Where did you go to Dental Hygiene School?
Ans: I attended the ‘Malcolm X College’ for dental hygiene program.
- How did you find your current position?
Ans: The ‘Malcolm X College’ for dental hygiene program is accredited by ‘Commission on
Dental Accreditation’ which enables me to apply for any dental hygiene position all over the
country. After the completion of the program, I searched for jobs in online job posting site in
Chicago city for dental hygiene and applied them online. I received a call for interview from two
of them and luckily cracked the interview in one place. That’s how I found my current position. - How long have you worked at this office?
Ans: I have been working on this office for nearly two years and I will complete two years in the
coming month of March. - What do you like best about being a dental hygienist?
Ans: The part I love most about my job is seeing patients who have gone years or even decades
without visiting the dentist and showing patients the before and after images after I have removed
years of calculus accumulation to reveal their real teeth is really satisfying. This is particularly true
for heavy coffee drinkers and smokers who seem to have a stain in every crevice and I know it is
difficult to clean, but the joy of seeing their pearly white teeth shine again is hard to beat. - What don’t you like about being a dental hygienist?
Ans: Just like any other job, it is not without its share of difficulties and the job can be physically
demanding and boring due to the repetitive nature of the task and activities involved. - What is your favorite procedure to perform and why?
2
Ans: Nothing rivals observing a patient’s better tissue color, less bleeding, and reduced pocket
depths upon re – evaluation after periodontal scaling and root planning. Scaling is a lot of effort,
but it always made me happy to see the rewards of our labor. - What is the most challenging part of your job?
Ans: I found that teaching people how to properly clean their teeth and floss was the most
challenging part of my dental hygiene appointment as there is never enough time for oral care
teaching during a typical 20 – minute cleaning because of all the other things that dentists have to
finish. As part of our duties, we must document any changes to a patient’s medical history, do a
full mouth periodontal probe, take dental x-rays, examine the patient’s teeth and gums, and
potentially even test their blood pressure. Then, in the last ten minutes, we notify the dentist of our
results; he then spends that time with the patient while we provide our assistance. - What do you see as the most important contribution you have made to this office?
Ans: As a dental hygienist, I ensure that every detail is met and to make sure everything is correct,
I carefully recheck my work several times. I also think my interpersonal skills is a good fit to this
office as well. In addition to my dedication to satisfying the expectations of our patients, I am
enthusiastic about building strong relationships with my coworkers in order to create a supportive
workplace and give our clients the best quality service possible. - Do you make a difference in your patient’s lives? If so, how?
Ans: In my opinion, I do make a difference in people’s live and I do it by providing dental
education regarding oral hygiene.
3
Poor dental hygiene is the leading cause of cavities, but other factors, such as medical conditions
and dry mouth, can significantly exacerbate oral health problems and when patients come to me
for assistance with dental bridges, braces, or any other kind of specialized oral care, I make sure
they learn how to properly clean and floss their teeth. - Do you see Dental hygiene as being a long-term career or a path to something else?
Ans: Yes, I do see dental hygiene as a long – term career. Women can thrive in the field of dental
hygiene as it is a highly flexible career choice with above – average salary.
What were you most surprised by when completing the calendar activity?
Like many individuals, I, Zahra Alzorfy, frequently worry that there is not enough time in
the day because I cannot seem to keep track of how I spend my time. As a result, I frequently
experience feelings of frustration and worry about running out of time. Hence, when I was
completing the calendar activity, I was most surprised about how much time I have in my hand if
I account my time meticulously and divide the every one of 24 hrs. in 30 – minute slot each. While
completing the calendar activity, I realized that I was spending much more time in social media
and watching movies or TV series which led to lack of adequate time as well as study time. I
understand that if I control the time devoted to social media and TV series, I will have enough time
for adequate sleep and study. Therefore, I was happy as I have managed to create time schedule
with at least 7 hours sleep every day and I have managed to allocate 2 hours of study for 12.5
points that will be available for Fall 2024 semester.
