What if dental hygienists could do more than clean teeth? What if they could coach patients through the barriers that actually prevent them from getting healthy—and get reimbursed for it?

In this episode, Kimberly Williamson explores why dental hygienists are uniquely positioned to become health coaches, and why this model could transform not just dentistry, but healthcare as a whole.

She breaks down the oral-systemic connection—how periodontal disease is linked to diabetes, heart disease, and mental health—and explains why treating the mouth in isolation makes no sense. She also addresses the socioeconomic barriers patients face that traditional dental education never taught us to explore: food insecurity, transportation, lack of insurance, mental health struggles, and more.

Kimberly shares her own journey to becoming a Certified Integrative Health Coach, why she's now pursuing board certification through the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching, and the frustrating irony that hygienists—already board certified clinicians—often can't bill insurance directly, while health coaches now have CPT codes and growing recognition.

She also reveals that oral health wasn't even included in her health coaching curriculum—and when she reached out to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition about it, they acknowledged it was a missed opportunity but said they couldn't change the curriculum at this time.

This episode is a call to action for clinicians, patients, and the industry: it's time to reclaim the role dental hygienists were always meant to play.

Resources mentioned:

• National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching: nbhwc.org
• Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN)
• Duke Integrative Medicine Health Coach Training
• Wellcoaches School of Coaching
• Episode 7: When Getting Out of Bed is Hard: Mental Health and Oral Health

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January is Mental Wellness Month — and very few in dentistry are talking about the connection between mental health and oral health.

In this episode, Kimberly Williamson explores why depression makes brushing feel impossible, how psychiatric medications affect your mouth, the shame spiral that keeps people from seeking care, and what dental offices are getting wrong.

For patients, this episode validates what you may have been experiencing: canceled appointments, skipped brushing, and the fear of being judged for letting things go. There's real science behind why a two-minute task can feel like climbing a mountain — and why the medications helping your mental health might be harming your teeth.

For clinicians, this is a call to change how we approach patient care. We're trained to educate and instruct — but what if the patient in our chair isn't "non-compliant"? What if they're barely surviving?

Kimberly also shares why she believes dental hygienists should be trained as health coaches, and offers gentle, judgment-free guidance for anyone struggling to care for themselves right now.

If getting out of bed is hard — this episode is for you.

You are not lazy. Your struggle is valid. And you deserve compassion.

Resources:

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text)
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• SAMHSA: 1-800-662-4357
• psychologytoday.com (therapist finder)

Disclaimer: Kimberly Williamson is a registered dental hygienist and health coach, not a mental health professional. This episode is NOT a substitute for professional medical or psychological care. If you're in crisis, please reach out to a licensed provider or call 988.

Music and episodes written and produced by Kimberly Williamson.

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You've probably heard that dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession. That's a myth. But here's what isn't: dental professionals experience alarmingly high rates of depression, anxiety, burnout, and suicidal thoughts.

In Australia, 1 in 6 dental practitioners reported thoughts of suicide in the past year. In the UK, 17.6% of dentists admitted to seriously considering it. And 43% of dental hygiene students report moderate to severe depression before they even enter the workforce.

But here's the problem no one is talking about: we're only tracking dentists. The ADA collects mental health data on dentists—but dental hygienists? Dental assistants? The workforce that is 95% female? No systematic tracking exists. If you're not counted, you don't count.

In this episode, I break down the myth vs. reality of suicide in dentistry, the data gap making the female-dominated workforce invisible, the education gap leaving students unprepared for a high-stress profession, and what needs to change—for the industry, for practice owners, and for clinicians.

This episode is personal. I lost a mentor to suicide early in my career. She seemed fine. She showed up. She smiled. And she was struggling silently. That experience changed how I see this industry.

We can't fix what we don't acknowledge.

It's time to start counting everyone.

If you or someone you know is struggling, here are resources:

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: call or text 988.

Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741.

For dental-specific support, the Dental Mental Health Network and your state's ADA well-being program are available.

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What if dental hygienists in every state could open their own practices, set their own hours, and bill patients directly - without a dentist signing off on every decision?

That’s not a fantasy. It’s Canada. And they’ve been doing it for decades.

In this episode of Rooting Within Health, Kimberly Williamson dives into how Canadian hygienists achieved self-regulation - and why the American system is designed to keep clinicians limited. She covers:

• The 30+ year timeline of Canadian self-regulation
• How the ADA removed “dental hygiene diagnosis” from our standards — with no evidence
• The GDC research showing direct access is safe
• Why dental boards dominated by dentists create a conflict of interest
• The real reason behind the hygienist shortage — and why OPAs aren’t the answer
• What we can actually do to demand change

This episode is for every dental professional who’s ever felt silenced, overlooked, or stuck in a system that wasn’t built for them.

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It's legal in Arizona. Missouri is running a pilot program. And more states are considering it: the Oral Preventive Assistant (OPA) model allows dental assistants with just 120 hours of training to perform "dental cleanings."

