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| Keri Kilgore with a happy CCCDC patient. |
Community Dental is blessed with clinical staff who bring a spirit of kindness and respect for our patients’ dignity to their work. Hygienist Keri Kilgore exemplifies this spirit—as the dozens of testimonials we receive from her patients each year attest.
This year, Keri celebrates her sixth anniversary with Community Dental. She joined our team only a year after we opened our first clinical dental center. Keri had worked for 10 years in private practice, but Community Dental was an entirely new experience. She talks about the culture shock of meeting patients who had never seen a dentist, patients who had lost many or all of their teeth. Many of her patients had special needs, something else she’d never dealt with before.
These patients challenged and moved Keri. She treated conditions she’d only seen in school before. She saw teeth and gums so damaged she couldn’t imagine how her patients were able to endure the pain they must be feeling. She discovered that she had to become a teacher as well as a hygienist. One pair of sisters she treated had never been to the dentist and had clearly not spent much time brushing or flossing their teeth. They both had several cavities. Their parents thought it didn’t matter because their baby teeth would fall out. Keri taught the family that the girls’ permanent teeth and gums would be healthier if their baby teeth were healthy and that the habits they developed at a young age would impact their dental health for the rest of their lives.
A few weeks ago Keri’s skills were tested by a little boy who came with his classmates for the School Sealant Program. This eleven year old budding lawyer demanded to see the permission form his parents had filled out. He wanted to know “who gave you permission to torment me?” He took off his shoes, he refused to open his mouth, he tried every possible delaying tactic to avoid having Keri examine him and place his sealants. Keri gave him the straight truth—he wasn’t leaving without sealants and it wouldn’t hurt at all. He finally got his sealants and it really didn’t hurt at all.
A few days later a three year old patient who’d seen Keri before ran right through the waiting room and jumped into the dental chair, happy to see Keri and have her teeth cleaned.
Keri says that the best part of working at Community Dental is the bond she develops with her patients. “I love that people ask to have me work with them, “ A hygienist with Keri’s skill, not just at examining and cleaning teeth, but at diffusing patients’ fear, changes people’s attitude toward coming to the dentist and motivates patients to take better care of their teeth. Our job is not just to make care accessible to everyone, but to help everyone feel safe and unafraid in the dentist’s office. Keri’s commitment to her patients exemplifies our spirit and we’re proud to have her on our team. We hope six years will only be the beginning of her time at Community Dental.
These patients challenged and moved Keri. She treated conditions she’d only seen in school before. She saw teeth and gums so damaged she couldn’t imagine how her patients were able to endure the pain they must be feeling. She discovered that she had to become a teacher as well as a hygienist. One pair of sisters she treated had never been to the dentist and had clearly not spent much time brushing or flossing their teeth. They both had several cavities. Their parents thought it didn’t matter because their baby teeth would fall out. Keri taught the family that the girls’ permanent teeth and gums would be healthier if their baby teeth were healthy and that the habits they developed at a young age would impact their dental health for the rest of their lives.
A few weeks ago Keri’s skills were tested by a little boy who came with his classmates for the School Sealant Program. This eleven year old budding lawyer demanded to see the permission form his parents had filled out. He wanted to know “who gave you permission to torment me?” He took off his shoes, he refused to open his mouth, he tried every possible delaying tactic to avoid having Keri examine him and place his sealants. Keri gave him the straight truth—he wasn’t leaving without sealants and it wouldn’t hurt at all. He finally got his sealants and it really didn’t hurt at all.
A few days later a three year old patient who’d seen Keri before ran right through the waiting room and jumped into the dental chair, happy to see Keri and have her teeth cleaned.
Keri says that the best part of working at Community Dental is the bond she develops with her patients. “I love that people ask to have me work with them, “ A hygienist with Keri’s skill, not just at examining and cleaning teeth, but at diffusing patients’ fear, changes people’s attitude toward coming to the dentist and motivates patients to take better care of their teeth. Our job is not just to make care accessible to everyone, but to help everyone feel safe and unafraid in the dentist’s office. Keri’s commitment to her patients exemplifies our spirit and we’re proud to have her on our team. We hope six years will only be the beginning of her time at Community Dental.
