Episode 13: "Don't Do It:" Is The Language We Use Hurting Our Profession?

A student posted a TikTok asking for guidance, comparing dental hygiene to respiratory therapy, standing at a crossroads and looking for clarity. What they found in the comment section was a chorus of other people's unresolved pain. Dental hygienists were telling them to 'run. Don't do it. Get out.'

In this episode, Kimberly talks about the real cost of that language. Not just for the student who sees it, but for our entire profession. There is a profound difference between sharing your lived experience to spark change and using your pain as a reason for someone else to abandon their dream before it even begins.

Kimberly explores Brené Brown's reminder that when we find ourselves polling others, it is often a signal that we need less noise and more stillness. She digs into what constructive advocacy actually looks like in your office, online, and in the way you show up for the next generation. She also explores where this profession is headed and why we need people who are willing to walk through that door.

Your frustration is valid. Your experience is real. But it is not the whole story, and it is not someone else's destiny.

🔗 Connect with me:
Website: www.rootingwithinhealth.com
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Email: Kimberly@rootingwithinhealth.com

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Passionate about dental advocacy and reform? So am I. Follow along, speak up, and let's push for the changes this profession deserves.

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Disclaimer: Kimberly Williamson is a Registered Dental Hygienist, Certified Integrative Health Coach, and Registered Yoga Teacher, but is not YOUR RDH, health coach, or yoga teacher. The content shared in these episodes is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, dental, psychological, or legal advice. Always consult your physician, licensed therapist, or qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to your health, wellness, or lifestyle.

© 2026 Rooting Within Health. All...

