Her Story
About Ana
Ana Gonzalez began her professional journey in dental hygiene in 2022 upon graduation and has since balanced clinical practice with education. As a clinical hygienist, she delivers preventative and therapeutic care, educates patients on oral health, and develops treatment plans while emphasizing the importance of seeing patients achieve healthy smiles and improved well-being. Since 2024, she has served as an educator in a college dental hygiene program, guiding students through clinical work, patient education, and treatment to help them provide high-quality care. She attributes her success to her faith in God, motivation, hard work, dedication, and passion for serving others. Ana holds an AA degree, completed a two-year dental hygiene program, and earned a bachelor's degree in health service administration from Washington University. She advises aspiring professionals to give themselves grace, learn from mistakes, analyze opportunities carefully, and take one step at a time, values that align with her commitment to truthfulness and helping others.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ana
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say, first of all, God, because without God, I could not be where I am today. And also, motivation, and hard work, and dedication. But the most of everything would be also the passion for serving. I love serving others, I love helping others out, so that has motivated me and dedicated me to become what I am today, and be in this career as well.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice has always been give grace to yourself, because this career, it is very, very intense when it comes to getting into it. Like, many students do struggle a lot when it comes to getting patients, doing clinicals, and trying to get all the evaluations done, but give grace to yourself. Because that's how we learn, like, mistakes, we learn through mistakes, and if you're doing a mistake, it's okay, we can do it and do it better next time.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Definitely to analyze everything, especially going into a clinical, it could be a little hard, when it comes to choosing which office you're gonna work for and stuff like that. So, definitely take it slow, take one step at a time. It is not an easy job, but it is very rewarding, so one step at a time will get you to where you want to be at.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
There's definitely a lot of opportunities. This career is in high demand, so there is so much opportunities everywhere you go. When it comes to hygiene. There's so many offices that are wanting hygiene, so are in need of hygiene, because there's a lot of people at this time retiring from there, so there is definitely a lot of opportunity as far as jobs. The challenges, I would say, trying to find the office that you feel most comfortable about, or being around.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The value of work and personal life is always be true to yourself and be truth to others. Do things to others as you want to be done to yourself. If you want to give, always be true when it comes to giving out patient care, not to lie about it or anything like that. Be true about it, and help patients, and help people out the best you can. Help others and do it truthfully, it's the best thing I can work for, and then it's the same thing I apply to my daily-day life, too. Always be true to myself, always be true to others.
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