“Smile, you deserve it.”
Jessica Rickman, RDH offers some secrets to finding peace and success in life and dentistry
We’re proud to welcome Jessica Rickman to the exceptional team at New Dentistry in Knoxville, TN. In addition to being clinically talented, she’s also kind and cool.
Jessica is originally from Tennessee, and she graduated from hygiene school at Roane State in 2018 where she earned the Educator’s Award in her final year.
Jessica is certified and trained in local anesthesia and nitrous oxide. She knows digital and traditional radiography and fabrication of custom whitening trays.
She does everything from sealants to scheduling.
Patients love Jessica. You’d like her too.
I sat down with Jessica and asked her 9 questions about her habits, beliefs, and behaviors. The stuff that makes her shine.
Q1: What are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?
Sylvia Plath’s work.
I’ve always been a firm believer that poetry/music/writing are one of our most open and direct lines for communication.
I love poetry, and I’m a huge Sylvia Plath fan. Her openness to living realistically and her honesty about her personal life and struggles have always driven me to understand that each of us, no matter our financial, demographic, or history are people, and people deserving of quality of life and care.
Q2: What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)? We love getting specifics like brand and model, where you found it, etc.
My Waterpik. I’ve had one for a few years now, but will never go back to only using conventional floss. I recommend them to almost all of my patients no matter where their dentition stands.
They are much more effective than conventional flossing.
Q3: If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it — metaphorically speaking, getting a message out to 1,000,000+ dental professionals (dentists, hygienists, and assistants) — what would it say and why? It could be a few words or a paragraph. (If helpful, it can be someone else’s quote: Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by?)
Smile, you deserve it.
It’s often much harder for patients than we understand. As important as it is for us to help them feel confident in their smile through clinical work, sometimes even just a simple compliment or positive outlook can make someone leaving the office feeling more optimistic and confident.
Simply saying “you have some beautiful gold work in here” or “you have very straight teeth” can make someone focus on the positives and not just what may need work. A positive and more confident mood always puts people into a better place to actually begin restorative/clinical work if it is needed.
Although we do our best, the reality is that it is up to them to keep up the good work at home, and if they find some pride in their smile they are much more likely to be receptive to home care instructions and education.
Q4: What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made? (Could be an investment of money, time, energy, etc.)
Every Christmas, my family goes to eat wherever is open, and we’ll give the server a big tip and a card. This has become a very important investment for not just myself, but my family.
This brings our family together and reminds us what the holidays are about, while also possibly making someone’s holiday a little merrier.
I am a firm believer that what you put into the world comes back to you in one form or another, and it’s my hope that we can put as much positivity as possible.
Q5: What advice would you give to a smart, driven dental hygiene student about to enter the “real world”?
Your patient is someone’s mother, father, sister, daughter, son, etc. Treat them like it. Everyone has bad days, but if you can make someone leave in a better mood than they came in with, what better way could you have contributed with that hour of your day?
Also, use your time wisely.
You’re not only a clinician, you’re also an educator and you have a captive audience! And listen! You may learn as much from them as they learn from you. You are seeing patients that have vastly different careers and may have plenty to teach.
Q6: What bad recommendations do you hear in dentistry?
Scaling and root planning in all 4 quads during the same appointment. There are several reasons that I disagree with this but to keep it short and simple, precision takes time.
Q7: What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?
I am a writer at heart. I have written since I was a little girl, and do so almost daily. I am currently publishing my first poetry collection and am very excited. Writing is a wonderful way to share our experiences and aspirations.
Q8: In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life?
If you don’t like it, change it. If you want to make a difference, try your hardest. If you want to succeed in anything, you can. Nearly nothing is truly impossible, and the only thing that stands in between yourself and your goals is the work.
Growing up, we did not go to the dentist, we were not allowed to have a toothbrush unless we purchased it ourselves, and my father was known to pull his own teeth.
At 10, I started to experience dental pain and my grandmother snuck me to the dentist. It was there I had my first cleaning, met my first hygienist, was given my first toothbrush, was taught how to floss, and had my first and only filling.
I felt at home, I felt welcomed, and more than anything, I felt excited that such a career could exist in my future. I knew from that moment that I wanted to be to someone what that hygienist was to me.
Life went on as it does and at 14 years old I gave birth to my daughter.
Yes, 14.
By the time It was time to go to college my daughter was 3 years old and further school seemed impossible. I was already working so hard to be a single mother and student and I had a sea of people telling me what was possible and impossible. But that dream still remained, and it was deafening.
As I received my high school diploma with my little girl staring at me, clapping, I decided that nobody could understand what my future had to store better than myself, and that no matter what I would accomplish everything that I was being told was not possible.
I love my career, I love my family,
And I, for whatever reason, have been immensely blessed that my journey has been one that has taken me deep into the dark to understand that the light switch is never more than an “I can do it” quote away.
Q9: Think of the happiest hygienist you know. What are one or two things that set him or her apart?
They are thankful for their careers, their patients, and the simple fact that they have the ability to wake up every morning and go to work.
They understand life is never predictable and every day, every laugh, every thank you is well worth being covered in toothpaste and water all day.