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome to Rooting Within Health. I'm Kimberly Williamson. This is a gloves-off podcast. Nothing goes undisclosed. This year, more advocacy, more truth, more conversations that matter to you. Systemic change and reform take time, but we are finding our collective voice together. Thank you for being here. So check it out. It's at rootingwithinhealth.com. Hey everyone, welcome back. Today, I want to talk about something that has been sitting with me for a while, but was really brought to the surface recently when I came across a TikTok video that made me pause and led me to the idea for this episode. So there was a student, someone who had clearly put in the work, made sacrifices, finished their prerequisites, and was standing at a crossroads between which path to choose. They were comparing fields, respiratory therapy and dental hygiene. They posted a video asking me for guidance from strangers on social media. This has become the norm. We poll people when we aren't sure and question our own innate ability to decipher between two choices. Brene Brown has actually talked about this. She says that when she notices herself pulling people, she's learned to treat it as a signal. Not that she needs more opinions, but that she needs more stillness. That the answer is already inside of her and the noise of other people's voices is drowning it out. So what did this individual find in the comment section? A mix of commentary sharing love for both professions, some sharing their grievances, and a chorus of other people's unresolved pain. But what surprised me most was the very people who should be fighting for this profession were telling them to run. Don't do it. Get out. Telling this person that they don't know that a career in dental hygiene is not worth it. And I want to talk about that today because I think we have a real problem, and it's not just the broken system, it's how we're talking about it. Before I say anything else, I want to be very clear. To the clinicians who have worked in offices where they were unsupported, felt left out, uninspired, overworked, and burned out, I absolutely understand where you are coming from. I have been there and I see you. I hear the frustration through the comments, through the emails, through the messages I receive online. It is absolutely real and it is valid that you feel this way. The reality of your daily life cannot be minimized or forgotten, and you are living from an experience that you have lived. So it makes complete sense to want to share from that personal experience about why you think someone should not pursue something. And I want to honor that, I do, because that is exactly why this podcast exists. These conversations need to happen loudly, publicly, and without apology. But before we go on any further, I want you to sit with this a little bit more deeply. Because I think if we slow down and really examine what we're doing when we show up in those comment sections, we might find that our pain is speaking louder than our purpose, and that is worth exploring. There is a profound difference between sharing your lived experience to spark change and using your lived experience as a reason for someone else to give up on their dream before they even begin. When that student posted that video, they weren't asking if the profession was perfect. They were asking if it was worth pursuing. And the response they got from so many hygienists wasn't, here's what needs to change, here's what we're fighting for, join us in our advocacy. It was just don't bother. What does that accomplish? Are we helping our profession or are we contributing to its downfall? Are we contributing to the societal belief that we are simply there to clean teeth and nothing more? This is not minimizing your bad experience or denying that it's real. Your toxic office was real. Your struggle was real, but it's your experience. It's not a universal truth. It is not the destiny of every person who enters this field that they will share in your negative experiences. There are hygienists out there working in offices that are run with respect, with structure, with leadership that actually values their team. There are hygienists who have found their way into research, academia, healthcare administration, and leadership roles that didn't exist for us a generation ago. Their reality exists too, and that reality could be yours. When we go online and paint the entire profession with a broad stroke of negativity, we aren't just venting. We are making a conscious decision for someone else's future. And I have to ask, who are we to tell someone else what they should or shouldn't do with their life? And to the students who are out there who are wondering which path to choose, only you can decide that. Please do not let a stranger on social media make that decision for you. Take the time to job shadow. Take the time to meet people within these fields that you're curious about. Take the time to research. Talk to people who are thriving and people who have struggled and understand that the difference between thriving and struggling doesn't always come down to the environment that they're in. It could be personal factors, it could be health challenges, it could be mental health. It could absolutely be the office, but it could also be so many other things. It is multifactorial. We simply cannot reduce it to pointing someone in the opposite direction and sending them away from something that could have been exactly right for them. Because the decision that you make today is one that will stay with you for a long time, and you deserve to make it with intention and not fear. And here is something else that I really want you to hear. This does not have to be forever if it doesn't feel right. You can always pivot out of your career. You can always grow into something different. The more you invest in your education, the more options you create for yourself. If you stop at an associate's degree, your path will be narrower. But if you continue on and get your bachelor's at minimum, doors will open that were not available to you before. Doors into leadership, education, research, healthcare administration, pharmaceutical sales, dental sales, product representation, and beyond. Your clinical background gives you a credibility and understanding of this industry that most people in those roles simply do not have. So don't think about where you're starting, think about where you could go. Because in this profession, if you keep going, the ceiling is a lot higher than some people in that comment section are aware of. So let's talk about the real cost of what we lose when we discourage the next generation. We lose the student who would have walked into a great practice and thrived. We lose the future educator who would have gone on to train the next generation of hygienists with passion and purpose. We lose the researcher who would have contributed to the oral systemic connection that we talk about so much in this space. And we lose the advocate, the person who would have joined organizations, shown up at state capitals, and pushed for benefits and rights that we are still fighting for today. We lose the next person who would have changed everything. And for what? So that we could feel validated in our frustration for five minutes in a comment section. Our profession is at a turning point right now. There are institutions working toward the first PhD program in dental hygiene in the United States. There are hygienists stepping beyond the chair and into leadership, policy, and healthcare administration. The door is opening. But it only stays open if we have people willing to walk through it. And right now, some of you are standing in the doorway telling everyone to turn around. I'm not here to tell you to be quiet. I'm not here to tell you to smile and be grateful. Absolutely not. I want you to be loud. I want you to be honest, and I want you to talk about the broken parts of the system because that is the only way anything will ever change. But let's be loud in a way that is constructive. In a way that doesn't undermine our credibility as clinicians, in a way that doesn't place us in a box where people look at us and say, Oh, it's just those hygienists again. Because we have worked too hard, we have fought too long, and we have too much to offer this healthcare system to be dismissed. And every time we show up online with nothing but negativity and no solution, we hand people that box to put us in. And we are better than that. Constructive advocacy doesn't have to mean marching on Capitol Hill or joining every organization out there, although those things matter, and I do encourage you to get involved however you can. But it can also look like this. How do you talk to the dental hygiene student who is shadowing you? What message are you sending them about their future? Are you only sharing one-sided, biased viewpoints based on your own negative experiences, or are you giving them a broader picture? Are you reminding them of how wonderful it is to connect with patients every single day? Are you showing them what this profession can look like at its best? How do you show up in your office when a new graduate walks in, nervous and overwhelmed? Are you encouraging? Are you lifting them up? Or are you adding to the weight that they already carry? How do you talk about your role when a patient asks what you do? Do they know what you actually do? Do they know the level of education you went through to sit in that room with them? Do they understand the critical connection between oral health and systemic health and how it affects their overall well-being? And are you using limiting language, calling what you do a cleaning, a car wash for your mouth, instead of the correct terminology that reflects the true clinical nature of that appointment? And how do you show up online? When you comment on that student's video, are you adding to the problem, seeing how many people will agree with you in your misery? Or are you pointing toward a solution that can actually help the next generation? These are small things, but they compound. And when more people contribute to the conversation in a constructive way, that is when real change starts to happen. Advocacy needs leaders in this field who are willing to question the structures in place and push toward better, more sustainable solutions. And we are never going to get there if we are tearing down our profession at the same time. We are at a pivotal moment. And I truly believe that the conversations we're having right now on this podcast, social media platforms, in our offices, they're all shaping what this profession looks like for the next generation. So I want to leave you with this. The next time you feel the urge to tell that student, don't do it, pause. And instead, tell them what needs to change. Tell them what you wish someone had told you. And invite them to be a part of the solution. Because we need them. This profession needs them and they deserve the chance to decide for themselves. I don't know what that student decided, but my hope is that they were able to find stillness and sit with their own thoughts. We all should take that time. The world is so busy, so loud. Take the time to be with yourself and learn what it is that you want. Because the answer you're looking for is probably already there. You just have to get quiet enough to hear it. Thank you so much for being here. Please share this episode, especially with someone who is just starting out in this field or considering it. And if you have a story to share about advocacy, about finding your way in this profession, about what's working and what isn't, please reach out. I would love to hear from you. Until next time, keep rooting within.