Good Neighbor Podcast: Cobb County
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Cobb County. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Milli M. helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Cobb County, Georgia.
Is your business serving the residents of Cobb County? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpCobbCounty.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Cobb County
E56: Your Dream Healthcare Career could be Nine Saturdays Away with Dr. Rhea Haugseth of Atlanta Pediatric Dental Assistant School
Looking to change careers without sacrificing your current income? Dr. Rhea Haugseth has created the solution thousands have been searching for. After 40 years running a thriving pediatric dental practice, she identified a critical skills gap in dental education and developed a specialized training program that transforms lives in just nine Saturdays.
The Atlanta Pediatric Dental Assistance School offers a unique pathway to a healthcare career with incredible work-life balance. Unlike traditional dental assistant programs, Dr. Rhea's school focuses exclusively on pediatric specialization, providing 100% hands-on training that prepares graduates for the unique dynamics of working with children. Students practice on mannequins before working with each other, creating an engaging learning environment where people from 18 to their 60s train side-by-side while maintaining their current jobs.
What makes this program particularly remarkable is its founder's journey. As one of the first female dentists in the country (less than 0.1% when she graduated in 1977), Dr. Rhea broke barriers in a male-dominated profession where instructors believed women were taking spots from men who would be family breadwinners. Her perseverance transformed not just her life but created opportunities for countless others seeking stable healthcare careers without night shifts, weekends or holidays.
The school has expanded beyond Atlanta, with students traveling from across Georgia and neighboring states for training. Dr. Rhea has licensed her program to eight other pediatric dentists in different cities, creating a network of specialized training centers that address critical staffing shortages in pediatric dentistry. If you're ready to transform your professional life without sacrificing your current income, visit www.apdasinfo.com or call 770-687-7940 to learn how nine Saturdays can completely change your future.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Millie M.
Speaker 2:Hello everybody, Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, Millie M. Do you love working with children and looking for a career change? Well, I have just the person that you need to speak with. It is my pleasure to welcome your good neighbor, Dr Rhea Hogseth of the Atlanta Pediatric Dental Assistance School. Hi, Dr Rhea. How are you?
Speaker 3:Hi, I am doing fabulous. It's a wonderful.
Speaker 2:Friday. I love your energy. We are so excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us more about Atlanta Pediatric Dental Assistance School.
Speaker 3:Well, it's just like what it says. I didn't want to come up with a fancy name for it. I wanted to be exactly clear what we do and what we're all about. So the difference between us and everybody else is that we really focus just on pediatric and what. What started all this is that I had a practice in Cobb County for 40 years and I noticed the students that would come to my practice to be externs from a school that they were in would come and they would know absolutely zero about pediatric dentistry, even though supposedly they were taught some things about pediatric dentistry, they knew zero.
Speaker 3:And pediatric practices are very different from any other kind of dental practice. Not only do we see a ton of kids, but we've got them all running. Their parents are in there, our whole team is in there. So it kind of looks chaotic, but it's not. It's kind of like the duck on a pond. You know where their feet are going crazy underneath, but on the top it's all smooth and serene. So you really have to like working with kids and families.
Speaker 3:So I knew that I needed some help whenever somebody would move or they would do a career change themselves, or a lot of times when they would get pregnant and have children. They opted to stay home, and so we're constantly looking for new people in our practices. It's just the nature of the beast. So I knew that I'm not the only one that needs this, and so I decided that I would go ahead and set up my own school. And so I decided that I would go ahead and set up my own school. So I started it about 10 years ago and I did it right out of my own practice, and so what's ideal is that then I got to see, you know the students personalities and their work ethic and what skills they already bring, and got to pick the ones that were most fitting for my practice, because we all have a little different culture and a little different thing in our practices, and so my colleagues around town love it.
Speaker 3:I mean, I have students coming from all over. I've got them coming from Savannah, I've got some from Statesboro up in Daltonton and somebody from South Carolina, so and people just come because there is there are no other pediatric schools, and because of my success in my school, I have now licensed my school to eight others pediatric dentists in other cities who have a school in their area too, to help them. So it's very difficult, especially since, after COVID, so many people opted not to come back in the medical field and so we're really very shorthanded and it's difficult to find people. So this is a great solution, not only for somebody to have it in their practice but somebody to have it in the city you're in, so that you know when they're coming out, they know about pediatric dentistry and all the little quirks that we do that are very different from adult you were able to funnel those graduates into your own practice, but then you also solved a problem for other practices around town.
Speaker 2:So what are some of the myths or misconceptions about your industry or what you do specifically?
Speaker 3:What I hear a lot from the students is that A they're very surprised that it's as hands on as it is, because it's 100 percent hands on.
Speaker 3:We don't do any lecturing, there's no PowerPoints to sit through.
