Dorothy Ferreira, MSDH, RDH

I started in dental hygiene school 40 years ago. Over the years, I have worked in a variety of practices and environments. I have loved my role as a dental hygienist and the experiences it has provided for me. When you ask what inspires me, the first thing that comes to mind is the people I have treated over the years. Having a part in improving their oral, physical, and yes, even mental health keeps me committed to this profession. Volunteering with organizations that provide care to people in underserved communities here and abroad continues to help me improve my skills, collaborate with colleagues, advocate for our profession, and most of all, provide oral hygiene home care education to people that might not ever have that opportunity again.

In 2009, I began volunteering with Alliance for Smiles, an organization that provides cleft repair surgeries in underserved countries around the world. To date, I have been on around 20 teams, working all over Asia, Africa, South, and Central America. In each of these countries, I have provided not only prophylaxis care for patients and their families but more importantly, nutritional and home care education. I have collaborated with dental professionals in each of the countries, learning from them and sharing some of my experience with them. These missions also provide me with the opportunity to work closely with surgical and medical teams, where I see myself as an ambassador for our profession and promote more collaboration between our fields.

Three years ago, I signed on to be a CORE volunteer with the Remote Area Medical (RAM) organization. I serve as the Dental X-Ray lead, setting up and running the equipment to enable the local licensed dental care providers to acquire radiographs for treating the people who attend the clinics. RAM provides free medical, vision, and dental care in underserved areas around our country. Through these events, I get to meet people who desperately need care but cannot afford it or find someone to provide it, and even though I cannot treat them myself, I spend time talking to them and promoting good oral hygiene routines.

A few years ago, I went back to work on my bachelor’s degree and then my master’s degree at Fones School of Dental Hygiene. I did this because I found that when I was away on missions and trying to encourage the dental teams in the countries I was working in to consider more prevention education and care, many looked at my associate’s degree and didn’t pay attention. I wanted the chance to make more of an impact on the oral health care for the populations I was working with, and so I went back to school. What I didn’t count on was having to spend a semester student teaching. In my mind, I was a clinical hygienist through and through, but I found that I loved the interaction with the students, learning theories and techniques that had changed and improved since my schooling in the 80s.

My students help to keep me excited about our profession and its future. They inspire me to seek new theories, techniques, and products so I can help them be better healthcare providers when they graduate. And I hope that my stories of the experiences I have had in my many years in this profession inspire them, letting them know that the negative complaints they might see on social media are not a true indication of the value of this career but that it lies in the lives of the people they will treat and help on the way to having a healthy mouth and body.

I love this profession that I have dedicated the last 40 years to. It has challenged me to continue to learn new techniques, acquire new skills, and create a community of colleagues and friends. And I look forward to seeing where the future leads me.