Shannon O'Connor, CRDH, MSDH

My name is Shannon O’Connor, and I have been a practicing Registered Dental Hygienist since 2010. I have worked in several types of practices, which has led to my increased knowledge and experience within many aspects of dentistry and dental hygiene. I work as a traveling hygienist where I serve several nursing homes within St. Petersburg, FL providing residents with oral hygiene services, and I am an adjunct clinical instructor at St.Petersburg College’s School of Dental Hygiene.  

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I received my A.A.S degree in Dental Hygiene from SUNY Erie Community College and a B.S. degree in Health Sciences from Southern New Hampshire University. I have maintained top grades throughout my academic career and achieved Summa Cum Laude during my enrollment within the MSDH program at the University of Bridgeport due to my hard work, focus, and motivation toward achieving my goals.

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Upon graduating from dental hygiene school in 2010, I began my career working in a pediatric and orthodontic office. Working in pediatrics allowed me to help children and their families understand the importance of oral health. It also helped me to become well versed in managing behavioral and anxiety-induced behaviors. I helped create a positive and encouraging environment to educate and guide parents and children toward positive changes leading to healthier and happier lifestyles. I became well-versed in the many different orthodontic interventions used and helped in applying expanders and braces with this position.  

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After working with children and adolescents for a large part of my career, I moved to Florida to help oversee the care of my grandmother, where I started a job at a general practice. Working with adults allowed me to expand my skillset further and enhanced my continued focus on educating my patients regarding oral health’s role in one’s overall health. During this time, I was offered an excellent opportunity to provide oral hygiene services to residents within nursing homes. In caring for my grandmother, who suffers from dementia, I realized the great need for oral hygiene services within this population. This fantastic position has allowed me to expand my scope of practice into the public health sector of dental hygiene. These opportunities and my love for learning led to my enrollment into the M.S. Dental Hygiene program at the University of Bridgeport. This program, in particular, focuses on education and public health, which are two interests of mine. Working towards my degree, I have completed various projects, such as grant writing, creating a business plan for a mobile dentistry company, designing a blog, and student teaching.

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It had always been my goal to be in a teaching environment one day to help instill future dental hygienists with passion for their profession and the ability to help improve the health of their communities, as my instructors did for me. I will continuously seek knowledge and opportunities to improve my skill set as a clinician and educator and set goals to enhance my professional and personal growth.

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Please contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss any further questions about employment and/or volunteer experiences. Thank you for your time.

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-Shannon O’Connor, CRDH, MSDH

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