Speaker 3:They do have homework and reading assignments and they get tested on things, but while they're actually there with the instructors, they're 100% doing hands-on and so and that makes a lot of fun they work on mannequins and then eventually they're working on each other. So that's usually caused a lot of laughter. And they also are surprised that they were actually able to do this and take this class, study for the things that they need to study for, have the Saturdays to do this and still be able to keep their job they have and take care of the families if they have their families that they actually can fit all in. And we make sure that we keep it that way so that people can get out of whatever situation they're in and have a career, a new profession and be part of a professional team. And what they really love about it is they have set vacations they can take, they're not doing shift work, they're not working nights, they're not working weekends, they're not working holidays, so they're like, yay, I can have a family life again.
Speaker 2:It's wonderful, my balance is real and how long is the program? Again?
Speaker 3:It is nine weeks, nine Saturdays, from eight in the morning till five.
Speaker 2:Imagine being able to change your life in nine weeks.
Speaker 3:That's exciting Seriously and the people around town. I'm always getting phone calls and emails from my colleagues saying when's your next class? Is there anybody from my area? Because we know that people say there's somebody in Stone Mountain that's looking Well. Somebody from there might say they would love that job, but we know what the traffic is like here in Atlanta and it won't be six months and they'll be like I can't do this anymore. So we try to make sure that they are externing in their area where they're willing to travel for work and then also that hopefully somebody is looking for an assistant at the same time.
Speaker 2:I have children, all my sisters have children, and we notice that there's this move towards not having the parents in the room for pediatric dentistry. I just was curious as to your opinion on that.
Speaker 3:Well, for my entire career they were not in the room. So it's been more recent in the last 10, 20 years that the parents have wanted to be in the room. So it's been more recent, the last 10-20 years, that the parents have wanted to be in the room and they hover and they're always ready to rescue the kids. So if there's a little two-year-old or a three-year-old, we know they're not scared, they just don't want to do it. You know they're just still in that period. If they don't want to do something, they don't want to do it don't want to do it. But most of the kids can absolutely do it by yourself.
Speaker 3:You probably grew up that way that you can't. You went to the dentist and after you got to a certain age you went back by yourself and everything was fine. So that's how it was always for all the years that I practiced and I was pretty pretty one of the original folks here in Marietta. So it's I like it better that way. But it has a. It's a double-edged sword because when the parents are back there we can show them things and they can actually see the difficulty if we are having a difficulty, what that is all about.
Speaker 3:But we do find that most of the kids act up when the parents are there and purposely do things that normally they're wonderful, and then when the parents are in the room, they act out, and so it makes our job harder and it makes them not have as good a visit as they would have if they were able to just focus on us and not constantly be looking at what the parents doing.
Speaker 3:And I found always that when the parents I did have them back with the little bitties, of course, and any of our special needs heroes that need their parents there for that continuity, that was just fine. We didn't have any problem, and I always had to tell my parents that were in the room, though, that I wasn't going to talk to them, that they were not there for us to have a chit chat about their tennis game or whatever they did yesterday. I am 100% on their child and providing the care, and so sometimes that's a real distraction for the dentist if the parent that's in the room has a lot of questions or is just, you know, hovering and very much in the mix. Instead of it being the doctor and the team member and the patient, they now have another one or two people and sometimes the whole family's in there, so it can be a challenge.
Speaker 2:I understand and I think it was important to point out to people. I know they want to assuage their anxiety or nervousness behind their children being in a dentist chair, maybe from their own previous experiences or apprehension about it, and they're relaying and I just wanted them to hear from you as to how that might make it difficult for you to do your job and how your their child might have a better experience if they just kind of sit it out, so that's why I asked that question, for sure.
Speaker 2:So, uh, who are your target customers and how do you attract them? Like, who's the the target person for your school?
Speaker 3:well it's. It's very different. So a lot of kiddos right out of high school who are not wanting to go to college at this point and they're looking for a career and maybe they've always wanted to be in the health field. A lot of them said they've always wanted to be a dental assistant, so there's no need for them to go if that's what they're looking for. Then we have a lot of times some single moms. Life has just happened and now they're the sole provider for their family and uh, for the additional provider sometimes, but still they just need that additional income.
Speaker 3:Then we have a lot of people that are in their 40s and 50s, that the kids are all off in school now and now they want to have a career themselves. So it's very interesting. Our classes can have somebody in their 50s and somebody 18. And it's really. It's kind of fun also with that because it's got all these different dynamics going on. There. We have some of our more seasoned people, because it kind of calmed everything down and just kind of have them really focus on what's important, and a lot of times what's important to the kids is not the same as what it is to a 50-year-old, so that's kind of fun. I have a class that's graduating actually tomorrow and yes, and I have somebody who is in their early 60s. So you know, a lot of people just want to still be functioning and do something that they'll enjoy.
