As long as Vitoria Phipps can remember, she has been fascinated by teeth. Phipps says that whenever she talks to someone, her eyes naturally drift to their smile.
Growing up in Brazil, she wanted a career that would allow her to work with teeth and help people feel confident and comfortable when they smile. However, in her home country, dental hygiene was not recognized as a profession at the time. Phipps gained exposure to the field through one of her cousins and also learned more during her time living as a nanny with a host family in Minnesota that had siblings pursuing a field in dentistry.
Phipps decided to take pre-dental hygiene courses to prepare to enter a program. When the time came to choose what programs to apply for, Normandale stood out to Phipps.
“Normandale was the best combination of a quality program with convenience and low cost,” said Phipps. “I knew a lot of people who had gone to Normandale and they told me good things about the college. It was the right combination of everything I was looking for.”
Phipps was impressed by the immediate support Normandale’s Dental Hygiene faculty provided when she started the program. She liked the fact that when they learned skills there were as many as five teachers in a class to make sure everyone had individualized support.
“They are really intentional about making sure everyone is getting the subject or skills that are being taught,” said Phipps. “When we started to use the dental instruments on the dental typodont (teeth training model, we had a professor for every student to make sure everyone was following the same path. I feel like the support helps everyone get the opportunity to be on the same level. The instructors always have feedback and never give up on you.”
One of the most valuable experiences during her time with the program has been working in the community Dental Clinic. Phipps values the ability to see a diverse group of patients, and the variety of experiences she gets from working on so many community members.
“It feels good to help people from the community while we are learning in the Dental Clinic,” said Phipps. “It is a two-way street where I help them with their teeth, and they help me continue to learn. I also like that we get patients from all different age groups and backgrounds. It really helps us get a great collection of experiences for when we graduate from the program.”
Phipps graduates in May 2026, so she won’t be in the program when construction to enhance spaces for Health Sciences and interprofessional collaboration is done Fall 2026. She is still excited about the new space, and how the conversations have benefitted her and future students.
“I just had an experience in a community hospital where there is a dental clinic,” said Phipps. “The whole hospital incorporated various interprofessional healthcare areas, and it is easy to see how connecting the different aspects of everything will benefit patient care. I could see how helpful it will be to prepare students from different healthcare fields to learn together and from each other in the classroom. Connecting all of the specialties together will be a good thing for all of us.”
Phipps is initially planning to go into a private dental practice when she graduates, but she appreciates the many different environments Normandale has prepared her for through the program.
“I feel like the Normandale Dental Hygiene program provides high quality learning experiences in the program,” said Phipps. “You also get such a variety of experiences that it really prepares you for any place you will work in the dental hygiene field.”
top
