From Dental Assistant to Dental Hygienist - Interview with Andrew Tate

Today, I have a wonderful guest with me. His name is Andrew Tate, and he is a dental hygienist. I've known him for a number of years.  

Dr. Myers:

Andrew, I have known you forever, but tell the folks a little about you. Who is Andrew Craig Tate?

Andrew:

Andrew Craig Tate is an individual who changes as he grows, and changes with the phases of life, from his mindset, to his presentation physically, to how he sees the world.

In a nutshell, I'm a dental hygienist that recently migrated to the US trying to establish my footing as I make this transition to a new country, new culture, new experience, and a new beginning.

Dr. Myers:

So in other words, Andrew, you are "On the Grow."

Andrew:

Yes, you can never stop growing. You stop growing once you die.

Dr. Myers:

Who did you hear say that? It sounds very much like something somebody might have heard me say.

Andrew:

Yes, I've known you for 15 years of my life. So yes, I’ll credit it to you.

Dr. Myers:

That's okay. I'm pretty generous. I can share some of my quotes with folks and hearing them back just says that something stuck.

So Andrew, what led you into the world of dentistry, specifically to be trained as a dental assistant?

Andrew:

I was introduced to the world of dentistry by my childhood dentist, Dr. Patrick Lewis. When I was younger, I and my sister, when growing up, always tried to think about what it was we wanted to become as a career path.

Dr. Patrick Lewis was somebody who I would visit and I always admired how he was never the suit and tie type of gentleman.

He was always eclectic in his own manner. He had a little tattoo that blew my mind, pierced ears, sports cars, and boats, and I thought this seemed like a very cool career choice. That's what piqued my interest initially.

And then, as I transitioned through life, I just stuck with it.

I directed my mindset in whatever direction I needed to, to be able to attain that work-lifelong goal and lifelong desired career choice. So that's where it started.

Dr. Myers:

So you admired Dr. Lewis and the way he presented himself to the world, and you loved that persona.

Tell me about that initial impression and how you started training for dental assisting.

Andrew:

In the Jamaican school system, you leave high school at 5th or 6th form when you're transitioning to tertiary level education. I learned about Northern Caribbean University (NCU), formerly known as West Indies College.

And like most Jamaicans at the time, I thought dentistry was just one large career, meaning that it wasn't segmented into dental assisting, dental hygiene, or dental lab tech.

So when I was looking at schools locally, I was introduced to West Indies College, and I saw that they had a dental hygiene program.

I assumed that it fell under the same umbrella as dentistry so I applied at the end of 5th form and, going into the first year of 6th form, I was accepted. I only spent one year in 6th form.

I transitioned from high school to West Indies College, and it was then I started to get my feet wet and I learned about the different disciplines under the umbrella of dentistry and dental hygiene. So, that's basically where I started.

Dr. Myers:

Okay, so you started training as a dental hygienist, but before you completed your program, you worked in our office as a dental assistant. How was that?

Andrew:

I completed two years at NCU, and then I transitioned to the dental auxiliary school, which was taken over by UTECH. At the dental auxiliary school, Mary Harvey left a mark on my heart.

I believe she was a dental hygienist at your office prior to me. She would always hover around the clinic, and she took a liking to me.

She would always look out for me, and I remember one particular year when it was approaching the summer holidays. She asked me what I would normally do over the summer holidays.

I told her that I would look for a job at the bank, JPS, or wherever I was able to.

She introduced the idea of me coming to your office at Ligunea Family Dental, to shadow her and watch to see how the systems and structures that you guys have in place work.

So while learning the theory parts I would be able to connect the dots to the technical parts of it. She introduced the idea of me coming to be her assistant.

From there, going forward, I was one of those fortunate ones to just transition from school into a job.

Dr. Myers:

Yes, I think you're probably in the 1% of those that are privileged. But I think it speaks to the fact that you are an excellent student because you stood out.

Mary said to me, “I have this student that I'd like you to meet, and I think he will do a great job working as a dental assistant in your office.”

And I have high regard for Mary, so when she spoke to me and suggested you, I said, Well, this guy has got to be a winner. So let's bring him on.

I feel like you were a natural. You just fit right into whatever was being asked of you.

I'm amazed now to realize that at that stage, you hadn't started clinical yet because your ability to assist chairside and do your setups so efficiently and effectively was quite impressive.

I figured it was something you were used to doing and you could teach us what you had learned. But what I hear you saying now is that may not have been the case.

Andrew:

What made it easier for me was knowing that...

LEARNING

is like a building block

where you keep on

applying LAYERS.

When I came into your office, without being necessarily trained to operate, the systems that were in place made it easier to transition from point A to Z. You go from A to B to C, and so on.

With the willingness to learn as well as the willingness to have an interest, it made it easy for me.

Dr. Myers:

People come and go, but solid systems keep any ship afloat.

SYSTEMS

make it EASIER

for PEOPLE

to come in

and be INTEGRATED.

