Local dentist brings 34 years of experience to the dental assisting program.
By Edith Moctezuma
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Dr. Cheryl Hubble, a local dentist in practice for 34 years, has become an adjunct in the dental assisting program.
Hubble said in an interview Feb. 2 that she wanted to start teaching because she was a high school biology teacher before she became a dentist.
She said she wants to begin a teaching career because as she gets older, it is more difficult to perform dental procedures. She still practices dentistry two half days a week and reviews insurance claims online.
Carmen Santiago, program coordinator for dental assisting, said the program has two full-time faculty and one adjunct, but this is the first time the program has a dentist teaching.
The program’s accrediting agency, Commission on Dental Accreditation, does not require it.
Santiago said each of the faculty members brings their own experience to help students be successful.
Having Hubble as an adjunct gives students access to her experience as a dentist, Santiago said.
Hubble said dental assistants sterilize instruments, prepare patients for procedures, hand dentists materials, take impressions, load anesthesia and review the health history of patients.
Dental assistants must pass examinations to become licensed by the Dental Assisting National Board and Texas State Board of Dental Examiners.
Hubble teaches DNTA 1213, Emergency Management, which covers medical emergencies in the dental office, such as how to react if a patient faints or has a seizure, stoke, asthma attack or heart attack.
Hubble took chemistry and math classes in the early 1970s while working on a bachelor of arts in biology and chemistry from the University of the Incarnate Word. She also earned a master of science degree in biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a doctorate of dental surgery from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
Hubble said she enjoys working at a dental office because she has built family-like relationships with patients and co-workers.
She said the hardest part of adapting to a college environment from a dental office is learning the college’s computer software programs. As a dentist, she did not need to use a computer.
Hubble said her students are eager to learn and work hard.
