Dental Hygiene Basics
Do you dream of becoming a dental hygienist? 🦷✨
Welcome to the Dental Hygiene Basics Podcast, your go-to resource for getting into and succeeding in dental hygiene school! Hosted by Dana Paladino, a dental hygienist, educator, and mentor, this podcast was created to fill a major gap. We help students before they even step into dental hygiene school.
While many resources focus on surviving school or advancing a hygiene career, few exist to guide students through the application process and their dental hygiene school journey. That’s where Dental Hygiene Basics comes in!
We cover:
✅ Admissions insight – How to strengthen your application and excel during your dental hygiene school interview
✅ Dental hygiene school survival – Study strategies, clinical tips, & NBDHE prep
✅ Career pathways – Exploring alternative and traditional RDH careers
✅ Community & mentorship – Real stories from dental hygienists who’ve been in your shoes
Dana has worked closely with first-year dental hygiene students and has seen their struggles firsthand. She knows that preparation powers performance. By sharing expert advice, personal experiences, guest interviews, she’s here to help YOU succeed.
More than just a podcast, Dental Hygiene Basics is a growing community of hygienists helping aspiring hygienists. Because when we lift each other up, we all succeed. 🧡 Dana's personal mission is to award $100,000 in scholarships by 2035. Learn more about Dental Hygiene Basic's Services and Scholarships at www.dentalhygienebasics.com.
Wondering if this podcast is right for you? Here are some questions we answer on the Dental Hygiene Basics Podcast:
- How do I get into dental hygiene school?
- What should I expect in dental hygiene school?
- How can I prepare for a dental hygiene school interview?
- What are the biggest challenges of dental hygiene school?
- How can I improve my instrumentation skills as a dental hygiene student?
- What are the best study tips for dental hygiene students?
- How do I manage stress in dental hygiene school?
- What career options are available for dental hygienists?
- How can I network and grow my dental hygiene career?
- Are there scholarships available for dental hygiene students?
Subscribe now and start your journey to becoming a Registered Dental Hygienist!
#dentalhygieneschool #dentalhygiene #futurerdh #studentrdh #dentalhygienebasics
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 24 minutes
- Episodes
- 104
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Part 1: First Recipient of the Dental Hygiene Basics Scholarship: Makya Smith
Congratulations to Makya for being the first Dental Hygiene Basics Scholarship recipient!! We're celebrating with two episodes dedicated to sharing her story and showcasing her dedication to helping …
A Leader in Sustainable Dentistry: Brittany Cox
Brittany Cox, a dental hygienist for 10 years, joins me on this episode to talk about her career. She graduated DH school at the age of 19 while raising a toddler and working full-time! As if that wa…
How to Build Foundational Knowledge to be Successful in Dental Hygiene School
Building foundational knowledge is key to being successful in school, especially in dental hygiene school, where all the topics overlap with each other. I've dedicated this episode to explaining why …
How the Relaxed Hygienist Found Relaxation through Burnout
Heather DeJonge joins me on this episode to share her journey in dental hygiene and how she's become known as The Relaxed Hygienist! Her self-proclaimed title is earned through years of working on he…
How Jazmine Founded Her Own Dental Hygiene Practice
In this episode, you can hear all about Jazmine's amazing dental hygiene career and how she founded a dental hygiene-independent practice in the state of New Mexico! She's been a practicing RDH for t…
Angy RDH: A DACA Recipients' Dental Hygiene Journey
This episode features Angy, a travel RDH who is a learning and development manager with Cloud Dentistry, the online staffing platform! She shares her arduous but inspiring journey to becoming a denta…
Marisa, the Financial Hygienist, On Becoming Free from Debt
Marisa Kibiersza, known as the financial hygienist on Instagram, joins me on this episode to share her experience of becoming a dental hygienist with a passion for personal finance. We delved into th…
Tips for the Dental Hygiene School Admissions TEAS Test
Some dental hygiene programs require applicants to take a TEAS test, an exam commonly used for nursing school applications. My goal with this episode was to help guide students who aren't sure where …
Daisy's Inspiring Dental Hygiene Story
My guest speaker on this episode, Daisy, shares her amazing story of becoming a dental hygienist. She practices hygiene in the state of Washington, working part-time so she can focus on her brand and…
Amber D'Andrea's Story on How She Accidentally Ended Up in Dental Hygiene
This episode might win for the best RDH Origin Story on the podcast. Amber D'Andrea joined me to talk about how she ended up in dental hygiene despite originally wanting to become an RN- it's a crazy…
How an Arts Major Found Passion in Dental Hygiene
Jose has recently graduated from dental hygiene school at NYU's associate's program and plans to continue his education by getting a bachelor's in health promotion and education. He talks about how h…
One Strange Way to Reduce Anxiety in Dental Hygiene School
It's no secret what working in dentistry can do to your body long term... but a topic that isn't talked about enough is noise fatigue. This episode focuses on how noise fatigue is common in the denta…
How Maryam Found Passion and Success in Dental Hygiene
In today's episode, Maryam shares her personal struggles to get through dental hygiene school including the struggles of English not being her first language and how that affected her application. Sh…
The Guygienist on Making the Most of Dental Hygiene School
Matthew @the_guygienist joins me on this episode to talk about his experience as a senior in dental hygiene school. It's amazing how many connections he's made so far within the dental community befo…
Transforming a School Project into a Business Idea with Carl Demadema
Register for "A Night with Teacher Tina" on January 28th at 7:00 pm CT HERE!!
I love sharing stories of dental hygienists who have carved out a new path in this profession for themselves. Carl Demadem…
Bonus! Teacher Tina Shares Her Dental Hygiene Wisdom
This BONUS episode features Teacher Tina, a dental hygiene educator, published author, speaker, and educator. She wears many hats but also has an incredible wealth of knowledge on local anesthetics i…
How to Do Less in Dental Hygiene School
Register for "A Night with Teacher Tina" on January 28th at 7:00 pm CT HERE!!
Do you ever feel like you’re not living in the moment? It’s probably because you need to “Do Less.” And doing less isn’t w…
Maryam's Career of Lifelong Learning as an RDH
Register for "A Night with Teacher Tina" on January 28th at 7:00 pm CT HERE!!
Maryam is an RDH in Canada who currently works as an instructor for dental assisting students while also creating her very…
Mental Health Advocate Leah Hargrove and Her Inspiring Dental Hygiene Story
Leah Hargrove is a dental hygienist in Tennessee who is a strong advocate for mental health support. She's hit a few bumps in the road to get where she is now but is so open about her story! Her goal…
Bonus! Combining Education and Entrepreneurship in Dental Hygiene with Josie Jasperson
Josie Jasperson, creator of Study Pass RDH is my guest today and shares her path to becoming a dental hygienist. She truly has the heart of a teacher and is passionate about getting students ready to…