By Patrick Webb
InkFreeNews

FORT WAYNE — Haley Hooley, a local student attending Indiana University Fort Wayne, is looking for clients to complete study work for her dental hygiene career.

Haley Hooley poses with a typodont, a model used by dental students. Photo provided by Haley Hooley.

“Growing up, I was really insecure about my teeth, I didn’t really like to smile,” said Hooley. She said members of the dental field, such as hygienists, dentists and orthodontists “made me feel confident, to want to improve my smile.”

Hooley, who is from Etna Green, is studying at IU Fort Wayne’s School of Dentistry, which is accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation.

“I thought I could return the favor and make others feel confident that aren’t confident in their overall teeth and smile,” said Hooley. She is studying to earn a bachelor’s of dental hygiene with a background of healthcare administration.

Hooley is the first member of her family to go to college and to enter the healthcare industry.

Hooley first started her education assisting at IU School of Dentistry in Indianapolis. She applied to several schools with dentist programs.

“Dental hygiene is pretty competitive,” Hooley said. She was accepted to IU Fort Wayne’s School of Dentistry, which she said has worked out well.

As part of the ADA’s accreditation, Hooley said students are required to work with patients and clients. IU Fort Wayne School of Dentistry accepts people with and without insurance. The patient work builds off of work done with a typodont, which Haley said is a model with teeth and a tongue for students to practice.

“The biggest takeaway I get (working with clients) is that we’re looking out for the best interest in our patients. But every patient has different perspectives of what’s best for their health,” Hooley said.

“At the end of the day it’s really the patient’s choice,” she said. “Going into the real world, and not even in dentistry, you’re going to come along with people who don’t have the same opinions or who don’t have the same perspective as you.”

Hooley is seeing patients until the end of April. Appointments can be scheduled with Hooley from 8 a.m. to noon Mondays, and from 1-5 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays. She can be contacted at [email protected] and at (574) 265-9964.

Services range from dental cleaning to x-rays and scaling and root planing. Prices range from $33-110. Hooley is not paid for services provided.

After graduation, Hooley plans to continue her work at Orange Door Dental in Warsaw, where she currently works as a hygienist.