Mark Hartley
For 33 years, Mark Hartley wrote and prepared articles for the dental profession. From 1995 through 2018, he was the editor of RDH magazine. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, he currently lives in Tulsa, OK, with his wife and three Boston Terriers.
Honor Awards: Oregon Public Health Hygienist Works to Ensure All Smiles Are Healthy
A recipient of the 2023 Today’s RDH Honor Awards, Virginia Mattfeld, RDH, EPDH, BSDH, is a team member at the nonprofit All Smiles Community Oral Health (ASCOH), where she conducts free dental screenings, fluoride varnish treatment, and dental sealants for students in elementary and middle schools in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area. Sharing community outreach efforts with team members...
Honor Awards: Former Military Hygienist Serves Her Country, Fellow Airmen, and Those Transitioning to Civilian Life
Tina Prince, RDH, MA, remembers when she retired from the military.
“The military is very different from the civilian world, and I was lost when I transitioned,” she said. “I had to prepare myself for interviews, transfer my license, write a resume, understand billing, various dental software, and how to navigate the civilian dental world in general.”
Her continuous work...
Honor Awards: The Jampacked Career Experiences of a Youthful Dental Hygienist
Early during her career, Kaitlyn Machado, RDH, BS, MEd, FADHA, earnestly channeled her energy to accomplish several aspects of her career, and, as a result, she is a recipient of the 2023 Today’s RDH Honor Awards.
Be involved with the state Dental Hygiene Association. Check. Return to hygiene school as an instructor, not a student. Check. Earn bachelor’s degree. Check....
Honor Awards: Deaf Hygienist Inspires Others through That Deaf RDH Foundation
A deaf hygienist who encourages others with hearing disabilities to consider a career in dentistry is one of three recipients of the 2022 Today’s RDH Honor Awards.
Amanda Zubricki, RDH, BS, a Raleigh, N.C., dental hygienist, is the founder of That Deaf RDH Foundation. According to the foundation’s website, the objective is to provide “opportunities to today’s deaf or hard...
Honor Awards: Dental Hygienist Hitches Career to Health Wagon
A central Appalachian region dental hygienist who left behind a career in private practice for a mobile dental charity clinic in one of the nation’s poorest regions is one of three recipients of the 2022 Today’s RDH Honor Awards.
Katelyn Smith, RDH, has not looked back from her decision to work at the Health Wagon based in Wise, VA. The...
Honor Awards: Public Health Hygienist Believes in Nurturing Smiles
A public health hygiene practitioner who launched a nonprofit geared toward underserved women and children is one of the three recipients of the Today's RDH Honor Awards.
Jessica Jean-Burton, RDH, PHDHP, MPA, launched Nurturing Smiles to improve "access to oral health services for pregnant women, women of childbearing ages, and children in underserved communities," according to her nomination for the...
Should Dental Hygiene Programs Graduate Students with a Bachelor’s Degree?
An exciting part about dental hygiene’s foray into diversity has been the shunning of ageism. No, the sycophantic rookies and the old bats still squabble. I’m referring to the general demographic layout of the dental hygiene profession. For example, the diversity of age prevents me from saying that everyone who graduated from dental hygiene school between 2007 and 2015...
Honor Awards: North Carolina Hygienist Directs Dental Clinic Serving Underserved Adults
An executive director of an agency providing dental care to uninsured adults in North Carolina is one of three recipients of the 2021 Today’s RDH Honor Awards. Sommer Wisher, RDH, BS, leads the Wake Smiles Program in Raleigh, the county seat.
Karyn Bragman, RDH, BS, nominated Wisher. She wrote, “Wake Smiles is the only dental clinic in Wake County that...
Honor Awards: California RDHAP Focuses on Treating Special Needs Patients
An independent California hygienist who treats special needs patients in her private practice is one of three recipients of the 2021 Today’s RDH Honor Awards.
Darla Dale, BSDH, RDHAP, is a 36-year veteran in the profession who opened a dental hygiene practice in Eureka (approximately 100 miles from the Oregon border). She was also the state dental hygiene association’s president...
Honor Awards: Utah Hygienist Strives to Enhance Dental Hygiene Education
A Utah hygienist who creates educational content for dental hygiene educators and students, as well as reaches out in her community by volunteering annually, is one of three recipients for the 2021 Today's RDH Honor Awards.
