Chardae Hoskins, current senior dental hygiene student, talks with guest host Julio about her journey into a competitive dental hygiene program with an average GPA, multiple application cycles, and no prior dental experience. If you’re in the dental hygiene application process, this episode is exactly what you need to feel reassured and empowered in your…
Learn how to use the Cornell note-taking method for your dental hygiene courses to turn long lectures into an active recall system you can actually study from. Instead of rereading or highlighting, you’ll learn how to organize notes into key concepts, build cue-based questions, and summarize material in a way that supports memory for exams…
Shayna Overfelt joins Dana to break down the ADEX dental hygiene exam, including the written portion and clinical manikin components, and what exam day truly looks like so you can replace uncertainty with clarity. You’ll hear how to avoid common mistakes (like relying on poor advice or changing your clinical routine) and why your best…
Do your dental hygiene notes feel like they’re never getting shorter? It’s not a sign you’re behind—it’s a sign you’re still learning how to study effectively in dental hygiene school. This episode, Dana breaks down why detailed notes are necessary at first, and how strong students shift from long explanations to concise memory cues as…
It’s easy to feel behind in dental hygiene school- the pace is fast and the expectations are high. But that pressure often has more to do with mindset than proficiency. In this episode, Danni Linton shares her path from student to educator and how perfectionism and fear of feedback can hold students back. Learn how…
Preparing for the dental hygiene clinical manikin exam comes with a lot of pressure, but the goal of the exam is simpler than you may think. The objective is to demonstrate that you are minimally competent and safe to practice as a dental hygienist. In this episode, Dana shares practical dental hygiene instrumentation tips for…
Lisa Curbow, RDH, shares her dental hygiene journey from grocery store work to dental assisting— and how it led her to a long-term career in dental hygiene, including a specialized role in special needs dentistry and hospital coordination. Her story reinforces a steady truth for both dental hygiene students and early-career clinicians: your direction often…
In this episode, Dana walks through what to do after an unsuccessful board exam attempt, starting with the first 48 hours—when processing the disappointment matters just as much as planning your next step. Once the initial emotions settle, the real work begins: reviewing your failure report, identifying gaps in foundational dental hygiene knowledge, and shifting…
Learning information in dental hygiene school is one thing—retaining it long enough to use it in practice is another. In this episode, Jaskiren explains why connecting classroom knowledge to real clinical experiences is one of the most reliable ways to strengthen memory retention in dental hygiene school. Instead of “learning and dumping” material after exams,…
Instrumentation isn’t something you simply learn with enough practice. Many dental hygiene students find themselves repeating mistakes without knowing why. In this episode, Dana explores how visualization—a strategy used in sports and supported in dental education—can strengthen the neural pathways behind fine motor skills and improve clinical performance. Struggling on your dental hygiene school journey?…