A longtime lover of dentistry, Lolinda Turner will tell you she’s been through the gauntlet of working her way up in the industry, which she happened upon 22 years ago just to find work as a receptionist.

“No one ever talked to me about dentistry,” she said about her early professional life, but when asked why she made the decision to dive in further, she said it was due in part to “a satisfaction that I saw in my team members…making a difference in people’s lives and getting someone out of pain or educating them about it.”

The work has been worth it for the program manager for Delta Dental of Washington’s Dental Workforce Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. However, in reflection of her hard-fought journey sobered by lacking numbers in diversity and underlying racism, she has also made it her mission to give the profession new meaning to kids in underrepresented communities, specifically using Delta’s Professional Pathway Program as a way of exposing the industry to a more diverse group of people.

The program was recently hosted at the Marvin Williams Recreation Center in Bremerton, where kids of all backgrounds got hands-on experience in learning the basics of dentistry. “We’re in that day and age where kids want to be what they see, and so they’re usually pretty shocked when they see the process of what it takes to get veneers or crowns and all that,” Turner said.

They also see very little diversity in dentistry, potentially turning kids away from even considering the profession or giving them little motivation to go to the dentist as a patient. “When I got into dentistry here, there wasn’t that many that looked like me. I couldn’t find any Black dentists. I rarely saw any Hispanic dentists. I just didn’t understand,” she said.

Turner recalled racism throughout her career in Washington, ranging from patients refusing her services due to a “smell of cocoa butter,” a “lack of education” or even one patient who suggested she be lynched simply out of dislike for her. Such discrimination is something she said affects providers and patients, but with programs like Delta’s she hopes to give the future generation motivation to create a diverse world of dentistry.

Dr. Lillian Robertson, the rec center’s executive director, called programs like Delta’s a game changer in the lives of aspiring Black children who can help create that safer, more-diverse environment while also introducing more Black dentists to the next generation. “Not only are they learning about how to take care of their teeth, they’re learning pathways to become dental health providers,” she said. “They’re learning what it takes to be a hygienist, what it takes to be a dental assistant, what it takes to be a dentist.”

As for the kids on the last day of the program, it’s fair to say they picked up on quite a few aspects of dentistry. Some were quick to name the dentistry tools, others knew more about the science of the human mouth, and overall the experience sent them home with a big smile.

Kerra Haag, a regular volunteer at the rec center, said kids were coming out of the program with a newfound love for their newly discovered career choice. “Especially Iris, she’s really blossomed in this program, and she’s told me words that I don’t even know about things in our mouth,” Haag said.