As a result of participating in this exercise, I gained the knowledge that effective time
management is not as much about color – coding plans or making the most efficient schedule and
successful time management means mastering the art of self – management (Alyami et al.).
Fundamentally, it comes down to devoting time to things that matter to me and give my life
purpose and I need to be very self – disciplined to plan out every stage of a job thoroughly so that
I can avoid having to go back and do it all over again. In conclusion, I need to stop letting
distractions from my objectives and ambitions get the best of me and start saying no when
necessary.
What changes will you need to make and/or strategies will you need to implement to be
prepared to begin the Fall Semester?
2
I will employ the following strategies to prepare for the Fall semester:
- Become Organized: I intend to get my course syllabi from teachers well in advance of the
commencement of class, study them thoroughly, and make note of any due dates or exams and
mark those dates in my activity planner so I am aware when I have schedule difficulties or when
specific assignments will overlap. - Arrangement of study books: A few weeks before classes begin, I will contact my course
instructor to get a list of what I need to read for each unit and with this additional time, I will be
able to purchase, rent, or borrow textbooks from the library, so that I can be ready for the
commencement of classes. - Create a Plan: I want to keep myself motivated and focused even when things get difficult by
establishing both short – term and long – term objectives and the next stage is to plan out a series
of small, achievable measures to reach each objective. For instance, I will set a long – term
objective of achieving outstanding score on all of my exams this semester.
Describe the skills you possess that you believe will enable you to be successful in the MXC
dental hygiene program?
As per my understanding, communication and listening skills are two of the most important
abilities for a dental hygienist to have and engaging in productive dialogue with patients of all ages
and ethnicities is an essential component of a dental hygiene job. It is also crucial to have the
ability to communicate key information to patients in a way that is easy to understand and relatable
and understanding their wants and expectations also requires active listening (Buduneli). Raising
my two children has made me patient listener and forced me to communicate in a simple which I
3
think will help me when I attend a child patient as well as adult patients. Hence, I believe I have
required interpersonal communication skills required for a dental hygienist.
Additionally, pursuing a profession in hygiene necessitates acute problem – solving skills
to promptly handle potential hazards and in order to improve patients’ severe oral health issues,
hygienists must be adept at problem resolution (Choi et al.). The best dental hygienists are always
thinking of new methods to put their patients at ease and find common ground with the dentists
and other members of the team. As a mother of two, I had to handle and deal with many unforeseen
emergency situations which I had resolve on the spot to ensure that it does not spiral out of control.
Therefore, I think I have necessary problem – solving skills to be an efficient dental hygienist.
Furthermore, in my opinion, to be a great hygienist, an individual must be able to put
themselves in a patient’s shoes and understand their suffering and to respond empathetically,
hygienists need to know how it feels like to be a patient, identify when they are struggling, and
show that they understand how the patients are feeling (Park et al.). One of the most effective ways
to provide patient care is to provide comfort via empathy and compassion and I have always had
a fulfilling satisfaction whenever I am able to do some part for the betterment of the lives who are
not so fortunate. I volunteer in the Mosque once a week to teach the less fortunate children and I
found that it lifts my spirit whenever I have session with them. Hence, I believe that I have required
empathy and compassion to be a compassionate dental hygienist.
4
References:
Alyami, Adham, et al. “Impact of time-management on the student’s academic performance: a
cross-sectional study.” Creative Education 12.3 (2021): 471-485.
Buduneli, Nurcan. “Communication Skills of the Clinician and Patient Motivation in Dental
Practice.” Current Oral Health Reports 7 (2020): 202-207.
Choi, Jin-Sun, et al. “Effects of problem-based learning on the problem-solving ability and selfEfficacy of students majoring in dental hygiene.” International journal of environmental research
and public health 19.12 (2022): 7491.
Park, Hye-Min, et al. “The relationship between empathic ability, communication competence,
and attitudes toward the disabled among female dental hygiene students.” Journal of Korean
Dental Hygiene Science 4.2 (2021): 43-52.
