Valerie Yates has been a registered dental hygienist since 2001. She has been practicing in Hays, Kansas, since that time. Valerie enjoys learning and bringing value to her patients. She has taken a special interest in myofunctional disorders and has enjoyed bringing a new avenue of health to her patients. Valerie has always had a love for reading and writing. While she enjoys reading a good mystery novel, she finds her writing passion in freelancing. When Valerie has leisure time, you can find her with her husband, two daughters, and their menagerie of animals. Her nature for helping others does not stop with humans and she is sucker for four-legged friends.
5 tips for becoming a dental hygienist
Deciding on a career path is no small feat. It can be a very confusing and exciting time in your life. Dental hygiene is a rewarding and in-demand career and may be the right fit for you. Here are five tips for becoming a dental hygienist.
After dental school: Considerations for joining alternative types of practices
By Bruce Bryen, CPA, CVA Before graduating from dental school, the dental student is inundated with information about joining dental practices from all over the country. It is, of course, in many ways, a life-altering decision. The geographic environment, salary and benefits, and quality of life are just a few of the items being considered…
3 ways to avoid the biggest crisis in dentistry
All across the country, dental practices are facing a hiring crisis. Teams are being stretched thin because of openings within the staff directory, and it’s putting pressure on everyone in the practice. They feel the strain … and so does dentistry as a whole. But what if you could solve a problem before it ever…
Avoiding pitfalls in your next dental office lease negotiation
By Dan Gleissner, CARR More than 80% of healthcare practices lease their office space. The location and impression their office makes on patients is a huge determining factor in patient referrals and return visits, especially in a competitive market. Additionally, the cost of rent is typically a dental practice’s second-highest expense after payroll. For these reasons, it…
15 Best Dentist Memes
By: Kevin Henry When it comes to dental patients and their relationship with their dentist, dental hygienist, dental assistant, or anyone at the front associated with dental insurance, there are plenty of times when good dentist memes can say 1,000 words. With that in mind, we decided to find the 10 best dental memes we…
Finding the right specialist partners for your dental practice
By Dr. Bill Simon With research, development, and expansion of technology comes a broader scope of services, a deeper understanding of how to provide those services and improved outcomes. The standard of care elevates and, more than ever, dentists are faced with decisions on where to draw the line on what treatment they are comfortable…
Lit leadership lessons: How dental professionals can honor boundaries
Dr. Amisha Singh discusses why setting boundaries is so important for dental professionals and how it can improve health.
Broken: Women in the dental industry and their relationships with other women
Dr. Maggie Augustyn discusses how her relationship with other women in the dental industry has been challenging and how she has dealt with the ups and downs.
3 things you can do to take care of your mental health
Whether we’re living in a pandemic, adjusting to life after COVID-19, or just trying to get through the day, there are times when we all need a “mental break” and need a few moments to change our thought patterns and deal with the pressure we may be feeling at the moment.
Compensation plus benefits: Real talk for someone starting out in a dental practice
For those dentists just out of dental school or in the process of changing jobs as an associate from one dental practice to another, think of the power that is possessed when interviewing for that position.
Lit leadership lessons: The power of creativity
By Amisha Singh, DDS We are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) people. We like numbers. Our problems have one solution. Right and wrong are our anthem. That doesn’t sound very accessible, does it? Well, that is because of how STEM has traditionally been taught. There are elements of these fields which are a little…