A couple of years into my dental career in the late 1980's, left me heartbroken, as I witnessed so many patients helplessly attempt to understand why their dental problems persisted despite good oral home care.

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I grappled painfully with the realization that the traditional trainings and educational system for dental professionals leaves gaping holes in terms of educating patients about effective preventative care and paying attention to the (often terrified) whole person in the chair in front of us.

Feeling at a loss myself as to how I could better support my dental patients, I decided to go back to school after working long daytime hours in the dental office.

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For ten years, the majority of my weekends and free nights were spent in a variety of classrooms. Throughout my decade of exploring the complementary health field, I gained certifications in holistic health counseling, color therapy, as a flower essence and essential oil practitioner and clinical herbalist before finally focusing on my family's ancestral lineage of herbal medicine making.