This article is part of a series focusing on the grads of the Dalhousie Class of 2025. Spring Convocation takes place May 30 and from June 9-19 in Halifax and Truro. Read all our profiles聽here in one place聽as they are published.
Carys Menard had just landed at Halifax airport at the end of August 2023 when her cellphone pinged with a message, 鈥淐ongratulations, you have been accepted into the dental hygiene program at 杏吧导航.鈥澛�
Menard was already studying for a Bachelor of Science at Dalhousie and had applied for the dental hygiene program only to be waitlisted. She was arriving back at Dal 鈥� or so she thought 鈥� to begin the second year of her science degree in biochemistry and molecular biology.
The unexpected text message meant that she needed to be at the Dentistry Building early the next morning. At 8 a.m. the following day, she came through the front doors wheeling a large suitcase and was immediately catapulted into the middle of Orientation Week. Luckily, Menard says she firmly believes that 鈥渨hat鈥檚 meant to happen will happen.鈥�
That belief was reinforced from the outset. Not yet registered for classes, Menard was helped through the first few days in the program by fellow students 鈥� now close friends 鈥� who shared their PowerPoints and presentations with her.
From ocean to ocean
The decision to go to Dal meant trading one coast for another. Menard grew up in Nanaimo, B.C., and then later moved with her family to Victoria on Vancouver Island. Her mother is a nurse and her father a doctor, so she knew early on that she wanted a career in health-care sciences. When asked to research a career for a class assignment at school, Menard chose dental hygiene on the basis that she liked seeing her dental hygienist. By the time she had completed the assignment, she knew that dental hygiene was the career for her. And because she had grown up by the ocean, she decided Dal was the place for her.
Thanks to her class assignment, Menard knew that the admission requirements for dental hygiene programs vary slightly from each other across the country. 鈥淏ecause I had decided to do dental hygiene at Dal, I thought it would be best to go there and do the classes that would enable me to apply and hopefully everything would work out.鈥�
And work out they did. As she embarked on her dental hygiene studies, Menard discovered a side of herself that had not made itself obvious before. Quiet and studious at high school, she had never put herself forward for leadership positions. At Dal, however, she took on the co-presidency of her dental hygiene class, served as student representative on the Faculty Council, and was the second-year dental hygiene student on the HOPES (Halifax Outreach Prevention Education) team.
A new approach
What changed? Menard says that when she received the email about class elections for executive positions it prompted her to think about her future. 鈥淚 thought to myself that dental hygiene is going to be my career,鈥� she explains, 鈥渁nd I want to be involved as much as I can in that moving forward. And so I decided to come out of my shell and get more involved.鈥�
Menard says that the dental hygiene program offered a lot of what she expected 鈥� like cleaning teeth 鈥� but there were also a few surprises. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 expecting the head and neck cancer screening,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e really loved learning about the whole body and how it鈥檚 interconnected. It鈥檚 been eye-opening.鈥�
I鈥檝e really loved learning about the whole body and how it鈥檚 interconnected. It鈥檚 been eye-opening
She particularly enjoyed the periodontics class, which showed students 鈥渏ust how bad things can get for your oral health if you鈥檙e not taking care of it. You can even start to lose your teeth.鈥�
She also enjoyed learning about how health care differs from population to population and culture to culture within Canada, with an emphasis on underserved populations. Menard says it made her more aware of the different social and economic factors, and different attitudes to the fluoridation of water, that can affect whole communities.
In a similar vein, caring for patients in the Faculty鈥檚 outreach clinics was another valuable learning experience. 鈥淵ou definitely see a lot of different people and mouths and have conversations you would never have in the main student clinic at Dal,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 because people are often going through such different things in their lives, like recovering from addiction, and you can see the challenges and the link between the mouth and the overall body.鈥�
Another benefit that Menard hadn鈥檛 considered when she chose Dal over stand-alone dental hygiene programs is the interaction between dentistry and dental hygiene students in the outreach clinics and the small group practice, where students from the two streams work together in a setting that mimics professional practice. 鈥淵ou become familiar with the whole team of oral health care professionals,鈥� she says. 鈥淏y working together on a recall exam, you can pick up on a lot of things from the dentistry students.鈥�
A future up north
Menard says seeing the dental hygiene faculty undertake research and other projects has been inspiring. She has developed an interest in trying to answer some population health questions and hopes that she can carry out the necessary research in the future.
For now, she is looking forward to starting work back in her hometown of Victoria and to pursuing a bachelor of dental hygiene program at Camosun College. After that, she hopes to work in the Northwest Territories or some other part of northern Canada. 鈥淢y mother grew up in Yellowknife,鈥� Menard explains, 鈥渟o I know the north and it has a special place in my heart."