Lila McIndoe

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Name:
Lila McIndoe

Where do you live?
Scarborough

Profession:
Dental hygienist and dental hygiene program co-ordinator for the Toronto College of Dental Hygiene and Auxiliaries.

Please explain what you do in your job:
As a dental hygienist, I am responsible for treating the oral health of various clients. I scale and polish teeth, provide client education, take X-rays, place sealants and take impressions for study models. I am responsible for the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of my client's oral health.

Current job:
I am the program co-ordinator for a private dental hygiene school. We are fully accredited and graduate about 150 dental hygienists per year.

List of accomplishments:
Since graduating in 1979, I have worked in various general practices, however, my long-term employment was in an office in the upper Beach for 24 years. I decided I wanted to teach and started continuing education courses in 1998.

I taught part-time in the dental hygiene program at Durham College and then in 2004 assumed the position of program co-ordinator at the Toronto College of Dental Hygiene. I am the ambassador for Toronto Central for the Ontario Dental Hygiene Association and I speak to community groups when requested.

How do you measure success in your profession?
Personally I measure success by how well I have treated others. I am an ethical person and have always treated my patients the way I would want to be treated - with kindness and a sense of humour. From a professional standpoint, my biggest accomplishment would be my role in taking a new private school for dental hygiene and having it become accredited and well respected. Of course, what goes along with that is the satisfaction I get from watching my students succeed. They are the future of my profession.

How did you get your start in your chosen career?
I always knew that I wanted to work with people and health care appealed to me. I completed one year of life sciences at Durham College and then took an additional year of dental assisting. After working for two years as a dental assistant, I went back to Durham and took dental hygiene.

When did you decide this is what you want to do for a living? When was that 'moment'?
When I was 14 years old, I had braces. I wore them throughout my high school years. That wasn't easy. I always remember the dental hygienist at my orthodontist's office. She was encouraging and supportive. It was then I knew that I wanted to be a dental hygienist.

What did you have to do in order to get involved with this profession?
If you are interested in any aspect of dentistry, I suggest volunteering in a dental office. It is a great way to see first-hand if it is something you would like to do. From an education point of view, it is advisable to have a science background, especially biology and perhaps chemistry. A Grade 12 minimum is required for any dental hygiene program in Ontario.

Pros and cons of this job:
Pros: Hygienists can have great flexibility with their schedules. You can work anywhere from one to six days per week. Some choose to work full time in the same office while others like the variety of two different offices. You also have many options with how you want to practice dental hygiene. You may work in general practice, an orthodontic or other specialty practice, public health, education or research. In Ontario, dental hygienists with more than two years of experience can also open up their own clinics.

Cons: Days can be long sometimes and breaks can be short. The job is hard on your neck and back and repetitive types of injuries are common.

Skills required for this job:
The No. 1 skill needed is communication. You must love to work with people and be motivated to do so. Excellent hand-eye co-ordination is important as is good manual dexterity. You need to be a team player and care about the type of treatment you provide for your patients. A sense of humour doesn't hurt either.

What can youth expect if they want to pursue this job?
If you decide to pursue this field, you must be prepared to work extremely hard. The dental hygiene course is a demanding one with many science-based subjects and a large clinical component. This is not a course where you can simply decide to miss a day here or there. The workload is extensive and you would quickly fall behind. Although most schools provide some patients for you, you are ultimately responsible for finding patients to practice on.

Percentage of people who actually succeed in this field:
Any graduate who is willing to work hard and provide competent care to their patients, be a team player and be truly dedicated to the profession will succeed.

Salary range:
Salary can range from $50,000 to $90,000.

Advice to youth who are thinking about pursuing this field:
Dental hygiene is a fabulous field. If it is truly something you want to do then go for it. Work on your time management skills since the course is intense. Call some of your local dental offices and volunteer your time. It will be invaluable experience for you.

Anything else you would like to say?
I just wanted to say that I had to work hard for everything I have achieved in this profession. Nothing was handed to me. I held down part-time jobs while in school to pay for my education. Once I graduated, I continued to work on upgrading my knowledge and skills. I volunteered with my professional organizations and I am still currently working on my degree in education. I appreciate everything I have achieved because I worked so hard to achieve it. I loved working as a dental hygienist and now I love teaching young men and women to become dental hygienists.