2014 Health Care Champions Honoree: Mitzi Schenewerk

Mitzi Schenewerk easily explains why she chose her profession: She loves teeth.

Back when she was a teen with braces, Schenewerk thought she would go to dental school. By college, she realized hygiene was a better fit, and she worked as a dental assistant before pursuing more education.

“I was fortunate to work with a dentist that had just graduated from dental school, so I was able to gain a tremendous amount of hands-on clinical experience in the dental field. This experience just intensified my love for dentistry,” says Schenewerk, a registered dental hygienist at Buzbee Dental Clinic PC.

She sees her role as one piece of comprehensive health care.

“Hygienists are usually the first person that a new patient in our office comes in contact with for care and education,” she says. “Hygienists not only provide preventive and therapeutic treatments, we are educators to all ages of patients.

“With so much information that is available on the Internet, it may be difficult to find reliable dental information. My job as a dental hygienist is to be a dependable source of dental knowledge that helps prevent oral health disease and maintain optimal dental health.”

The one-on-one interaction with patients is a large part of what attracted Schenewerk to dental hygiene.

“I am motivated by the personal relationships that are formed with patients and their families,” she says.

“Over the years, I have treated many patients that have neglected their oral health for many years due to previous bad dental experiences, fear of dental treatment or lack of access to dental care. It is my job to educate the patient on their dental-treatment needs, to both equip and empower patients to play an intentional part in the dental care.”

She stresses the teamwork approach to care of patients of all ages.

“I like to advise patients we like to form a long-term relationship with them,” she says. “This can include a simple post-operative call with the patient after treatment or post-operative office appointment. I want the patient to know that we are available for them by phone, email or Facebook whenever they need us.”

Hygienists are on the front line of prevention, therapy and patient education, and Schenewerk excels at all three, says Dr. Tyler Buzbee.

“Patients have just as good, if not more, of a relationship with their hygienist than they do the dentist,” he says.

“This became very evident in the recent past when we went from four to three doctors at Buzbee Dental.

When the departing doctor and Mitzi’s mutual patients found out she was not leaving, one of the reasons they chose to stay at Buzbee Dental was because of her. I think that speaks volumes about her.”

Schenewerk even has a patient who moved to Florida, but returns at least twice a year for hygiene treatments.  Simply put, Schenewerk loves her job.

“I have the pleasure to meet and provide dental care for many individuals and families,” she says. “I look forward to seeing them for their next hygiene appointment. ... I feel we form a dental family, and I hope that they are happy to see their hygienist.”[[In-content Ad]]