Meet Rebecka Clark, a trailblazer in the hygiene world who may inspire you to make a career pivot

Rebecka Clark is a dual licensed registered dental hygienist and massage therapist in Seattle, Washington. She is a proud member of National Network of Healthcare Hygienists (NNHH), a Certificate Holder in Oncology and a new collaborative partner, bringing her Orofacial Recovery Certificate Program to hygienists through NNHH in 2025.

Rebecka holds too many certificates and certifications to list as she prides herself on taking over 100 hours of continuing education each year. Her passion is founded on her own struggles after facial surgery, with no one there to help her. As she developed manual techniques for her own pain relief and mobility, she realized she was called to help other patients like her.

She now has built herself a one-of-a-kind career helping patients, virtually and in person, through head and neck cancer treatment, oral and facial surgeries, and chronic pain, stiffness and xerostomia. She has dedicated her life to helping a forgotten population who survived, but are not thriving, and now trains other providers to help facilitate healing in their patients who are silently suffering as well.

Rebecka knows that dental providers can be so much more than what they are, stating

"When I was talking to medical providers about what they do in post-surgical or rehabilitative care, they told me they think dental providers are handling it. Dental providers tell me that speech and language pathologists and massage therapists are handling it. But here I was, an educated, connected RDH feeling lost and alone, receiving no referrals to anyone. That means we have a serious gap in care that needs to be addressed immediately, and hygienists are the perfect provider to step in and learn how. I chose the National Network of Healthcare Hygienists to partner with for the online education because of their reputation for quality, and understanding of ANSI accreditation. I'm excited to bring this information to dental providers in 2025!"

The Orofacial Recovery Specialist program will have three levels:

• Basic -- Online certificate program for dental providers who are interested in understanding the complex rehabilitative needs of cancer patients and those who have undergone head, neck or facial surgery, and learn basic techniques that can be practiced in a dental setting.
• Intermediate -- Online certificate program for dental providers who have completed level 1 and want to go deeper in their understanding and practice of emerging rehabilitative techniques.
• Advanced -- In person, hands on certificate program for dental providers who want to master the manual techniques with Rebecka's guidance, and ensure proficiency. This level is for the practitioner who would like to practice orofacial recovery part time or full time.

Join the waitlist for the Orofacial Recovery Specialist Certificate Program (Level 1) HERE