The conversations you only hear at RDH meetings
Five hundred episodes in, and it felt right to do something a little different.
Recorded live on the exhibit hall floor at RDH Under One Roof, this milestone episode captures the other kind of conversations that happen at hygiene meetings—the unfiltered, off-script, laugh-until-you-cry moments that remind us the people behind the credentials are very real humans.
Join Andrew Johnston with Jessica Atkinson, Melissa Calhoun, and Megan Elliott for an impromptu roundtable that somehow covers colonoscopy prep movies, geographic tongue, giraffes, milk preferences, astrology, and why these conversations are just as important as the clinical ones.
It’s nonsensical. It’s honest. And it’s exactly what Episode 500 needed to be.
About the Author
Andrew Johnston, RDH
Andrew Johnston, RDH, is your everyday hygienist who is passionate about sharing education and knowledge to others. Practicing in Washington State since 2009, Andrew enjoys utilizing his full scope of practice through traditional and restorative procedures on any given day—still working in the operatory 40-plus hours each week. In 2015, he started the wildly popular dental hygiene podcast A Tale of Two Hygienists with his cofounder Michelle Strange. Because of the podcast's success, they were able to begin a new chapter in dental audio content with The Dental Podcast Network, which consists of 10 short-format shows on different dental topics airing each day of the work week.
Jessica Atkinson, MEd, BSDH, RDH
Jessica Atkinson, MEd, BSDH, RDH, is the COO of Hygiene Edge and an assistant professor of dental hygiene at Utah Tech University. She has been in the dental field for 23 years with experience in the front office, dental assisting, hygiene, and education. Jessica has presented nationally and internationally, is the recipient of the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce Element Award and the Utah Tech College of Health Sciences Outstanding Service Award, is a past president of the Utah Dental Hygienists’ Association, and a member of the ADHA.
Megen Elliott, MS-OCL, RDH, CDA
Megen Elliott, MS-OCL, RDH, CDA, has more than 14 years of experience in the dental field. She’s an educator, author, interprofessional speaker, volunteer leader, and consultant. Megen is the program director of the dental assistant program at Northwood Technical College in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, where she’s also a faculty member. She’s a consultant with dental organizations and individuals, through talent acquisition and project management. Megen’s enjoys networking with dental colleagues online and at conferences. As the founder of Hygiene Happy Vibes, she encourages building each other up.
Updated October 24, 2022
Melissa Calhoun, MSDH, RDH
Melissa Calhoun, MSDH, RDH, has more than two decades of dental expertise. She currently practices an instructor of dental hygiene at Tarrant County College in Hurst, Texas, and has clinical experience in different areas of dental hygiene, including pediatrics. Outside of clinical practice, she is an educator for Arm and Hammer Oral Care and the Swiss Dental Academy (SDA). She teaches National Dental Hygiene Board Examination Reviews with Sanders Board Preparatory. You can contact Melissa at [email protected] or on Instagram @missyrdh.