I struggled for three hours trying to root plane his infected mouth. He had to use the men`s room every twenty minutes, gagged, flinched, and couldn`t open his mouth very wide.

One particular clinical session stands out. Yet, when we rendered care to these individuals, the instructors were often detrimental to our self-confidence. The positive aspect to this was that I earned extra points for the more difficult patients, and these folks definitely met the criteria. Begging 'Homeless Harry' or 'Willie the Wino' to allow me to clean their teeth was, at the very least, embarrassing. When this didn`t pan out, the final resort was the bus stop across the street. I would sometimes frantically scour the campus in search of a willing victim. The only way to remedy the situation was to 'drag in' a warm body.

If a student did not have a patient for a clinical session, she would receive an 'F' for the day. Students would actually steal each other`s patients by sneaking into the appointment book. Because of the competition, backstabbing was rampant. In pursuit of better grades, we chased relentlessly after the points available by properly completing more and more procedures. Graduation requirements mandated that we successfully complete a minimum number of patient visits, radiographs, injections, root planing sessions, etc. It was a major blow to my ego when, after an enormous struggle to earn a 91 percent in my oral histology class, I received a 'B.' This curve-grading technique imposed on high achievers created immense competition. Once in the program, the courses were designed such that the instructors would award only two 'A`s' per class. To begin with, the average GPA of the students accepted into my class was a 3.5 and most were also dental assistants. What more was there for me to know? Becoming a hygienist was a mere formality, and this program was going to be a cinch. I had it made: My overall GPA was 3.9 with a 4.0 for all the sciences I received the maximum number of points for my assisting experience. Admission was based on overall GPA, science GPA, dental office experience, and several other minor criteria. The major hurdle to overcome was getting accepted into the program, or so I thought. In some of the non-clinical courses, dental hygiene students sit right next to dental students. Many dental hygiene programs, such as those at Loma Linda University and University of Nebraska, are actually part of dental colleges. Unless someone has actually experienced a professional program, it is nearly impossible to describe how much mettle is necessary. In retrospect, I realize her comment was pure satire and intended more for my father`s ears. Jane was the first person who ever told me a chimp could do her job. She was intelligent, people respected her, and it was obvious she was an asset to Dad`s practice. I admired Jane, the hygienist in Dad`s office. And my dad`s a dentist - I should`ve known better. Yet, I remember sharing her misconception. Any attempt to enlighten her would be quite a chore. 'Well, at least you`ll be able to slide through because you`re in a pretty simple field.' At that point, I knew my work was cut out for me. I had, in fact, spent the last eight years as an assistant. No, I added, my aspirations did not include being a dental assistant. Maintaining my composure and gathering all the patience I could muster, I attempted to explain that, yes, hygienists are educated, licensed professionals. 'You need physiology to clean teeth? I can`t believe it - that`s ridiculous! Do you plan to go on to assisting after you get a couple of years of hygiene under your belt?' Through discussing our future plans, she learned of my status as a dental hygiene student. Hardly! This brings to mind a conversation with a pre-nursing student during a physiology course.

After all, how tough can it be to scrub teeth? In fact, a chimpanzee can be trained to be a hygienist. Hygienists don`t need a formal education.

Elderly chimpanzee teeth