Sunstar Americas recently celebrated its 15th year of honouring North America’s outstanding dental hygienists. The oral healthcare leader and RDH magazine joined forces to create the Award of Distinction programme in 2002. Since then, 113 dental hygienists have been recognised for their success and accomplishments in the field of dental hygiene. The four most recent recipients of this prestigious award were honoured during an award ceremony at the RDH Under One Roof conference in National Harbour, Maryland on July 29.
“Too often, the efforts of dental hygienists, who spend the majority of their time providing treatment chair-side, are not fully appreciated,” said Ms. Jackie Sanders, Manager of Professional Relations for Sunstar Americas. “Dental hygienists make a difference in 8 to 16 lives per day. They review health histories, take an individual’s healthcare into their own hands, and make recommendations and provide care that may change a patient’s life forever. And on top of that, most will then go home to take care of family or other important commitments.”
The 2016 Sunstar/RDH Award of Distinction honourees are:
- JoAnn Galliano, MEd., RDH, one of the creators of the Dental Hygiene Committee of California and the legislative consultant for the California Dental Hygienists’ Association.
- Corinne Jameson Kuehl, RDH, BS, OMT, who founded OMT of Wisconsin, to help patients find solutions to oral dysfunctions caused by sleep disorders and other health connections.
- Susan Wingrove, RDH, BS, the co-designer of the Wingrove Implant Titanium set, ACE probes, and Queen of Hearts instruments, and the author of the “Peri-Implant Therapy for the Dental Hygienist” textbook.
- Debbie Zafiropoulos, RDH, who formed the NationalCancerNetwork.org to raise awareness of prevention, progress, screening and referrals for all affected by a cancer diagnosis, and who has delivered more than 2,300 hours of continuing education programmes.
“Our entire team at Sunstar Americas is proud to be able to honour not only these exceptional hygienists, but the entire dental hygiene profession,” said Ms. Sanders.
While the hygienists honoured by the Sunstar/RDH Awards of Distinction are driven to provide the best possible patient care rather than to seek attention for themselves, the fact is that the Sunstar Americas Inc. awards can open doors for honourees. According to Sandra Boucher-Bessent, BS, RDH, one of the honourees from the inaugural 2002 Awards of Distinction, “As each year’s recipients are announced and details of their accomplishments are unveiled, a common thread is a heartfelt enthusiasm for elevating the standard of oral healthcare for their patients.” She pointed out that dental hygienists traditionally work in relative isolation. “This can make dental hygiene a lonely profession,” she said. “Fortunately, through its Award of Distinction, Sunstar has brought dental hygienists into the limelight.” Much to her surprise, the notoriety Ms. Bouchard-Bessent received from her award led national organisations and Fortune 50 companies to seek her out and invite her to join their teams. She currently serves as Director of Sales and Marketing for The Dental CFO, and says, “My Award of Distinction catapulted me to a career beyond anything I could have imagined.”
Ms. Sanders pointed out that Sunstar relies on all 113 Award of Distinction honourees to serve as a valuable source of input regarding the company’s product development efforts throughout the year. She asked, “If you’re looking for feedback about new products or possible improvements to existing products, who could possibly provide better insights than this award-winning group of dental hygienists?”
Starting in October, ads will explain how licensed dental hygienists may be nominated for the 2017 Awards of Distinction. All judging is maintained by RDH Magazine and nominations close on March 31, 2017.
