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Story of a Malegienist 🦷

2 weeks ago4 min read

My name is Nicholas Moore and I’m an Illinois Central College graduate from Peoria, Illinois. 2019 was my graduation year and I was unaware of what to expect in a profession so dominantly filled with women or what to expect in general! 👩‍🦰 👩‍🦱 👩

Straight out of school I found myself pursuing travel dental hygiene as it was a chance to see the world and grow as a hygienist all in one. 🧐

First, let me give you some background about me. Soccer is a huge passion of mine. ⚽️ I live and breathe it. It’s my release from the world. My stress reliever. My backbone. Prior to dental hygiene, I worked as a certified nursing assistant for 6+ years. I had a path set for myself to ultimately end up as a nurse anesthetist. 💉

One of those steps involved becoming a registered nurse. I applied four years in a row and I got into the program every year. Something within kept stopping me from going through with it and I finally decided a career change was the answer. 🤞 Honestly, dental hygiene was a leap of faith. I knew very little about the career and I wouldn’t have guessed that I’d find so much enjoyment in it like I do today! 🙌

A lot of tools were useful in helping me prepare for boards. A classmate purchased a board review from StudentRDH and it very much attributed to helping me find the mindset to get through my boards.

With endless amounts of information throughout 2 years of study, having a tool that helps narrow down familiar topics takes the stress off of the mind and allowed me to comfortably pass my boards and pursue my profession. 🤓

Whether you’re actively preparing for boards or you’re trying to decide if dental hygiene is right for you, the answer is DO IT! ☝️

Clinically, dental hygiene is so exciting. Every mouth is so different. 👄 It’s like unwrapping a Christmas present 🎁 underneath the tree except you get to present solutions and techniques to help each patient keep a happy and healthy smile. Nothing is more rewarding than a patient understanding and being excited about how to change their daily routine go better their oral health and in return better their overall body health. 🙌

I was hesitant about pursuing the field because I knew the demographic was strongly female-oriented. 😌

Would patients be accepting of a male hygienist? As a nurse assistant, I experienced patients that were resistant to having a male caretaker so this wasn’t the unexplored territory. Patients have actually been quite wonderful to me. 🙂 It’s almost as though they see me as a breath of fresh air. A change of pace if you will. You’ll also discover that the older ladies love it! 🥳

As far as my future plans within dentistry I’d like to build on my clinical image. I plan to go back to school and obtain a bachelor’s in another area. I may branch out within dental hygiene but I enjoy the clinical side all too much right now and there is still so much growth to be done. 🤓

Respectfully, I’d like to shout out Illinois Central College. Cathleen Korondi, Lynn Mauer, and Courtney Arnett are all human beings who should never go a day without recognition! 👏

The program was incredible and the support system these women provided in addition to all other staff involved is unreal and beyond what words could define. 😍

It has been without a single doubt, the reason I believe I’ve become such a great hygienist today. Each instructor took a piece of themselves and embodied it into me and molded me to be the best possible! 🙌

About The Author:

– Nicholas Moore, RDH
2019 Illinois Central College Graduate