Gwangju Women’s University: learning together, across borders
To the students and faculty of Gwangju Women’s University, and our Simply Smile community,
Thank you for including Simply Smile Studio in your visit to Canada. It was a pleasure to welcome future dental hygiene professionals into our Burnaby clinic and share the work of an independent dental hygiene practice.
Your visit was a chance to connect through something we have in common: an interest in helping people care for their oral health. I appreciate the time you took to learn about a different healthcare setting and to consider the role dental hygienists can play in their communities.
In my reflection on the visit, I shared how our conversations touched on preventive care, professional autonomy and the Canadian dental hygiene system. These are topics I care about as a dental hygienist and as the founder of a small clinic. It is valuable to have space to discuss them with the next generation of practitioners.
At Simply Smile Studio, we make time for one patient and one practitioner. Sharing that approach was an opportunity to explain why listening, patient education and clear communication are central to the way I want us to practise.
University Journal’s coverage of the wider educational trip identified our studio as one of the places visited and described the independent dental hygiene model. I am grateful that the visit has helped introduce this aspect of Canadian oral healthcare to a wider audience.
To the students: thank you for your interest in learning beyond your own classrooms and clinical settings. I hope seeing different ways of working gives you useful questions to carry into your studies and future practice. To the faculty: thank you for making room for this kind of professional exchange.
I am also grateful to our team and community for being part of a studio where we can share our work with others. Alongside caring for patients, there is value in explaining what we do and learning from people whose experiences are different from our own.
Thank you for spending time with us. I look forward to seeing how your generation contributes to oral healthcare in the communities you will serve.
With appreciation,
Suji
Suji Kang · Founder & dental hygienist
Simply Smile Studio, Burnaby