After a year of virtual events, imagine the thrill of attending a real live event! RDH Under One Roof 2021 is coming to the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis on July 22–24, 2021! We look forward to reuniting in person with our colleagues from around the country as we celebrate our incredible profession, enjoy high-quality continuing education, meet up with old friends, make new friends, collect bags of oral health samples and information, and have lots of fun!
RDH Under One Roof is a three-day, action-packed event offering quality dental hygiene education. Dental hygienists learn from leading speakers in the industry during the educational courses. All attendees are also invited to visit the exhibit floor to view the newest dental hygiene products and dental equipment from the exhibitors. Learn more about the best dental hygiene conference of the year at rdhunderoneroof.com. It is both educational and fun.
Speaking of having fun, you might want to consider extending your stay in Indianapolis. Maybe even make a minivacation of it! Here is a great resource for Indy events, restaurants, and things to do: visitindy.com.
Indianapolis highlights
Newfields,
The dental hygiene community in Indiana
As of 2018, approximately 5,000 individuals held active dental hygiene licenses in Indiana. Indiana dental hygienists hold either an RDH (registered dental hygienist) license or an LDH (licensed dental hygienist) license. In the early ’80s, Indiana dental law changed credentials to “licensed dental hygienist” to better reflect the licensed profession, hoping that the rest of the country would follow suit. When that did not happen, language was changed again in the dental law, allowing hygienists to use RDH or LDH.
Let’s meet the Indiana Dental Hygienists’ Association (IDHA) Board of Directors and some of Indiana’s dental hygiene movers and shakers.
Amanda Apple, BGS, LDH, spent the last 20 years in dental hygiene and loved almost every minute of it. She has served as president of the IDHA and longtime legislative chair, worked as faculty in a dental hygiene program in Indiana, treated patients at one of the 30-plus practices within Aspen Dental, and mentored other hygienists. Apple loves the variety that dental hygiene offers. She enjoys speaking to students about the roles of a dental hygienist as outlined by the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) as well as speaking with colleagues about their role in essential primary care.
Nichole Dicke, MSDH, RDH, earned her Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene from Indiana University Fort Wayne in 2003, followed by two bachelor’s degrees, and then a Master of Science in Dental Hygiene from Idaho State. She has worked as a clinical assistant professor at Indiana University in Fort Wayne since 2014. The highlights of her career have been involvement at the national, state, and component levels, most recently as a three-year ADHA delegate chair. The Isaac Knapp Component selected her as the recipient of the 2020 Gloria Huxoll Award. Dicke is immensely proud of the accomplishments of Indiana’s association leadership in the past few years and looks forward to continued efforts for increasing access to care. Her love for dental hygiene is continuously renewed through active ADHA membership, and she will forever be indebted to the amazing colleagues she has served with.
Crystal Heath, BS, RDH, graduated in 2015 from Indiana University School of Dentistry. She has a passion for preventive dentistry and dental public health. She is currently pursuing her Master of Public Health and will graduate in May 2021. Heath aspires to move beyond direct patient care in a dental office setting and promote oral health on a broader scale within her community through program planning, education, research, and surveillance.
Lauren McNicholas, AS, RDH, graduated from Indiana University in Fort Wayne in 2008 with an Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene and earned her certification for local anesthesia in 2019. She has been practicing in the Michiana area for 12 years. Her professional service includes serving two terms as president of the Elkhart/Goshen Dental Hygienists’ Association, being a two-time delegate to the IDHA House of Delegates, being a member of the ADHA since 2008, and serving two terms as a member of the Hygienists of Indiana Political Action Committee. McNicholas is currently serving as president-elect of the IDHA.
Sharon L. Paterson, BS, LDH, a 1985 graduate of the dental hygiene program at Loyola University Chicago, completed her bachelor’s degree in 1986. She has worked as a clinical hygienist in private practice and on a military base, and she has extensive experience as a temporary hygienist in Illinois and Indiana. In 2000, her family relocated to the Indianapolis area, and Paterson found her passion for public health. She has worked for a federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Indianapolis for the past 20 years. Her specific areas of interest are patient education, the oral-systemic health link, refugee advocacy, and mentoring. Paterson is the current IDHA secretary and cochair of the membership committee.
Renee Pryor, AS, RDH, has been in the dental profession for over 30 years, all in private practice until a recent move to public health with Meridian Health Services. Meridian Health Services started a pilot program for the state of Indiana that brought pediatricians, nurse practitioners, behavioral health specialists, dentists, and a dental hygienist together to deliver all their services in one appointment. Her job is to make sure every person has a dental home. Pryor performs screenings, caries risk assessments, anticipatory guidance, nutritional counseling, oral hygiene instructions, fluoride treatments, and tobacco cessation for well-child visits at the pediatrician’s office. She is grateful to the IDHA for working hard for the Access Practice Agreement. Pryor remains thankful and excited to see the dental hygiene profession grow.
Madison Shuee, BS, RDH, graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2014 with a Bachelor’s in Community Health and then went on to graduate from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2016 with a Bachelor’s in Dental Hygiene. After graduation, she moved to Indianapolis and has been working in the same private practice for four years. Throughout her time as a dental hygienist, Shuee has enjoyed developing relationships with her patients and teaching them about the importance of dental health. She is passionate about explaining the impact oral health has on the entire body. Shuee considers herself to be an oral health coach and wants all of her patients to leave the office learning something new about oral hygiene habits and feeling confident in themselves and their smiles.
Sheli R. Taulbee, AS, LDH, earned her Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene with distinction in 1981 from Indiana University in Fort Wayne. She has worked as a clinician in private practice for 40 years, enjoying the opportunity to educate and share her passion for dentistry with her patients. Taulbee has served the professional association throughout her career and is currently president of the IDHA. She has served on the dental advisory committee for Matthew 25 Dental Clinic, where she enjoys volunteering to care for those in need. Taulbee credits her love of dentistry to her many mentors, including her dentist father.
Heather Taylor, MPH, RDH, earned her Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene in 2006 from Indiana University Northwest, her Bachelor of Science in Public Health in 2011, and her Master of Public Health in 2014 from Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis. She has been an Indiana LDH for 14 years. Taylor has worked in a variety of settings as a hygienist, including private practice, public health, and education. Currently, she is a PhD candidate at the Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health, a National Library of Medicine Public and Population Health Informatics fellow, and the immediate past president of the IDHA. Her research covers the oral-systemic link, oral health disparities, and the integration of medical and dental data.
Get your calendars out!
RDH Under One Roof is all about you, the dental hygienist! Get excited about your career again! Register now for RDH UOR in Indianapolis, Indiana, July 22–24, 2021 at rdhunderoneroof.com. Choose from several different options to ensure the best possible experience at the best value. We’re looking forward to celebrating our wonderful profession and reuniting with other dental hygienists. See you in Indianapolis—live!