Speaker 3:And I mean I'm 74. I've been doing this 47 years, so I'm not about to stop. And you know so many of my friends are talking about how bored they are, they don't have anything to do. And you know so many of my friends are talk about how bored they are, they don't have anything to do. And that is not me at all. I like being out there. I've always loved the pediatric dentistry, I loved having my own practice. But I love it even more now, millie, when I don't run it anymore. So I still work. I still work one day a week in a practice, and so I still get to have my fix of the kids and the parents and all the craziness that goes on and the fun that we have in the practice, but then I get to go home and forget all about it.
Speaker 2:So it's kind of a whole different ballgame. You've paid your dues, you've done your time, so you definitely deserve it, and I bet it's a wonderful balance of that wisdom and that level-headedness and then that energy and that inquisition and curiosity of the young people, and I'm sure they complement each other very well. Outside of work, what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:I have my two pups, so I have to walk them twice a day, or they're will definitely let me know that it is time if I don't do that. I do like to do all kinds of sports and so I just stay very, very active. And then I am a movie buff. So one of my favorite things and it always has been is to go to the theater, and I love going in the matinees so I get to have my choice now every day and there's not very many people in there, there's not a lot of talk and everything, so you really get immersed into the movie itself. But that's kind of my. My treat to myself is is to go to a movie by myself where I can really just get into it.
Speaker 2:So let's switch gears a little bit. Can you describe a hardship or life challenge that you overcame and how it made you stronger?
Speaker 3:well back in the day, um, when I college and uh, I was one of the few women in any of my classes, especially when I got to be junior or senior. I went to auburn war eagle and, uh, majored in chemistry and biology and there just weren't a lot of women in sciences, as we know. I'm so glad the focus is going that way. But so I was always around men and I have four brothers I'm the only girl, so I've always been comfortable around them. That's never been an issue for me. But what happened is the difficulty that I had was when I wanted to go to dental school. They didn't want women taking the men's place, that we would be actually taking a slot, that somebody else who was going to be the sole provider of their family but couldn't get in the class if I, if I, took their spot, and so it really a struggle back, and this was early 70s. So I went to dental school in 73 and got out in 77.
Speaker 3:And when I got out of dental school and finished my four years, the women in the country that were in dentistry was less than one-tenth of one percent. So it was just not only getting into school but the attitudes of the instructors and usually not my colleagues. Most of the guys were just fine having us in there, but it was very few women in our class and then when I went on to pediatric, which is another two to three years of residency, there were no females. So it was just kind of that struggle the whole way through was, as women, we know that we have to do things way better than the guys do to even be considered their equal. So it's a it's, it's a challenge. But it was more for the people that were the instructors and a lot of them were military and so that is, you know, still in that, that mode or that mental attitude that you know this is an all-male kind of thing.
Speaker 3:But now I'm happy to say that most of the residency classes are more than 50% female and the general dental schools are 50 female, and so we're definitely gaining ground, and especially more the people that are my age that had that struggle as we're retiring, then it's going to kick over us because there's so many more women now in it that will be up in the 60 at no time. That was really kind of the hardest thing, but I was real lucky that the um students that are around me were. We were in everything alphabetical. They were wonderful and they were supportive of me. And when I had an instructor giving me a hard time grading me down because I was a female, we or we thought as a female, which was proven later on they were not, and so luckily, I had that support from my colleagues that were encouraging and they knew that I could do it as well as they could. There was no question in their mind.
Speaker 2:Well, like I said, what a trailblazer are you. I'm glad you had that support and from that experience you're able to be very sympathetic and empathetic to your students now. So, Dr Rhea, tell our listeners one thing you would like for them to always remember about Atlanta Pediatric Dental Assistance School.
Speaker 3:One. You can have the career that you want. You can have that work-life balance as you so aptly put it. You don't have to be stuck in any kind of shift or what you might consider more menial tasks that aren't even utilizing your brain. You're just doing repetition type things and you're not happy. You can change that. There are programs out there, not in the dental assisting field, but all, all different ones. Just go for it. Just see what's out there. There are places where you can get help with the financing. The. The government's help cop county has programs that will will finance it. There's so many different things you can do. Get out there, there are programs you can do and still keep working. So you're not going to give up anything in your life and make it more difficult, but you can do it. You can do this and change your life.
Speaker 2:You can change your life. I love that. If someone is ready to make that change, how do they contact you?
Speaker 3:Perfect, so they can come to our Web site for sure, which is wwwapdasinfocom, or they can give us a call, 770-687-7940. Call 770-687-7940. All they have to do is Google pediatric dental assistant and it'll pop up. We're the only one there, we're the only one in the southeast, and you know we have people coming from all areas. So you can do it and we'll be happy to have you and help you on your journey to change your life and your family's life.
Speaker 2:I really appreciate you being on the show. Best of luck to you and your students in the future.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much, millie, I enjoyed being here.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast being here. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpcobbcountycom. That's gnpcobbcountycom, or call 470-470-4506.