It's easier for people to be consistent because there's always something in a particular order that gets done.

Systems are inflexible but flexible, meaning that you shouldn't take shortcuts with systems. They need to be inflexible that way. But you should recognize that there is room for change as things evolve.

Your systems of 10 years ago may not work for this day and age unless you've been tweaking them all along, right? So I'm happy to hear that the systems work well for you.

The information that you garnered as a dental assistant, did that help you in any way to transition to hygiene? 

Andrew:

When I finally came into the office, I was observing Mary and how she conducted herself as a hygienist, as well as yourself, Dr. Myers, and the things that you guys put in place.

It taught me that, whether you're a dental assistant or whether you're a dental hygienist, you can't just do things haphazardly.

You have to have SYSTEMS

timelines

structures

and other things

in place that you follow

to OPERATE EFFICIENTLY

both as a dental assistant

and a dental hygienist.

Mary always taught me that manners will take you much further than talent will ever do, so you should always greet your patients by name.

Dr. Myers:

Say that again. That is worth repeating. People go through years and years of education and miss this basic thing. Can you give me a replay?

Andrew:

Always start to bridge the gap between yourself as a provider and the patient by addressing your patient by name.

That was something that was taught to me from early on, and it stuck with me, but it is also a part of the systems that you put in place.

So we greet the patient by name, introduce ourselves, let them know what we're doing or what we're expecting, and you escort them around the back.

But even before that, in anticipation of how the new patient comes, you have to be familiar with whatever procedure the patient is doing.

So you would have already set or preset the patient.

So that's greeting the patient, and ensuring all the tools are set out and ready for yourself and the dentists or dental hygienist to start operating.

The point I want to drive home is how IMPORTANT it is to have those STEPS IN PLACE.

Knowing that you have a five-step, eight-step, or ten-step block to follow, allowed me to operate efficiently as an assistant at the time because I knew what to expect, what stage or where we were, to be proactive in anticipating whatever it was that was coming up next.

And as I said, I use that same model as a dental assistant, operating as a dental hygienist, and just generally operating in life.

You don't take on any task or anything haphazardly.

Always try to formulate your own system or way of operating.

We can make life less stressful and more efficient. So that's what worked for me as a hygienist and as an assistant.

Dr. Myers:

Okay. So having gone that route, is that something that you would recommend for a hygienist?

Andrew:

Definitely. Pre-plan and execute; always know what is next; always anticipate.

Set up your own system

that works for YOU

and stick to that system

and execute it.

It allows you to track your progress, to see what is working, what is not working, and what needs improvement.

Dr. Myers:

Absolutely. That is such good information.

And now that you have been a hygienist for many years, having worked as an assistant first and then as a hygienist, did it help you to be able to guide your assistants as dental assistants who would assist you while you are seeing your hygiene patients?

Andrew:

It did. What it did for them was that they learned how to anticipate my moves, and my next steps and indirectly develop their own system.

So, if they knew Andrew is always someone who anticipates or expects this at this point, they would always try to plan ahead of time so that everything is in place as I transition.

Dr. Myers:

I would take from this discussion that your main points are:

(1) It is important for every member of the team to be familiar with the patient who is to be seen.

(2) Becoming familiar with a patient means anything from personality to health history to social, whether it’s their mom or granddad or an uncle who is going to have their nieces and nephews spend the weekend, to just be familiar with the patients.

(3) We should recognize that there are systems and we should be able to do what we have to do within the boundaries of those systems very well.

(4) Systems allow for the provider and assistant to work in sync because everybody knows the order in which things are to happen. And we all know that if you have a team that's working in sync, it's a far better experience for any patient and less stressful for the team members.

(5) Manners take you much further than talent. Yes, of course you have to know what you're doing. But oh my goodness, when you can do it with manners! Anybody who has good manners can wrap me around their little finger, and I'm sure that I’m not alone. 

Andrew, I'm so grateful to you and your willingness to share with us.

There's a quote that I wanted to share with our listeners today. And it is by Robert Tew. It says,

"Be patient with yourself; you're growing stronger every day. The weight of the world will become lighter, and you will begin to shine brighter. Don't give up."  

When I think of that quote, I think of you, Andrew, because you are on a forever journey.

You are like me, you're a lifelong learner.

You see things and you go for it. And I just want to encourage you to stay on the grow.

We miss you in Jamaica, but we know that they're loving you in Atlanta. I had the experience of speaking with your new doctor, and he is so pleased with you as well. So you made me proud, dude.

Andrew:

I appreciate that.

Dr. Myers:

Okay, Andrew, thanks a lot. God bless you. Take care, and continue to stay on the grow.

Andrew:

Thank you very much doc. Blessings to you as well.

Dr. Myers:

Yes, it was lovely chatting with Andrew Tate. I am just so proud of that young man. As I said before, he is on the grow. As I always say, life is better when we live, learn, and grow together. Blessings!

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This is Episode 12 of my Irreplaceable Dental Assistant podcast.

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