This Dental Clinician Works Remotely (And You Can, Too)

Yes, you read that right! As a dental clinician, you can work remotely building your professional brand as a dental side hustler while still working your clinical job. I know because I’m doing it and here’s my story:

Hi! I’m Allie Morgan. I graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in Dental Hygiene from West Virginia University in 2014. I was nervous, passionate, and excited about the dental career that awaited me. It feels like only yesterday I was in the hygiene clinic with my hands shaking. I thought I would never master the technique of scaling through indirect vision. 

My Post-Graduation Work Experiences

After graduation, I moved to Chicago, where I bounced from corporate dental office to corporate dental office. I kept trying to find the culture and atmosphere that clicked with my core values: personal integrity, forming relationships, and nurturing others. Moreover, I worked long hours, evenings, and weekends, juggling a two-column hygiene schedule without a hygiene assistant. Certain aspects of the corporate atmosphere I enjoyed: the competitive bonus structure, working among other dental hygienists, and the wide variety of patients. However, I was slowly starting to feel burnt out and questioning my decision to pursue dental hygiene. 

After five years in Chicago, I moved back to my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. I started working in a high-end, privately-owned dental office (where I still work today!). The atmosphere finally clicked with my core values and allowed for quality patient care in a healthy work environment. Finally, I felt like I had adequate time with each of my patients to perform a high standard of care. In addition, I formed relationships with my patients and felt that I was performing honest and fulfilling work. I learned new technologies and research in the dental field, and my knowledge and skills evolved as a dental hygienist. And yet, despite all this, I still felt unfulfilled in my career. Right up until I met Tonya Lanthier, a fellow RDH, and DentalPost Founder and CEO, at the American Dental Hygiene Association Annual Conference in 2014.

How I Landed A Remote Dental Job with DentalPost

The more I talked to Tonya, the more I became completely enamored by her abilities. She could identify problems we commonly experienced as dental professionals and develop solutions for those gaps. Years ago, while working as a dental hygienist, Tonya wanted to start a family but found the lack of flexibility within her hygiene clinical schedule difficult to maneuver. So she solved this by working as a temp dental hygienist in her hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, allowing her to control her own schedule. Through her experience temping in more than 100 offices, she saw a common theme. It was difficult to find where to look for job opportunities and an office where the staff works well together. Her solution was to create a website specific to job-seeking dental professionals and dental offices in need of dental staff. She launched DentalPost shortly after giving birth to her twin daughters. 

With close to 1 million users, DentalPost is now the leading dental job board for dental professionals and hiring managers. As CEO, Tonya spends her time focused on improving the lives of dental professionals by providing tools to make better career and hiring decisions. She broke down the glass ceiling dental hygiene can sometimes have for a hygienist. Tonya continues to inspire me with her work ethic and problem-solving abilities. 

Living Out My Core Values & DentalPost’s Mission

As a young mother myself, I found juggling flexibility and a clinical hygiene schedule difficult to manage. This is why I jumped at the opportunity to work part-time clinically and part-time alongside Tonya and the DentalPost team. Working remotely with DentalPost challenges me to lay down my scalers and try some things outside my comfort zone. When I learned of Tonya’s mission, I was instantly hooked on her story, the brand, and the products and found myself in perfect alignment with their core values, which are: 

• Obsessed with finding a better way. 
• Passionately engaged in what we do.
• Own it. 
• We hear you. 
• Improving lives. 

What I Do As A Key Opinion Leader (KOL) for DentalPost

Working as a Key Opinion Leader for DentalPost means I get to do other dental-focused activities like educating dental hygiene students, sharing my personal and professional experiences, and providing valuable career resources. Additionally, I help build the DentalPost community by contributing to blogs and social media.

In this role, I spend part of my time speaking at dental hygiene and dental assisting schools, helping to prepare seniors on resume writing, interviewing, and presenting a professional social media presence. In addition, I manage the DentalPosters Facebook pages and conduct social media outreach. Networking at conferences across the U.S with fellow dental industry professionals and businesses deepens my knowledge and relationships in the dental industry. My newest challenge is sharing my knowledge and experience as a KOL. But, honestly, the most exciting thing about working at DentalPost is that my job is always evolving. I always feel encouraged to share my ideas for making the company more successful. That entrepreneurial spirit Tonya brings out in everyone at DentalPost makes it a fun and exciting company to work for.

Going Beyond Clinical Hygiene

When I tell people I am a dental hygienist, what I often hear in response is something like, “Oh, so you clean dirty teeth for a living?” Sure, performing periodontal therapy on patients with aggressive periodontal disease and treating porphyromonas gingivalis are some aspects of being a clinical hygienist, but to say that is all that I do couldn’t be further from the truth. Today, I also tell them (and I take pleasure doing so!) that I work from home two days a week. This is usually followed by a confused look on their face and the question, “How can you work from home as a dental hygienist?” 

Clinical hygiene isn’t a one-path career. Take it from me. If you told me a few years ago that I would be spearheading the marketing outreach for a dental hygiene job search platform, I would have called you crazy. Are you interested in working with a high-impact company and have aspirations to advance your career outside of the operatory? If so, consider working for DentalPost. I can promise you that you won’t regret it. I haven’t.

Interested In Working Remotely As A Dental Professional? 

As I come up on my two-year anniversary, I can say applying to work with DentalPost was one of the best decisions I made for myself and my career. So, if you feel burnout from day-to-day work in clinical hygiene, take advantage of opportunities outside the operatory. Overlooked dental opportunities could end up being your passion in the dental hygiene field.

Interested in remote dental career opportunities? Whether you’re a dental hygienist, dental assistant, dentist, or front office professional, DentalPost is looking for motivated dental professionals who want to build their own professional dental brand by helping share the mission and vision of the DentalPost brand. We’re on a mission to elevate the industry, dental practices, and dental teams through better team dynamics and better workplaces. If you share that mission and vision, consider applying for our ambassador program.

DentalPost is looking for Ambassadors and KOLs like Allie in the following markets: Tennessee (Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville), Florida (Tampa, Orlando), and Texas (Austin, Houston). If you align with our core values and are interested, let us know by completing this form.