My name is Joanne Lin. Here I would like to explain my intentions in completing my degree in the preventive dentistry program, and why I am striving to become a registered dental hygienist. I focused my future career path when I started the dental hygiene program at New York College of Technology, after completing my bachelor of liberal art in psychology at Hunter College. Becoming a dental hygienist gave me more satisfaction because it involves hands on in comparison to doing a desk job. I enjoy encouraging people to maintain their oral health and helping them to gain bright smile.

Along with the silver lining of a good future career, this learning path has brought both challenges and rewards. There are some patients that you work so hard on the SRP or OHI, but there’s no success because the patients did not make efforts to maintain their care. The challenges non-compliant patients bring are difficult to accept after giving so much effort, but sharing clinical experiences with seasoned professionals has helped me overcome difficulties and build my confidence. I will graduate in June of 2020 and begin my new career in the RDH role.