"I was a weird kid always walking around my house, brushing my teeth and experimenting on my teeth, brushing with mouthwashes and hydrogen peroxide and baking soda," laughs Kari Carter-Cherelus, describing her early fascination with dental health. This childhood curiosity evolved into a 24-year career that has taken her from clinical practice to entrepreneurship, public speaking, and authorship.

When Katie Benavidez watched dental hygienists cleaning her teeth as a child, she was fascinated by the scaling instruments working on her "baby teeth." That early curiosity sparked a career path that would eventually lead her to become a pioneer in dental endoscopy—a technology that allows hygienists to literally see below the gumline during treatment.

In a recent interview on The Dental Handoff podcast with Dr. Kelly Tanner, Benavidez shared her journey from dental assistant to hygienist to co-founder of PerioPrecise, a company making dental endoscopy more accessible to practices nationwide.

"We are their dental home. Even though we're portable, we can return to the schools multiple times... I've even heard stories where we give them the one toothbrush they have a year." These powerful words from Kendra McKune, a dental hygienist who found her calling in mobile dental care, capture the essence of her mission to serve children with limited access to oral healthcare.

In a recent interview on The Dental Handoff podcast with Dr. Kelly Tanner, Kendra shared her non-traditional path through dentistry and her current role with Smile America Partners, a mobile dental company serving low-income children in school settings nationwide.

In a recent episode of The Dental Handoff podcast, host Dr. Kelly Tanner welcomed dental hygienist Lacey Walker, who joined from Germany to share her journey in dental hygiene and her holistic approach to patient care.

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.

"I can't tell you very many things that I have learned from successes, but every failure is a learning opportunity." This insight from Dr. John Flucke, self-described "Technology Evangelist," encapsulates his approach to dentistry and innovation. In a recent conversation with Dr. Kelly Tanner on The Dental Handoff podcast at the Chicago Midwinter Dental Meeting, Dr. Flucke shared his remarkable journey from a three-year-old pulling his sister's tooth to becoming one of dentistry's most respected technology advisors.

In the world of dental hygiene education, where precision and standards reign supreme, finding moments of "chill" can be challenging. In a recent episode of The Dental Handoff podcast, host Dr. Kelly Tanner spoke with Jessica Atkinson, Senior Clinic Coordinator at Utah Tech University and co-founder of Hygiene Edge, about the evolving landscape of dental education, the joys of teaching, and the delicate balance between maintaining standards and creating a supportive learning environment.

"When you're scared to jump, that's exactly when you should do it." This philosophy has guided Jennifer Turner's remarkable career from clinical dental hygienist to DSO leader, educator, and regulatory president. In a recent interview with Dr. Kelly Tanner on The Dental Handoff podcast, Turner shared her extraordinary journey—one that began with a devastating accident that nearly claimed her life.

Twenty years ago, Heather McGuire was serving coney dogs at a Detroit restaurant, a single mother of three by age 24, when a friend's suggestion changed the trajectory of her life. Today, she's the Director of Dental Hygiene Development for Seva Dental Team, with leadership experience spanning pharmaceutical sales and DSO management. Her journey from clinical practice to corporate leadership offers powerful lessons for hygienists feeling that familiar "nudge" toward something more.

Dr. Kelly Tanner interviewed the dynamic Dr. Uchi, whose infectious enthusiasm for the human microbiome reveals how our gut health profoundly impacts everything from our appearance to our cognitive function.