Working

Ayda Khuri, RDH, MS

Ayda Khuri, RDH, MS, feels like she provides her patients with the “window to the world.” A registered dental hygienist at the VA Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn., Khuri said she loves the work she does with the veterans she cares for everyday. “To be a good hygienist in this environment, you have to be a good scientist, a good psychologist and a good human being,” she said. “It requires a lot of you. It polishes your soul in many ways and is very satisfying to the heart.”

A Lebanon native, Khuri has been a registered dental hygienist for six years and holds a Bachelor of Science in the field from the University of Tennessee. She said that she became interested in dental hygiene while she was looking for a new career, after managing a busy medical practice and raising her family. “It always appealed to me, but I didn’t know it was doable. I thought it required more or different studies, so when I found out that I was eligible, I went for it.”

In addition to speaking English, French and Arabic, Khuri’s background includes a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences from the Lebanese University in Beirut, Lebanon and a Master of Arts in medical anthropology from the University of Memphis. She came to the U.S. after teaching freshman-level college biology for one year and has been here for 30 years.

Khuri spent the first three years of her dental hygiene career in private practice but soon decided that it was time for a change. “At a certain point, it got very monotonous,” she said. “I don’t like to settle in a routine and never get out of it. While at the hospital, you are always really challenged or surprised.”

Working at the VA hospital has allowed Khuri to keep her skills sharp and to learn more every day. When she accepted the position three years ago, she liked it mainly because it was academic, as well as patient oriented. In addition to being the president of the Memphis Dental Hygienists’ Association, she is on the Dental Hygiene Liaison Committee at the University of Tennessee, which is in charge of regulating curriculum as needed by the community and students. She also trains students one day a week and is on the patient education committee at the hospital, which allows her to visit the psych floor once a month to educate the nursing staff and patients about oral care.

“[At the hospital] they’re big on educating the patients,” she said. “That’s my call, too. I feel strongly about that. An informed patient is a healthy patient.”

Khuri said that being at the hospital has been different from her previous work experience, not only because of the specialized knowledge she has to use, but because of the wide range of patients she treats.

“You have to deal with patients from many angles at the VA,” she said. “They come to share their life experiences, and sometimes they are beautiful stories. They don’t come here to just have their teeth cleaned; it’s almost like an outing for many of them, especially the older they are. The hospital is their only world. They come here eager to talk and open up and tell their tales.”

For as long as she can, Khuri would like to keep working with the veterans. She said that being in her position allows her to have some memorable experiences. “It’s moments like when you discover cancer in a patient’s mouth that is barely there and you know you have saved his life, simply because you are very thorough and patient,” she said. “Or when a patient comes in confused and you recognize that there is a problem. You take him to the ER and find he has low blood sugar, and then later he comes back to thank you for helping him.

“But the most touching to me is the rapport I have built with my patients and the warmth they show me when they see me out in the hallways. When they tell me it’s the best treatment they had or compliment me or say ‘God bless you.’ It really is heartwarming.”

This edition of Working was prepared by Frances Moffett.