We were lucky to catch up with Candice Kusterle recently and have shared our conversation below.
Candice , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
When I was younger I always enjoyed helping people. Science, was a subject that was always was interesting to me. Especially how our body works, how it functions, how it is put together to heal itself given the proper tools knowledge and understanding. In high school when we all get the counseling of “what do you want to do ?” Question, I thought of many things that were in healthcare. My most favorite Auntie was an RN for 40 years. I lost my mom to inflammatory disease cancer when I was 13 so that drive of trying to find a solution to inflammation was always at the forefront of my mind. I thought of Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, Eye Doctor, Dentistry, etc many health care “specialists” options crossed my mind. At the time of my senior year I was having a conversation with one of my dear friends and she said “why don’t you look into Dental Hygiene”. In the small populated town I grew up in Montana, we did not have but many but 1-2 Dental Hygiene people and the dentist I grew up going to did not have one at all, he worked a lot on his own. So moving forward I searched for schools, cost, locations and my own personal thought of “ how am I going to get to school and pay for it”. A couple years after graduating high school and working in retail I left my small hometown and ventured 100 miles north to start in the Dental Assisting program at an extension of MSU I finished the program and worked as a Dental Assistant for 8 years then my adventure took me to Dental Hygiene school, in Colorado. I have been an RDH for 24 years and have continued my education in more knowledge about muscles with the tongue, face and neck. Doing OMT, Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy along with Buteyko Breathing. All modalities to help people live more optimally. All the years of being a servant with the purpose to helping people with the window of their health, the mouth. I find my passion in every single aspect of how I can help every person who sits in my chair. Our body is meant to work harmoniously together and it starts with our mouth.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My focus is to ask questions, explore overall health as to the root causes of issues with people who have inflammation. It takes a village and a good team to keep one person healthy. My part of doing dental hygiene is not just to do hygiene therapy “a cleaning” …. “Cleaning” is a word I would like to see used less of in our dental world, hygienist’s do therapy. I look at the tongue muscle and see how it works for the mouth, is it working efficiently, the tongue can be a causative to many other things. Same as breathing, sleeping, swallowing, speech, posture, growth and development overall. Breathing is essential for all, but are we breathing effectively that is the question. We know how the gut brain axis is connected, the way we fuel what we put in mouth affects us from head to toe.
The exciting part about this journey every person is on is we have choices to seek out providers who want to help them be successful with their health. I am grateful to be a part of this process.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I believe in learning as much as you can to help others with whatever. Compassion and passion for care provided. We all want good health and we all want providers who care and listen and help in this journey of life.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
My biggest area of grow is self development! . It all starts with how we feel about ourself. If we do not challenge and grow to become better to surround ourself with others to level up our own beliefs, we just stay stuck in a rut.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.Teethcos.com
Image Credits
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