Shelley Brown, MEd, RDH, also has developed a sideline business for treating homebound patients in her state.
Melia Lewis, MEd, BSDH, RDH, who nominated Brown...
An Ode to Dental Flossing: Newspaper Essay Eloquently Flexes a String
Author Wayne Koestenbaum penned an essay about flossing that was posted by the New York Times on August 10. Koestenbaum, a professor of English in New York City, has never been shy about criticizing American culture throughout his career.
But he had some awfully nice things to say about flossing, and dental hygienists should take note of how an artful...
The Today’s RDH Pandemic Dental Hygiene Survey: The Results
The Today's RDH pandemic survey results are based on 2,602 responses to a Today's RDH, non-scientific questionnaire posted on Facebook. The survey was posted on the Dental Hygiene with Kara RDH Facebook page, and responses were gathered from January 20 through February 11.
Less than 1% of the survey respondents indicated that they were not a resident of the United...
Big Sky Dental Hygienist Spreads Access to Care Across Montana
A special thank you to Dentsply Sirona for sponsoring the Today's RDH Honor Awards and for their unwavering commitment in supporting the profession of dental hygiene.
A rodeo mom in Montana, who has leveraged her dental hygiene career to improve access to care, both on and off Native lands, is one of the three recipients of the 2020 Today’s RDH...
Honor Awards Recipient Launched Business for Long-Term Care Facilities
A special thank you to Dentsply Sirona for sponsoring the Today's RDH Honor Awards and for their unwavering commitment in supporting the profession of dental hygiene.
An entrepreneurial provider of dental hygiene services at nursing homes in western Montana is one of three recipients of the 2020 Today’s RDH Honors Award.
Heidi Halverson, RDH, BSDH, LAP, is the owner of Dental...
Virginia Hygienist Used Public Health to Launch Efforts for Underserved
A special thank you to Dentsply Sirona for sponsoring the Today's RDH Honor Awards and for their unwavering commitment in supporting the profession of dental hygiene.
A Virginia dental hygienist who has a stellar reputation for her volunteer efforts and launching free or reduced rate dental clinics was named as one of the three 2020 Today’s RDH Honor Award recipients.
Diana...
Homework Assignment Sparked Kara Vavrosky’s Rise in Dental Media
An optional homework assignment to create a clinical reference guide in dental hygiene school led one of Folio magazine’s 2020 Top Women in Media award recipients to witness the power of written communication.
Kara Vavrosky, RDHEP, Co-founder and Chief Content Officer for Today’s RDH, will receive recognition on September 9th in New York City in front of publishers of all...
Today’s RDH Honor Awards 2019 Recipient: Debra Snelling, RDH
A special thank you to Dentsply Sirona for sponsoring the Today's RDH Honor Awards and for their unwavering commitment in supporting the profession of dental hygiene.
In Sugar Land, there’s a six-foot giant tooth named Tillie who crusades against dental disease. All of the words in the preceding sentence are true and not plagiarized from a comic book.
Tillie is worth...
Today’s RDH Honor Awards 2019 Recipient: Mandy Macachor, RDH
A special thank you to Dentsply Sirona for sponsoring the Today's RDH Honor Awards and for their unwavering commitment in supporting the profession of dental hygiene.
Gauri Mona Patel and Aaron Seubert are the dentists at Bayshore Dental, which is in a north Milwaukee neighborhood known as Whitefish Bay. Whitefish Bay is a very family-oriented community, with a diverse demographic....
Today’s RDH Honor Awards 2019 Recipient: Jennifer Geiselhofer, RDH
A special thank you to Dentsply Sirona for sponsoring the Today's RDH Honor Awards and for their unwavering commitment in supporting the profession of dental hygiene.
The blue-and-white van is easy to spot on the streets of Denver. The elliptical logo for Dental At Your Door stands out high on the blue rear side of the van. After almost five...
Survey Results: Today’s RDH Discovers How Hygienists Define Ambition
Many dental hygienists attempted to define “ambition” within the dental hygiene profession as part of a Today’s RDH survey, even while many admittedly struggled with career satisfaction.
Overall, 82 American dental hygienists participated in the Today’s RDH survey. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents have been practicing dental hygiene for less than 20 years.
Most hygienists (87 percent) say they feel encouraged...