Whether she's fitting children for braces or advising patients on their diet, dental hygienist Caroline Horgan finds her job very satisfying.Catherine Foley reports

Caroline Horgan, in a white tunic with a wine trim, sounds like an evangelist. She speaks about tooth-brushing techniques and oral hygiene instruction with passion.

Clean teeth and healthy gums is almost like a mantra for a dental hygienist.

A big part of her job involves educating people about their dental health. Many of those with appointments to see her are children who are being fitted with braces.

She gives them a diet sheet to fill in at home and goes through it with them to see where the sugars and the hidden sugars are. "We are very highly trained in the prevention of dental disease and its prevention and the promotion of dental hygiene," she says.

As well as scaling, polishing, applying fissure sealants and administrating local anaesthetics to the gums of patients, her work also centres on advising people on tooth-brushing techniques and on the practicalities of maintaining healthy teeth.

It's very satisfying work, she says. And it's important to be patient, especially when dealing with children and teaching them how to use a floss, which "can be quite difficult to master".

Also "there's great job satisfaction, especially in general practice", she says, explaining that people are visibly pleased after a visit to the dental hygienist.

There's also "great flexibility" too, which allows her to decide where and when she works. She currently works in two separate practices. For part of the week she is based in a general dental practice in Kinsale, which is her home town in Co Cork. And for the rest of the week she is in Cork city working in an orthodontic practice, where she deals with children who are mostly being fitted with braces.

She's committed and dedicated to her job. "I really enjoy it." One of the pressures is, she says, "that you are always working to appointments. You are constantly looking at the clock," but, she adds, "you can make a difference."

"You are part of a whole dental team," she says. As for education, "It's very important that they (the patients) are able to look after themselves. You are working in conjunction with the dentist."

When she completed her Leaving Cert in 1993 at Our Lady of the Rosary Convent of Mercy School in Kinsale, she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. While working in a dental surgary, she also studied and graduated with a national certificate from University Dental School and Hospital in Cork as a dental nurse. "It was there I learned about the dental hygiene course," she says. "As a dental nurse you are assisting the dentist but as a dental hygienist you are on your own."

She then applied for the dental hygiene course and began in September 1997. There were just eight on the full-time, two-year diploma course.

"It was a nice small group. I made great friends. We studied a wide range of topics, including dental anatomy, microbiology . . . we were working with phantom heads," using instruments and equipment. Later in the first year, they moved to the dental clinic and started seeing real patients.

"You get to see a wide range of patients in the clinic. You have tutors right up to your finals."

She graduated in June 1999. After a time working in Limerick, she moved to England and worked in Norwich City as a hygienist for six months.

Since returning to Ireland, she's worked in an orthodontic practice in Cork and in a general practice in Kinsale.

"It's great when you can make a difference," she says.