In this episode, I break down what OPAs can and cannot do, why this model is being pushed as a solution to the dental hygiene shortage, and why it's actually a symptom of much bigger problems in dentistry.

We'll talk about:

• The training gap between OPAs (120 hours) and dental hygienists (2-4 years, 2,000-3,000 clinical hours)
• What "supragingival scaling only" really means for your oral health
• Why patient satisfaction surveys don't measure clinical outcomes
• The gender dynamics of creating cheaper substitutes for female-dominated professions
• What happens when an industry regulates itself with zero independent oversight
• Real solutions that would actually address workforce shortages

This isn't about gatekeeping. It's about patient safety, professional standards, and the systemic devaluation of healthcare workers - especially women.

If you've ever wondered why your dental office feels like a production line, or why there's no independent body watching out for patients in dentistry, this episode connects the dots.

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In honor of National Diabetes Awareness Month, this episode goes beyond the typical "brush and floss more" advice to explore the real, lived experience of managing diabetes, whether type 1, type 2, or gestational, and the systemic barriers that impact both patients and healthcare providers.

Host Kimberly Williamson shares her personal journey of being diagnosed with gestational diabetes during her first pregnancy while working as a dental hygienist. From the emotional toll of constant glucose monitoring, to the impossible logistics of managing a chronic condition in a workplace with zero accommodations, to the socioeconomic barriers like food insecurity and medication access that affect diabetic patients across all types—this episode exposes the brutal reality of navigating chronic illness in a profit-driven system.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The bidirectional relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease—and why dental hygienists should be integral members of the diabetes care team
• Why socioeconomic factors like food insecurity, medication access, and SNAP benefit cuts directly impact oral health outcomes for all diabetic patients
• The mental health toll of diabetes management that nobody warns you about—across type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes
• How the RDH + health coach combination creates the whole-person care diabetic patients actually need
• Why dental offices posting about employees skipping lunch and bathroom breaks isn't dedication—it's exploitation
• The case for third-party oversight from labor organizations, not dental boards

This isn't just a diabetes education episode. It's a call for systemic change in how we support both patients with chronic illness and the healthcare workers trying to manage their own conditions within impossible workplace structures.

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What happens when an entire healthcare profession is designed to extract maximum profit rather than deliver optimal care? In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the modern dental practice model—both corporate chains and private practices—and reveal how it systematically exploits dental hygienists and assistants, the very clinicians who spend the most time with patients and often catch problems before they become crises.

The math is brutal: 45-minute appointment slots that demand hygienists choose between thorough cleanings, patient education, and accurate charting. Spoiler alert—something always gets sacrificed, and it's usually your care. This isn't just a corporate dental problem—private practices are equally guilty of prioritizing production over patient outcomes. We break down how "assisted hygiene" models treat skilled clinicians as interchangeable cogs in a production machine, stripping away the relationship-based preventative care that once defined the profession.

In this episode, we dive deep into:

• How production-driven dentistry took over—in both corporate offices and private practices—replacing the preventative care model that actually kept people healthy
• Why conveyor-belt scheduling is a disaster for both clinicians burning out under impossible demands and patients receiving rushed, incomplete care
• The stark differences between general and pediatric dentistry practice models and what they reveal about priorities
• The hidden costs of unsustainable practice structures: repetitive strain injuries, moral injury, and a mass exodus from the profession
• The gender politics no one talks about: how a 97% female workforce laboring under predominantly male ownership and authority creates textbook conditions for wage suppression, dismissed concerns, and systematically silenced voices
• What actually needs to change—from scheduling structures to compensation models to who holds decision-making power

This isn't abstract labor politics. This is about the quality of care sitting in that chair. Whether it's a corporate chain or a family-owned practice, when your hygienist is racing against the clock, when they're too burnt out to catch early warning signs, when they've learned their clinical judgment will be overridden by production metrics—you pay the price.

Your dental health depends on the people the entire industry treats as expendable. It's time we talked about why.

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Welcome to Rooting Within Health. Host Kimberly Williamson is a registered dental hygienist, certified integrative health coach, and registered yoga teacher.

This podcast explores the powerful connections between oral and systemic health while advocating for meaningful change in the dental industry.

This episode reveals why dental hygienists hold the power to transform not just dentistry, but healthcare as a whole.

Here's what most people don't know: dental practices operate in a regulatory vacuum. Unlike hospitals or nursing homes, most dental offices have no independent third-party oversight. State dental boards are primarily composed of dentists—creating a system where those being reported often do the investigating.

When dental professionals can't speak up without fear of retaliation, patients suffer. Over-treatment happens. Safety protocols get compromised. Fraud goes unreported.

In this episode, Kimberly explores the systemic gaps in dental oversight, why professionals stay silent, how this impacts patient care, and what can be done about it. She shares her journey into advocacy, the research that revealed the scope of this problem, and the movement already underway to create reform.

Whether you're a dental professional, a patient wanting to understand what happens behind the scenes, or someone passionate about healthcare reform, this episode provides the tools to take action.

Join the community rooted in education, empowerment, and advocacy. True health starts from within, and change begins when we speak up—together.

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