Recipient of Prestigious Award is Announced

Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, with premier sponsor Colgate and supporting sponsors Patterson Dental and PDT Inc, is pleased to announce that Deborah Bailey Astroth, RDH, BSDH, is the 2018 recipient of The Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award. This honor is presented annually to recognize the distinguished career of a worthy individual who has consistently and effectively contributed to the enrichment of the dental hygiene profession. Astroth is being recognized for her more than 40 years of dedication to dental hygiene and to helping those in need.

Astroth opened her own practice in 1987 following the passage of legislation in Colorado that enabled dental hygienists to work independently. With Special Delivery Smiles Inc, she provided care to patients in nursing home facilities and hospices, in addition to patients with special needs and those who were homebound. She has also volunteered countless hours on dental mission trips to Mexico, Alaska, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Uganda, while also encouraging dental and dental hygiene students, during her tenure as a faculty member at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine, to give back by reaching out to patients who would otherwise go without dental care.

“I am thrilled and humbled to join the group of esteemed friends and colleagues who have previously received The Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award. To be acknowledged by your peers within your profession is truly an honor. I want to thank Dimensions and Belmont Publications, Inc., Colgate, Patterson Dental, and PDT Inc for their support of this award program,” Astroth commented.

Named after its inaugural recipient Esther M. Wilkins, BS, RDH, DMD, The Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award was first presented to its namesake in 2010. Astroth will be honored at a reception on June 22, during the American Dental Hygienists’ Association’s 95th Annual Session in Columbus, Ohio.

From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. June 2018;16(6):14.