Influential Woman · Community Dental Health Consulting

Heather Cheek

Dental Hygiene Instructor, Big Sandy Community and Technical College

London, KY

1Award received

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Minor in Biology and Education Degree Master's in Educational Leadership and Supervision Degree Dental Hygiene School Cert Master's in Educational Leadership and Supervision Cert Dental Hygienist Member Kentucky Oral Health Coalition Member Kentucky Board of Dentistry

Her Story

About Heather

I wanted to go to dental school before I went to college, and a lot of my family were in education. So I met my husband and decided to go into education. It was kind of an easy thing for me to do. I did a minor in biology because I had kind of already started that route for the dental profession. I went into education, taught school for 5 years, and wasn't happy. I got my Master's in Educational Leadership and Supervision, and then I went back to dental hygiene school, so I was a dental hygienist. I now work as an assistant professor for dental hygiene full-time, and I'm also the Community Dental Health Coordinator Director for our college. We are getting ready to start a consulting business for medical dental integration. My passion is the community and helping rural health with how they can integrate the medical and dental field, so overall oral and systemic health. My students help the rural and underserved communities case manage how they can get to their primary care doctor and their dental office. So many people think that the mouth is completely separate from your body, but it's not. I want to help areas and dental offices and rural health offices make a plan and do things that will not only help their budget and bring in more money, but help their patients with their overall health. I think that's a big thing in Kentucky. We've been trying to alleviate emergency room visits for tooth pain and for children in elementary schools. It eventually leads to health issues that people are just not aware of. I have a team, and we're trying to get started with consulting, and we want to try our best to help solve that problem for those rural health offices.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Heather

01What do you attribute your success to?

I think over time, just growing as a professional, as a mentor, and an educator, the lessons that I've learned and not being afraid to fail and take chances. Getting up from those chances that I've taken and those failures, and going back to school after teaching for 5 years. I'm not afraid to take a risk, and I think a lot of people are, and they may not be happy in the profession that they're in. That would be my advice. Don't be afraid to do something if you're passionate about it. I think that's one thing that's helped me the most.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

This is a wonderful profession right now to enter in. Dental hygiene and the dental field is wide open. There's a shortage now. The Community Dental Health Coordinator profession is starting to take off in many states. What many people think about when they think about dental hygiene is solely working in an office, and that's not true. There's opportunities to work in health departments, in school systems, and hospitals, and so many different facilities. Everything is evolving right now, so if you want to think about different avenues to help oral and systemic health, it's very wide open, and I think that's a great opportunity that people have that sometimes they don't realize. Even in Kentucky, our graduates are making great money - one of our graduates last year is making $58 an hour, so for Kentucky, that's amazing. Dental hygiene and Community Dental Health Coordinator is a field that is wide open. You can help people, you can make a difference. It's a field that you can work two to three days a week and have a family, and you don't have to worry about working night shifts, working weekends. You can be off with your family. It's a wonderful career.

03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I really enjoy helping others and trying to make a difference in someone's life. I just think it's trying to make a difference each day in someone's life, whether it be at our clinic where we see patients or on our mobile unit for our Community Dental Health Coordinator Program. I just try to teach my students to make a difference, and if it's one person, that's all that matters. At least you've helped one person. If you can help one person or make a difference in someone's life, that's a big win for me. I think if you can help just a few people, it will make a huge difference.

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