just have to, I mean, social media has made research a little bit easier and just um networking a lot easier. Sometimes you just have to put dental hygienist, type that into Instagram, and you might have some people that have in their Instagram, you know, username, dental hygienist or RDH or such like that. So once you find one, you're gonna you're gonna fall into the communities.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

RDH is a is a big one. You just follow that hashtag and then um what's your piece of advice that keeps you grounded, work or life?

SPEAKER_00 18:44

As long as you do your best, God's gonna do the rest. That definitely kept me going because I knew that in any situation, and this is transferable to any situation, as long as I knew that I did my best at that very moment and my best can look different from Monday to Friday. It doesn't matter. Well, at the end of the day, I knew that I tried my best and only God can control the rest.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

So we're gonna do the issue of the week with you. It's fun issue of the week. The issue of the week means something this month or this week that you saw and you thought, this is crazy, this is wild, this is in the world where what is going on? It does not have to be dental related. So, you know, think about any

Master’s Path, Mission Trips, and Teaching

SPEAKER_01 19:20

trends, weird news, pop culture, any drama, anything that's going on. Like, what do you want to talk about for the issue of the week?

SPEAKER_00 19:26

We got five minutes. Okay, you know what's so crazy is that I know I feel like the people around my age, definitely Gen Z, alphas or whatnot, they're gonna be like, I know she's about to say, I've been watching Love Island and to watch Love, watch Love Island unfold from the beginning to the end and just being also a previous season watcher to see how all that unfolded was just like a reality check to me. It really was. I mean, besides the challenges being insane, but just this social aspect of it and how people perceive certain situations, perception is everything. And um, protecting yourselves, protecting your energy during that time is extremely crucial, especially when you're on camera. So for everybody to perceive you.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

Well, guess what? I'm old. I don't watch Love Island, and my daughter is she's 18 and she watches Love Island, and she's like, Oh my god, mom, this is what happened. I'm like, I don't even know what you're talking about. I I have been hearing someone, some kids, I need to go and watch it and see what y'all are. Give me some context.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

I mean, because okay, so Love Island Love Island is basically a uh reality TV show, it's scripted but half scripted, right? So at the end, the finalists, whoever America chooses, they get $100,000. But the way that it works is that they're they have it in Fiji. So they're gonna fly you out from United States to flee Fiji. And that's because when it's a lottery, they cannot manipulate in the United States. So they're gonna do it in Fiji. And that's kind of what's been going on, especially with the editing. So, you know, we had two black women and then we had some other minorities or whatnot. But um, the you know, the black women were edited and perceived or yeah, edited to be perceived a certain way. A lot of things were put together to make it seem like it was something that it wasn't, and they were called from bullies to people even making edits of, you know, one of the girls, they photoshopped her face onto George Floyd's face. And that was like just horrific to just like not even, I could only imagine how she felt, but just to be a witness of how that all fell apart, just because you know, the show edit them a certain way to be, you know, perceived or whatnot. Yeah, and they were just there to find love and they came out being bullied, called, all type of race. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

But that's the controversy with Love Island. That's what they're doing. Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

And then, you know, the whole others and how that, you know, changes the story and changes history and such. So wow, so it was a life lesson for you. It really was, it really was, you know, transitioning from hygiene school and I had gone through that to actually watching it on TV. It was almost as if I was not directly, but watching

Advocacy, Scope, and State Policy Changes

SPEAKER_00 22:08

myself, you know, from the outside and seeing how the world perceived it. And I'm just like, these people are insane. There's no way that we watch the same show. No way.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

So we are in uh simulation. So where can people find you?

SPEAKER_00 22:21

You guys can find me on Instagram at West IndianRDH. And when you get to my page, you may find my personal page there.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

So okay, okay, okay. Well, thank you so much for sharing. Thank you so much for being a part of Rango RDH as a student member. Now turns professional. Make sure you update your professional membership status once you get in the field. And look forward to seeing you at the conference.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Yes, yes, I'm so excited for that.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

Okay, well, you have a good day, my dear.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

All right, bye bye.