Finding Purpose Through Adversity: ADHA President Erin Haley Hintz's Journey in Dental Hygiene

When dental hygiene students approached ADHA President Erin Haley Hintz at a recent conference, their excitement to meet her felt surreal. "I wanted to turn around and look. Did you see her? Like, oh, that's me," she recalls with genuine humility in a recent interview on The Dental Handoff podcast with Dr. Kelly Tanner. Despite her prestigious position, Haley Hintz doesn't view her journey as extraordinary—yet her path from clinical practice to national leadership offers powerful lessons about resilience, reinvention, and finding purpose through professional engagement.

The Path That Chose Her

Unlike many who deliberately choose dental hygiene, Haley Hintz believes the profession chose her. "I've actually worked in a dental office since I was seventeen," she reveals. This unexpected career launch began when her friend's father, a dentist, offered her a summer job immediately after high school graduation.

"Show up to my office on Monday at 7 AM," he told her. "I had no idea what my job was, what I was going to do... other than I knew what a dental office looked like."

Starting with basic tasks like filing and cleaning, she gradually took on more responsibilities, eventually training as a chairside assistant. But it was the hygiene operatory that captured her interest.

"I found myself really drawn to the hygiene room, always the conversations on prevention, the conversations on helping people become healthy," she explains. Though initially planning to become a dentist, she realized restorative dentistry wasn't her calling. "All they do is fix... but I was really drawn to what the hygienist was doing."

Her mentor, though disappointed ("I can recruit thousands of hygienists, but I can't recruit one dentist"), ultimately supported her decision. After graduating from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1995, she discovered her mentor had one final surprise—his signature on her dental hygiene license as a member of the state dental board.

The Grand Canyon Moment

While professional development typically follows a relatively linear trajectory, personal growth often doesn't. Haley Hintz describes a pivotal moment in her life as "the Grand Canyon of my life... it stopped right there. And then there was a valley. And then I picked up and started climbing again."

This profound disruption came when she made the difficult decision to leave an abusive marriage. "I'm a survivor of abuse," she shares candidly. "Understanding that my role in that situation and that, you know, I'm not at fault and it's okay to ask for help... it's okay to take a step back and reinvent yourself."

The motivation to rebuild extended beyond herself: "I had a child that I was raising. I didn't want that to affect her. I wanted her to see that you can come back from something like this and you can be better."

This personal transformation coincided with her introduction to leadership through the Nebraska Dental Hygiene Association. "I was really focused on doing better for her. But then when I got pulled into Nebraska Dental Hygiene Association, into this group of hygienists that were like, 'Oh, we see something in you and we love how you think and your bigger vision of what our profession can be.'"

The Reality Behind the Title

Despite her national leadership role, Haley Hintz maintains that she's "just like every other hygienist." While many might assume ADHA presidency is a full-time position, she still practices clinical hygiene four days weekly.

"I have clinic hair during the week," she laughs. "Sometimes you have a scrub cap on, sometimes you don't. You got your loupes, you got your mask. You might not have makeup on because it just ends up on your mask anyway."

This grounding in daily practice informs her leadership perspective. She emphasizes that her journey to ADHA presidency wasn't about having all the answers but rather about developing the courage to step into new challenges, even when uncomfortable.

"No matter how afraid you are, it's still important to put your first foot forward into that unknown environment because you're really not going to grow unless you do," she advises. "It's okay to admit that you don't know everything... But nobody said that adapting is easy. It's actually painful to adapt to new surroundings. But it makes us stronger."

Shifting Mindset Through Professional Engagement

Haley Hintz credits ADHA with providing not just professional development but personal healing. "I found my purpose and my why in the professional association. That was part of my healing journey more so than probably people understand."

The process of rebuilding after trauma required conscious effort to reshape her thinking patterns. "I had to train my brain to think differently and look for the light in every situation. So when a problem comes to me, instead of saying these are all the bad things, I'm like, 'Oh, look, these are all the good things.'"

This opportunity-focused mindset now influences her patient care approach as well. Rather than simply instructing patients about oral hygiene, she digs deeper: "I really take value in what I'm hearing patients say... If I ask somebody how they feel about their oral health and they tell me, when I hear something, tell me more about that."

Finding Professional Fulfillment Through Autonomy

After nine years in one practice, Haley Hintz recently made another significant change, moving to a setting that provided greater professional autonomy. This transition reflects her personal growth journey—as she valued herself more, she attracted an environment that recognized her worth.

"I have what I call practice autonomy in the fact that I pretty much run my op the way I want to run it," she explains. "And the dentist backed me up on it a hundred percent, which I don't know if I've had that in every practice."

Her current practice environment exemplifies the collaborative model she advocates for: "To have a dentist actually say that as another professional that we're going to work together hand in hand, and you're the prevention guru, and I'm going to be the restorative guru, but our end goal is great care for our patients."

Extending an Invitation

For hygienists searching for purpose or considering leadership, Haley Hintz offers simple advice: "You come to ADHA and find your why, just like I did. Because that's where I found my passion... My passion in health behavior, my passion in health promotion was all born out of ADHA."

She dismisses any notion that leadership makes her unapproachable, encouraging hygienists to connect: "I had a leader say that to me in an email. 'I saw you, but I was afraid to come and talk to you.' No, no. Just come find me, right? It's fine. Introduce yourself."

This accessibility embodies her leadership approach—removing barriers, fostering connection, and helping others discover the same professional fulfillment that transformed her own life journey through its most challenging moments.

Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/Jl1B0lsrluI

Keywords: dental hygiene career path, dental practice collaboration, dental hygiene mentorship, The Dental Handoff podcast, dental hygiene profession, personal growth, dental professional development, ADHA engagement