[HAWAII AT WORK]
AYUMI NAKANISHI / ANAKANISHI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Noni Bienfang, Dental hygienist.
Noni Bienfang >> I clean teeth. When a patient comes into the office I review their medical history. We do an oral cancer exam and review their mouth in general. We take X-rays of the teeth. Dental hygienist tackles tartar
Noni Bienfang's pioneering aunt
inspired her to a career with teeth in itWhen I do the cleaning I'm removing tartar and other deposits from the teeth. I also do a lot of patient education; teaching them how to brush and floss. Sometimes I talk about diet, as it is related to the mouth.
My operatory is wallpapered with pictures drawn by patients. Dr. (Malcom) Chang has had this practice for more than 20 years and the wall paper has been here for 20 years. A few years ago I had a few patients complain about the ducks on the wall. It really seemed to bother them. So I grabbed the next kid who came in and had him do a picture. It's grown since then. I barely have any wall space left. I'll have to start on the ceiling next. I have to have the adult patients do some of it, but I think they're kind of intimidated by the kids drawings. It's fun. It gives people something interesting to look at instead of just staring at blank walls.
My aunt (Lillian Soo Lum) was one of the first women dentists in Hawaii. She was my dentist. I thought I'd want to be a dentist. But I mentioned it to her at one time and she said "No, you don't want to be a dentist. It's too hard."
When I was at university I found they had a dental hygiene program. I didn't even know what it was. But a woman in the program explained it to me and it sounded interesting, so I signed up. I'm glad went into it. It's a very employable skill. I also have an anthropology degree and that's never been any use to me.
I really like what I do. I like the patients.
If I had to do it over again, I still wouldn't go to dental school. I think dentistry was more difficult 40 years ago. You had to do everything.
If I was 20 years old I would consider it. I certainly wouldn't want to discourage women from going into dentistry. We need more women dentists. But I'm happy with the way things worked out.
Hawaii At Work tells what people do for a living in their own words. Send submissions to: business@starbulletin.com