8753 E Bell Rd. Trans Zen Dental
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Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Welcome to the Trans Zen Dental Blog
Welcome to the Trans Zen Dental Blog. I’m Katrina, the hygienist, and I welcome you to the first of many blogs. I thought long and hard about what would spark the interest of my many readers (which probably just includes Mary, the office manager because she has to proof read this, and my mom!). I did tons of research on what others were writing about in their dental blogs. While I found “traditional dental veneers can change the appearance of your smile… blah blah blah” truly fascinating, I didn’t want to bore my two loyal readers to death. I could also blab on and on about myself. I grew up in Wisconsin, and graduated from dental hygiene school in Minnesota. I moved down to the desert in early summer of 2007 and have been practicing as a dental hygienist ever since (which really isn’t that long, but who’s counting?). While I thought people would be fascinated to hear about my childhood, growing up in a small town, meeting my high school sweetheart at the malt shoppe, and going to college in the big city, I figured there would be room for that next time. I thought the best way to debut my first blog post was to discuss the age old question: why are all dental hygienists female?
I suppose you would have to know a bit more about me to understand why I’m qualified to write this blog. First, I grew up in a small town in Milwaukee, and for the most part, the only people I still communicate with are my two guy friends. In college, while other girls were sipping weak long island iced teas, I was hanging out with the guys at the keg. And finally, I have graduated and live in a large house with three guys and a puppy (who also happens to be a male). To put it simply: I know a lot about guys, I know how they think, and I know how much time it takes them to do their own dishes. Yet, I was still surprised when I entered the room during my college orientation and found that all of the people I would be going to hygiene school with for the next three years were all female! In fact, 99.1% of all dental hygienists in the state of Minnesota are female. I must say though, I did graduate with one male in my class, he just wasn’t there on the day of the orientation. I had a flash in my head to the movie, Meet the Parents where Ben Stiller’s character is consistently judged for being a male nurse. Although I must say that this lone ranger wasn’t being judged. In fact, I think he was envied. The only guy in a room full of girls all day, every day for three years! As you can imagine, it wasn’t as awesome as it sounds. But let’s get back on task: why ARE most dental hygienists female?
As a professional expert on not only dental hygiene, but on gals and fellas alike, I must say that there is nothing about the hygiene field that wouldn’t attract a woman’s attention.
First, ALL I do all day is talk. I talk to the doctor, the rest of the team at the office, I talk to the patients, sometimes I’m actually talking to myself. Every hour, on the hour, a new person enters my place of work, sits down, and gives me an opportunity to just start yapping. In fact, most of the time, my hands are in their mouth, so they can’t even respond. This, in turn, gives me more talking time. Women like that. Let me take the time right now to just put out a quick disclaimer: when we, as dental professionals, ask you a question and you respond with our fingers in your mouth, we do still understand what you’re saying, so just keep on a-talkin’!
The second and most obvious reason I realized while sitting at my house one day. As mentioned previously, I live with three males. While I love all three of them dearly, guys aren’t perfect. Aside from the whole dishes thing, they each buy a loaf of bread about every 6 hours which they, of course, never fully consume. We have about 40 half-eaten bags of tortilla chips scattered all over the kitchen. None of them keep on top of their mail, and while the majority of them are in medical school, they all receive various magazines I never knew existed. So after a long day of being at work, heading to pilates, slamming a protein shake and picking the dog up from day camp, I frequently find myself face to face with a kitchen counter covered with dirty dishes, about 10 twisty-tie bags of half-eaten loaves of bread, enough tortilla chips to feed half of Mexico, and several issues of Architecture Digest.
Any women out there reading this (MOM!) would probably cringe just at reading this last sentence, because it makes perfect sense what the average woman would do in this situation: spaz out, cancel dinner plans with the boyfriend and pray to the 409 Gods that something will remedy this mess instantly. Any fella out there reading this would probably shove all of the chip bags into the corner, set down their take out pizza they just brought home, and turn on the last of the basketball playoffs. Women have an obsession with cleanliness and organization. Dental hygienists have a personality complex that only worsens an obsessive compulsive disorder we develop while in hygiene school. All day, we clean teeth, that’s just what we do. We aren’t satisfied until every ounce of plaque and every micro bacteria is completely removed from the mouth. I know some of you patients out there run straight to the coffee shop after your dental appointment, but know that I rest my full 8 hours only after I ensure every speck of stain is removed from your teeth. That’s just me!
The last reason occurred to me just last night as I was heading to bed. As many of you know, Grand Theft Auto 4 was just released. I must admit, I spend an endless number of hours staring blankly with my mouth open at the projection screen on my roommate’s bedroom wall. I am mesmerized by how real the game is and how exciting the storyline is, and I know I’m not the only one intrigued by Nikko’s missions. A bit more into the depths of my roommate-hood: two of my roommates are in medical school, and one attends University Technical Institute (acronym: UTI. No kidney jokes, please) in Avondale for some sort of auto mechanic study. This poor kid has to be at school at 6:30 in the morning, meaning he has to leave our North Phoenix home at 5:40 am just to ensure he won’t be late in traffic. At about midnight last night, I was heading to bed when I noticed the tell tale glow from under his bedroom door. I immediately burst into his room and yelled at him to turn off his Playstation and get into bed! He literally responded “ok I will, I’m almost done with this mission!” Oh my fluoride trays, I’ve turned into my mother! But that’s just the reality of it.
At 23 years old, I’ve become my mother, because all women have a motherly instinct within them. Dental hygienists have to have a motherly instinct. It is our job to ensure that patients stay on top of their six month check-ups, that they are constantly aware of every area that may become a cavity and of course, the question all patients wish we never asked: “How often do you floss?” Patients love us because… we’re lovable! But sometimes we yell about flossing. It’s a love-hate relationship, kind of like moms… except we don’t get flowers from you every year on the second Sunday of May!
Images:
Top: My room mate, Jordan and I celebrating cinco de mayo with mini sombreros.
Bottom:Room mates Daniel, Darby (age 3 months), Me and Sean having a moment!
Labels: dental professional, female dental hygienists, Milwaukee, Minnesota
posted by
Katrina Sanders RDH
at
2:32 PM
Trans Zen Dental, PLLC
8753 E. Bell Rd., Suite 101 | Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Phone: 480-563-4ZEN | Fax: 480-513-4ZEN
4 Comments:
Hi Katrina! My name is Janet, I just moved here from Virginia and I am currently looking for a Hygenist/Dentist. Hope to visit your office soon
After all, it isn't as much fun if the cleav(age) you see at the dentist's office is from a guy.
Speaking of which, I guess that means I can never have you or Auntie Lor as my hygenists.
Awkward.
I want Hilary Duff's smile!! I need to schedule asap as my wedding is fast approaching in october.
Hi Katrina, I want Hilary Duff's smile. I need to schedule asap as my wedding is fast approaching.
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