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Welcome to “Paying it Forward,” a monthly interview series made possible by Piedmont Health. In this series, we hear from the folks at Piedmont about the importance of community health centers – and why they chose a career in community health.
In honor of October as National Dental Hygiene Month, Aaron welcomes Amy Nguyen-Stewart, the lead dental hygienist at Piedmont’s Carrboro Community Health Center. Originally inspired to enter the field by “(her) mother’s smile,” Nguyen-Stewart has enjoyed a career that spans more than three decades and counting.
“Dentistry is my love,” she says. “Day in and day out I get to make a difference and be the best care provider that I can be.”
As the center’s lead hygienist, Nguyen-Stewart plays multiple roles – not only working directly with patients and serving as their advocate, but also being an teacher and instilling the important practices of good dental health.
She says she loves every aspect of the job – especially when she can see patients growing up and bringing in children of their own.
“You get to see your patient from the first moment they walk into your clinic to the end of the appointment (when) you walk them out the door,” she says. “That is a special gift, because you’re able to educate them and help prevent them from getting a problem, to prevent dental pain. That is a love that I feed into myself every day.”
And Nguyen-Stewart says it’s especially gratifying to work with Piedmont Health Services, where she gets to interact with patients from every imaginable walk of life.
“It’s like you’re treating the whole world of healthcare,” she says, “because you meet people from all over the world, from so many different countries. That is the gift that I receive every day. They bless me every day, to get to do that.”
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