{"id":51707,"date":"2025-10-26T15:31:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T20:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/?p=51707"},"modified":"2026-01-22T11:27:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T16:27:35","slug":"strap-in-kid-how-karla-found-her-smile-in-dental-hygiene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/2025\/10\/26\/strap-in-kid-how-karla-found-her-smile-in-dental-hygiene\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cStrap In, Kid\u201d: How Karla Found Her Smile in Dental Hygiene"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cStrap in, kid, it\u2019s about to be a heck of a ride \u2014 but oh, it\u2019s so worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s how Karla describes her journey through Austin Community College District\u2019s (ACC) Dental Hygiene program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karla started at ACC in 2020, right after COVID, balancing full-time work with part-time classes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore applying to the program, I (knew) how difficult and competitive it was to get in. Every time I mentioned to a professor that I was going to apply, they would smile and say, \u2018good luck,\u2019 because they knew how rigorous it is to even get to the application stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All that hard work paid off when she was accepted \u2014 a moment she\u2019ll never forget. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFinding out I got in was the most exciting moment of my student journey,\u201d she says. \u201cEven though there are moments where I\u2019m deeply humbled in clinic during patient care, and moments where I feel on top of the world after a big test, there\u2019s nothing else I\u2019d rather be pursuing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Karla, ACC\u2019s clinic experience is where everything comes together. \u201cIt\u2019s very helpful to be able to complete my clinicals at ACC, especially since there isn\u2019t a single session that goes by where the faculty isn\u2019t ready to help or provide constructive feedback,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a reminder that I\u2019m not alone \u2014 there are amazing professors ready to guide me toward my most successful future self.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with real patients has given her the confidence to handle anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cKnowing that as a student I\u2019m not only learning along the way, but also helping someone in the process is one of the best feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karla\u2019s favorite moment came when her class became the first certified to administer local anesthesia to patients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt felt like the first time I rode the Iron Rattler as a 10-year-old at Six Flags \u2014 terrified, but after it was over, it was the best feeling in the world,\u201d she says. \u201cThe joy definitely filled the clinic that day. I had the zoomies after I finished mine and felt like I could run to the moon and back!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she graduates in 2026, Karla plans to work in a local dental office \u2014 ideally with kids. \u201cI worked in pediatric dentistry for about eight years, and there will always be a special place in my heart for working with kids and helping them prevent dental caries and gum disease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her advice for future students: \u201cDon\u2019t slack on your prerequisites. Once you get in, life moves at 100 mph, so take the days as they come. Romanticize the time in school. If you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll blink and miss it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Karla, this wild ride has been worth every twist and turn. \u201cFor anyone out there who thinks it’s impossible \u2014 it\u2019s challenging, but definitely not impossible. You hold more power than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on ACC\u2019s Dental Hygiene Program, visit austincc.edu\/dentalhygiene<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can get affordable dental care from students like Karla at the ACC Dental Hygiene Clinic at Eastview Campus. Schedule your free screening at austincc.edu\/dentalclinic<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cStrap in, kid, it\u2019s about to be a heck of a ride \u2014 but oh, it\u2019s so worth it.\u201d That\u2019s how Karla describes her journey through Austin Community College District\u2019s (ACC) Dental Hygiene program. Karla started at ACC in 2020, right after COVID, balancing full-time work with part-time classes.  \u201cBefore applying to the program, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":51708,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1391,928,1399,147],"class_list":["post-51707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-stories","tag-dental-clinic","tag-dental-hygiene","tag-dentist","tag-health-science","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}