I am a registered Dental Hygienist on a mission to change the look of dentistry.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, I had dreams of being a graphic designer with an interest in art and eye for creativity. The market was low and job placement was decreasing, so instead I chose a route in the medical field. I attended West Virginia University and received my Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene.
I created Dental Hygiene Nation on the idea of bringing a sense of community to the learning and working world of dental professionals through a shared taste of humor expressed through fashion.
Dental Hygiene Nation first started as a social media following known as Dental Hygiene Problems. I created the Twitter account, Dental Hygiene Problems, in college as a prank for my dental hygiene class. I tweeted complaints from my fellow classmates about the daily struggles of dental hygiene school. Unexpectedly, the twitter page was not just loved by my class, but soon swept across the nation and has grown to over 7,000 followers on Twitter, 15,000 followers on Instagram, and just under 7,000 followers on Facebook.
After recognizing my peers’ desire to become a part of a nationwide community, I started a clothing line. In August 2014, Dental Hygiene Nation was born and has been continually growing into a community of like minded professionals sharing their love for teeth, humor, and fashion. We offer casual apparel and accessories with industry-specific messages and images. All designs are created, owned, and printed by myself. I am currently working on manufacturing a line of scrubs unique to the dental profession.
This loan will go toward purchasing 3,600 yards of fabric to fulfill our vision of reinventing the dental scrub. The fabric in total will cost $12,600 to produce a total of 1,200 scrub sets. We are projecting to last us a years worth of inventory. We expect to triple our yearly revenue by entering the scrub market. We have created a strong social media following and stay true to popular trends.