Working

by Kate Zimmermann

Juggling a career and a family with two busy teenage boys is a daunting task on its own, but for Michelle Smith, RDH, there have been more than life's usual ups and downs to overcome. Nearly seven years ago, an all-terrain vehicle accident broke her back, injured her spinal cord, and left her paraplegic. Smith, now faced with questions about how to resume her life and career as a dental hygienist, discovered she couldn't find anyone else who'd been through something like this before.

Smith comes from a very close-knit family in Southern California; a family she says has given her tremendous support throughout her life. But when it came to being a dental hygienist in a wheelchair, Smith was on her own. Smith's interest in dental hygiene was piqued in the eighth grade when a family friend and dentist asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. He pointed out that dental hygiene was great career for a woman who wanted a traditional family life because of its flexibility and good pay. She thought about it over the years and after talking to a dental hygienist at her own dentist's office, Smith was ready to pursue her career. She graduated from the dental hygiene program at Idaho State University in 1977.

Smith has been working with the same dentist for nearly 25 years in San Juan Capistrano, California, where she was born and raised. She began as a part-time dental hygienist working only four hours a week, and together with Phil Potter, DDS, helped build a practice that currently has a staff of about eight--with an associate dentist to help a couple of afternoons a week with the patient load. Smith says, "There are three of us hygienists now, and we all are moms and work part-time. It's great."

Smith works three-to-four days a week. A typical workday begins at 7:30 a.m. with her first patient. She sees about one an hour until noon. Sometimes she stays late to finish a teeth lightening stint, but by 1:30 p.m. she is home to have lunch, finish some chores, and then she is off to her two sons' volleyball games or to pick them up from practice. She says her morning work schedule is perfect because it allows her afternoons and evenings free to be with her sons and husband.

After the accident, Smith took about 18 months to heal and rehabilitate before returning to work. Her boss made it clear to her all along that her job would be there for her if she decided to come back. Her coworkers have been very helpful with rearranging the supplies so that they are within her reach, but only one of the six operatories in the office, has room enough to accommodate Smith's wheelchair and the dental chair.

Smith has learned to take a full mouth series of X rays again, but says it takes her a little longer than it used to. "Nothing is insurmountable, but it still bothers me that I'm no longer as time efficient as I used to be. Virtually every effort from my wheelchair takes longer than [it would for] an able-bodied person, and with work, my household duties, my husband, and my boys and all of our commitments, I sometimes feel like I can barely keep my nose above the water!" Nevertheless, Smith is passionate about her career and trying to create a network to help dental hygienists like her. Smith believed that there were dental personnel in wheelchairs but was unable to find anyone to answer her questions about practicing from a wheelchair or finding a support group--even after contacting ADHA and the California Dental Hygienists' Association.

Smith would like to help create a network to communicate with other dental hygienists like her to share their helpful ideas, successes, failures, and answer questions. "As medical technology improves, there will be more dental personnel working in wheelchairs and to be able to give a newly injured person hope that they can still do their job is HUGE in terms of their healing and ability to problem-solve. All we need to do is provide a forum or location for us to make the connection." Smith says.

Smith is dedicated to her work and her family and remains positive in spite of all that she has overcome. "The gratifying part of my job is that, after almost 25 years at this office, I feel that I am very good at the work I do and that our office works well as a professional team."