If not for an ad seeking a dental assistant, Jill Grinnell would have stuck with her finance major instead of embarking on a career with teeth.
As a Midwesterner seeking a change after high school, Grinnell moved east to attend the University of Delaware, but she had to establish residency, which meant getting a job. Without any experience, Grinnell interviewed with a husband-and-wife dental team. The couple asked three questions, and Grinnell was hired.
“I fell in love with dentistry, and I fell in love with them,” says Grinnell of the couple who became a second set of parents to her. “I have loved (dentistry) ever since.”
Through her position as a registered dental hygienist at TerraGreen Dental LLC, Grinnell offers comprehensive care that can provide insight into a person’s general health.
“I work in a dental office with a team that strives to give its patients preventive care through periodic exams, diagnostic radiographs, periodontal procedures, cleanings and fluoride treatments,” she says.
As in most dental practices, Grinnell often spends more time with patients than the dentist, and she strives to create relationships, which can ease anxiety and promote communication.
“The preventive appointments I provide my patients are not one-size-fits-all,” she says. “Just as my patients are individuals with varying dental needs, my appointments are as such. I work very hard to make each patient’s appointment their own. I also want their appointments to be a pleasant experience, and sometimes only a warm smile, a listening ear or a soft, reassuring pat is all it takes.”
Grinnell hasn’t always worked in a traditional setting. When her children were young, she wanted to combine motherhood and work in a flexible schedule that best met her family’s needs. She started Smiles For Hires.
Aware of the strain an absent dental hygienist puts on an office when appointments made months in advance can’t be kept, Grinnell became a fill-in hygienist for multiple offices.
“This was the first time a service such as mine was offered in the Ozarks, and my phone rang like crazy,” she says. “I worked with over two dozen dentists providing my service, and it kept the people of the Ozarks in dazzling smiles. The dentists were thrilled not to lose production, and the hygienists had peace of mind that their patients were being taken good care of.”
It was during the five years she ran Smiles For Hire that Grinnell volunteered her time at on orthodontist’s office to educate patients on best practices to improve home care.
“This service was at no charge to them,” she says. “It was very successful and made the patients and their parents, as well as the orthodontic staff, happy.”
Whether working solo or in a dental office, Grinnell’s patients are the reason she loves her job.
“After being a hygienist for 25 years, I’ve learned that my job goes beyond performing a thorough preventive care appointment. I develop relationships with my patients,” Grinnell says. “We’ve laughed together often. I’ve seen them celebrate milestone birthdays and anniversaries, welcome children and grandchildren into the world, send kids to college.
A safe room and classroom addition at Willard Central Elementary School will be used by the music, arts and athletic programs for a district that had 4,536 students last year, according to Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education figures, but school officials say enrollment is projected to grow.
