New dentists help expand services at Community health center
By Brandy Nance (Contact)
Friday, September 12, 2008
Photo by Adam Vogler
Blair Edgington, left, and Michelle Perez have joined the newly expanded Flint Hills Community Health Center as dentists.
Flint Hills Community Health Center’s two new dentists have a passion for their profession and a mission to help others achieve bright smiles and healthy lives.
Michelle Perez and Blair Edgington started work recently at the health center in the newly expanded dental clinic. The dental clinic was expanded to double the number of patients who can be seen and allow room for additional staff, including Perez and Edgington.
The pair said they are enthusiastic about their jobs at the health center and enjoy working with the patients. Perez is a native of Kansas City. Before coming to the community health center in Emporia, she used her bilingual skills to provide education to underserved populations in Mesa and Phoenix, Ariz. Perez’s parents are Cuban immigrants, but she was born and raised in the United States, the oldest of three children. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and completed her dental degree at the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health in Mesa, Ariz.
Perez was drawn to the field of dentistry early on in life, she said.
“If you ask my parents it all started with the Tooth Fairy,” she said with a smile. “I always wanted to be the Tooth Fairy.”
Perez knew in middle school that she wanted to be in dentistry.
“I was actually lucky to know what I wanted to do in life early on,” she said.
Edgington grew up in Wichita, one of three children. She attended Baker University for undergraduate in Baldwin City and her Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She also holds a degree in biology. Edgington is engaged to Jason Hannaman and plans to be married in April.
Edgington comes from a family that is involved in dentistry. Her father is a dentist, her mom a hygienist and a sister was a dental assistant for 12 years. She had the opportunity to work with her father in his practice before going to college, she said. Originally Edgington started out in pre-med school before making the switch to dentistry.
“You just get more patient interaction in dentistry,” she said. “You get to sit down and talk with the patients and know about what’s going on with their lives.”
Dentistry is a rewarding profession for Edgington and Perez, they said.
“I enjoy helping people,” Perez said. “It’s not just about alleviating pain ... it’s (about) giving them confidence about their smile.”
Edgington said the demand on time isn’t as bad for dentistry as it is for some other professions in the medical field.
“That’s definitely a big positive,” she said. “You get to spend more time with the patients than other facets of medical care. ... If you’re detail-oriented it’s a good place to be.”
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