​By 2040, dental hygienists could be working in every setting where health happens, and education has to lead the way. Recorded live at ADHA26 in Fort Worth, this episode features Leciel Bono, RDH-ER, MS, EdD, FADHA, department chair at Idaho State University, who helped write ADHA’s doctoral white paper, and Lancette VanGuilder, BS, RDH, PHEDH, CEAS, FADHA, ADHA President, 2025-2026, who reviewed it. They lay out the proposed pathways, from a doctorate of oral health practice to an entry-level doctorate, and explain why the policy is a long-term position, not a mandate. They also address the misinformation circulating online, including the idea that every hygienist must go back to school. Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA, hosts. Dental hygiene is defining its own path.

Guests: Leciel Bono, RDH-ER, MS, EdD, FADHA, Department Chair, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University; Lancette VanGuilder, BS, RDH, PHEDH, CEAS, FADHA, ADHA President, 2025-2026

Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

Ask a room of dental hygienists how they found the profession, and many give the same answer: their own hygienist brought it up. Live from ADHA26 in Fort Worth, Hygienist Inspired ambassadors Lali Williams and Pamela Graboso-Saul share their paths into dental hygiene and how they spread the word to patients, parents and high school students. Holli Seabury, Delta Dental Foundation Executive Director, explains how the chairside recruitment program has grown to 12 states and why anyone can take the ally pledge. Then ADHA Standout Seven honoree Sarah Jackson of Curaprox closes out the exhibit floor with iTOP (individually trained oral prophylaxis), a hands-on approach that trades the unopened goodie bag for touch-to-teach instruction right in the patient’s mouth. Healthier patients start with better teaching.

Guests: Lali Williams, RDH, FADHA, Hygienist Inspired Ambassador; Pamela Graboso-Saul, MPH(c), MSDH, BSDH, RDH, FADHA, Hygienist Inspired Ambassador and President, New Jersey Dental Hygienists' Association; Holli Seabury, EdD, Executive Director, Delta Dental Foundation; Sarah Jackson, RDH, MSDH, FADHA, Head of Education and Professional Relations, Curaprox
Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA

Day three of ADHA26 in Fort Worth brings a lineup of partners doing the work alongside dental hygienists. Live from the exhibit floor, host Matt Crespin talks with Michele Lash of Dentsply Sirona about how research and the voice of the customer drive product innovation, plus the Graduate Student Research Program, now in its 19th year. GoTu's Thalía Diedrick and Cassidy Miller preview the fourth annual State of Work survey and Best in Dental, a program recognizing offices that treat temporary professionals as part of the team. Chikako Amendola and Amanda Booth of Henry Schein share the Empowering You webinar series and a growing push for medical-dental integration. And Kari Ann Kuntzelman of the American Dental Therapy Association explains where dental therapy stands across the country and how hygienists can pursue it. Four conversations, one message: the profession is moving forward.

Guests: Michele Lash, RDH, BA, FADHA, CDIPC, Senior Manager, Clinical Research, Dentsply Sirona; Thalía Diedrick, Chief Marketing Officer, GoTu; Cassidy Miller, Director of Advocacy and Community, GoTu; Chikako Amendola, Executive Director, Henry Schein; Amanda Booth, Senior Marketing Specialist, Henry Schein; Kari Ann Kuntzelman, DT, Executive Director, American Dental Therapy Association
Host: Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, FADHA