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Jennifer Porter: Remembering the Why

by Katie Devereaux

Today I chatted with Jennifer Porter, a refreshingly honest dental hygienist in the Jacksonville area. When asked why she chose the dental profession, her response was candid: “I don’t believe I remember what sparked my interest in dental hygiene except for the fact that I knew I didn’t want to stay in college forever,” she said adding that her original major of psychology might have allowed for that. “And I didn’t want a job where I just sat behind a desk and computer screen all day. I knew I wanted something in the medical profession and something dealing with people.”

And dealing with people she is. On any given day, Porter sees between six and eight patients rounding out to about 40 patients a week. Though sometimes seeing 40 patients every week is taxing, Porter said she, for the most part, enjoys seeing the same patients two or three times a year, catching up on the goings on in their lives and educating them on the health of their mouths. But there are some, she said, who she dreads seeing on the schedule. “There are days when I deal with negative attitudes towards me or dentistry in general,” she said. jenn-p “People complain about anything and everything. They blame me because they have neglected their mouth and now it is going to cost money to restore it back to function. They blame me for the gum disease they have or the broken tooth they have, like it’s my fault that it happened to them.”

Porter said she realizes that each job has its pros and cons and that most jobs entail working with people on some level, but she also understands that the dentistry profession works much more more closely with its clients than others. “In dentistry we are working with people on such an intimate level, it’s hard not to suffer from some degree of burn out over the years as most healthcare professionals do,” she said. “Which leaves us wondering sometimes why the heck did we choose this as our profession.”

 

A few years ago, Porter took a part-time position at a new practice and began the daunting task of winning over patients who were used to seeing the hygienist who previously had her job. “Almost four years later, I have formed a relationship with most of them, but there are still a few I still haven’t quite figured out yet,” she said. One of those patients was an elderly doctor who had been patronizing the practice for about 40 years. “I am only in this certain office one day a week,” she said. “And one day I opened up the cabinet in my room and found an envelope addressed to me, and it made me a little nervous because I saw it was from him.” Porter said she had been seeing him every six months for the last for years, and had seen him three weeks before receiving the envelope. Six months prior, however, he was put with a different hygienist. “I do not mind seeing him, as I know all his little quirks and I am familiar with his oral health status,” Porter said. “If I could sum it up, our relationship was more of the health professional-to-health professional type.” Afraid of what was inside, Porter opened the envelope to find a thank you card with a gift certificate for her and her husband to go out to eat. “I was so touched that I literally got a lump in my throat, and I felt tears well up in my eyes—which isn’t saying a lot because I am an overly emotional person anyways—but I was speechless.” Porter said he was probably the last person she could think of to do something nice for her. “It touched me in such a way because it made me realize that even though we may not talk about his life details as much as I do with other patients, he somehow appreciated me and the services I provide for him,” she said. and

In that instant, Porter remembered why she became a dental hygienist: the good she enjoys doing for people on a daily basis, whether they appreciate it or not. ” in a way it almost made me feel like that act of kindness had somehow broken down our exterior professional shells and brought us to a more personal level,” she said. “It renewed my faith in people and made me remember that I’m not going to make everyone happy but just touching one persons life is worth doing what I do.”

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Katie Devereaux
Katie Devereaux
Resume Coach and Blogger at Dental Temps Professional Services
Katie Devereaux is a writer and editor, who graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree in journalism. She has written for several publications in Florida, Alaska and Illinois.
Katie Devereaux
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