Taking Dental Hygiene Beyond the Classroom

Elmer E. González, MBA, PhD, RDH, CDA, recently received the Sunstar World Dental Hygienist Award in Academia for his work in empowering the next generation of dental hygienists by creating service-learning initiatives, pairing students with opportunities to care for underserved populations. The prestigious award, given by the Sunstar Foundation in collaboration with the International Federation of Dental Hygienists (IFDH), was presented to González at the IFDH International Symposium on Dental Hygiene in Milan, Italy, on July 10.

“Receiving this award was an extraordinary honor and one of the most meaningful moments of my professional career,” González explained. “I am also sincerely grateful to Sunstar and the IFDH Award Committee for recognizing the work we have been doing. Having an international group of professionals see value in initiatives that began by responding to needs within our communities was both humbling and affirming. It reinforced for me that meaningful change does not necessarily begin with a large or complicated idea. Sometimes it begins by listening to a community, recognizing a need, asking what we can do differently, and then having the courage and persistence to act on it.”

A dedicated educator, leader, and advocate, González is a professor and department chair at New Mexico State University Doña Ana Community College in Las Cruces. His academic interests focus on training caregivers to support the oral health of individuals with disabilities, as well as addressing the care of populations with developmental disabilities. This longstanding commitment to people with disabilities actually sparked his entry into the dental hygiene profession.

González shared, “As an undergraduate student in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I worked in group homes supporting individuals with developmental disabilities. I became particularly aware of the oral health needs of the individuals we supported and of the challenges caregivers often faced in providing effective daily oral hygiene. The caregivers were committed to helping the individuals they served, but they did not always have the training, resources, or support necessary to address oral health effectively.

“Working in group homes opened my eyes to the needs of a population whose access to appropriate oral health resources and preventive care could be limited. It also helped me understand that improving oral health involves much more than what happens in a dental office. Education, prevention, caregiver support, access to services, and understanding individuals within their environment are all part of the equation. These experiences, ultimately, led me to dental hygiene. I was attracted to a profession that combined science and clinical care with prevention, education, advocacy, and the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.”

González has created community-based service-learning initiatives in which students provide preventive oral health services for diverse populations. “We knew there were children, families, and individuals experiencing homelessness, and other communities in our region who faced barriers to accessing preventive oral healthcare. At the same time, our dental hygiene students needed meaningful clinical experiences with diverse patient populations as part of their professional education.

“That led us to ask a question that fundamentally changed our approach: Instead of waiting for the community to come to us, why couldn’t we take our students and services to where the community already was? That question became the foundation for a network of service-learning initiatives, each created in response to the needs of a particular community,” González said.

González and colleagues created preventive oral health programs at a local elementary and middle school, as well as programs serving individuals and families with limited financial resources, lack of insurance coverage, or other barriers to accessing preventive oral healthcare. Through these programs, students have the opportunity to care for individuals experiencing homelessness and others navigating significant life and social challenges. González commented on the impact these opportunities have on his students.

“For our students, moving among these different environments changes the way they understand their profession. They begin to recognize that there is no single definition of a person with limited access to care and no single solution to improving access. They learn to meet people where they are, both literally and figuratively. They have to listen, adapt, communicate, build trust, and understand the circumstances that influence each person’s health.”

The Sunstar World Dental Hygienist Awards honor dental hygienists from across the globe for their commitment and impact on the field of oral health. The other 2026 winners are: Shelley Brown, MEd, BSDH, RDH, FADHA, in public health; Stefania Morittu, as a full-time clinician; Janet Williams Oshun, RDH, as a new dental hygienist; Andrea Butera, in research; and Whitney DiFoggio, MA, RDH, as an entrepreneur.