100-year anniversary of dental hygiene as celebrated in Traverse City, Michigan

I (Maria Perno Goldie) recently had the opportunity to speak at a meeting for the Northland Dental Hygienists’ Society (NDHS), in Traverse City, Michigan. The 100-year dental hygiene anniversary event was created six months ago when Larry Eischer attended the annual Northland Dental Hygienists’ Society CE meeting. Larry is a Territory Manager for Crest + Oral-B. As told by Larry …

L to R: Larry Eischer, Territory Manager for Crest + Oral-B; Amanda Slawter; and Chris Dawe

I approached the president of the Northland Dental Hygienists’ Society and asked if they would be willing to partner with me to host an event to celebrate the Centennial. The idea was to combine a continuing education program, with appreciation of the profession, recognition of dental hygienists, and fun! The acronym C.A.R.E emerged to describe and promote the event … a day of Celebration, Appreciation, Recognition, and Education.

The dental hygiene event became a reality Friday, Sept. 13, 2013, drawing 150+ dental hygienists from across Michigan, including the leaders of the Michigan Dental Hygienists’ Association (MDHA). Here are a few highlights:

1. Multiple speaking opportunities in front of the group, including recognition of 100 years of dental hygiene; the vision and mission of POH; the POH brand history of science, quality and innovation; at home product solutions; and the importance of dental hygienists’ recommendations.
2. Opportunity to introduce and communicate Amanda’s new responsibility as liaison to MDHA.
3. Speaker support – supported speaker Maria Perno Goldie, RDH, MS, as she presented Women’s Oral Health Through the Life Stages.
4. Local dental hygiene school Delta College students and faculty attended at no charge. We recognized them and tied them into the future 100 years!
5. All three Distributor partners: Benco, Patterson and Schein sponsored/participated in the event.
6. Three local specialists (two periodontists and one orthodontist) sponsored/participated in the event.
7. The local Resort District Dental Society showed its support and sponsored the meeting, as well as the state Michigan Dental Association.
8. A 100-year cake was presented and enjoyed and was well received.
9. The MDHA Historian utilized four of our videos--Thank You, Voices, Mariann & Dylan, and Make Someone Happy--in her dinner presentation on the history and contributions of dental hygiene.
10. The host Society (NDHS) donated proceeds from the event to the MDHA. A “large check” was presented in front of the entire group.

L to R: Jennifer Van Wingen, Northland Dental Hygienist’s Component; Linda Plunkett, Michigan Dental Hygiene Association Historian; Larry Eischer, P&G

11. Dental hygienists had fun on bus tour and a disco party.

12. This memorable event strengthened relationships with many key influencers within the dental community.