My name is Joy and I am a Registered Dental Hygienist. I can remember being in junior high and watching an episode of The Wonder Years and thinking Kevin Arnold’s hygienist was just the epitome of what I wanted to be when I grew up. Wouldn’t that make an amazing career?

I took a long and winding road to becoming a dental hygienist. I was a certified nurses aid while I briefly considering nursing, then went on to become a certified dental assistant in 2007, and finally graduated as a real life dental hygienist in 2011. Wow, somebody pinch me! Here I was, living the dream!

Except it wasn’t….. our profession had become a diluted and sad prophy mill. No one cared how much we knew or knew how much we cared. The most important thing was producing enough to make the tiny dental insurance reimbursements seem worth it. Patients would announce they hate coming to see us, and who could blame them? We scraped their teeth with sharp (or sometimes dull) metal instruments then polished with an abrasive sludge and called it a day!

In 2023 the heavens opened and a glorious light shone down on me when I met my current dentist and employer, Dr. Sarah Melstrom at Twin Oaks Dental. Her vision is to revolutionize oral wellness! Not only have we adopted a “whole body” approach to dental care, but we also focus heavily on prevention and education. The icing on the cake was when we laid down our scalers and prophy polish and picked up the gentle approach of biofilm clearance. We now offer dental cleanings to our patients that are both effective and comfortable!

However, simply having the equipment didn’t make us experts. Hygienists have been scaling teeth since 1940 and polishing with pumice since the mid 20th century, so our patients had a few questions about this “new cleaning”. My goal is to equip your team with the power to create a smooth and comfortable transition!

I have extensive experience with the EMS GBT system as well as the Woodpecker PT-B. I continue to work clinically, so that I can provide you with real-time advice and training (and also because I love it!)

If you are a dental professional looking for guidance on how to incorporate biofilm clearance into your practice and reignite your passion for your career, I would love to help you get started and support you and your team along the way!

-Joy