Recipient of the Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award Honored at Reception

Dimensions of Dental Hygiene—with premier sponsor Colgate and supporting sponsors Patterson Dental and PDT Inc—recognized Deborah Bailey Astroth, RDH, BSDH, with The Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award at a reception on June 22. The event was held during the American Dental Hygienists’ Association’s 95th Annual Session in Columbus, Ohio, with hundreds of meeting attendees present to celebrate Astroth’s more than 40 years of dedication to the profession of dental hygiene and to helping those in need. She 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, Astroth provided care to patients in nursing care 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.

The award is named after its inaugural recipient and inspirational dental hygiene leader Esther M. Wilkins, BS, RDH, DMD, who passed away in December of 2016.

From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. July 2018;16(7):10.