The Journal

Issue date: 4/28/05 Section: Culture

Media Credit: KATIE WINDMANN / The Journal Albert

Media Credit: KATIE WINDMANN / The Journal Senior Natalie Albert, a public relations major, works part time as a dental assistant. Albert stresses good oral hygiene and hopes to give speeches concerning proper dental care in the future.

Senior Natalie Albert has dealt with a lot of big mouths the past six years, and plenty of small mouths, too.

"It's a gross job, but it doesn't bother me," Albert said of her part-time job as a dental assistant. "I've seen it all - from a healthy mouth to a not healthy mouth."

Albert, a public relations major, works at Gene C. Cohen Family Dentistry, 15510 Olive Blvd. She's been there for 4 1/2 years and has plenty of stories to share.

"We've had patients pass out in the office," Albert said, recalling a visit with a patient who swore they smelled bug spray in the office. "We were having a normal conversation. I went to get the doctor and by the time we came back, she was having a seizure."

Since everyone in the office is required to take a CPR class, Albert said everyone in the office was quick to act.

"We definitely had to call the ambulance," Albert said.

As it turns out, the patient had just gotten her nails done before
going to the dentist and had an allergic reaction.
Caring for patients

Albert said she has several responsibilities in the office. It's her job to set up the patient rooms, prepare the trays for the upcoming procedure, bring the patient back to the room, clean the room and write up patient charts.

"You have to talk to the patient, you have to basically cater to their every need once they sit in that chair," Albert said.

She also takes impressions and pours up the models in the lab in the back of the office. Albert said she is meticulous when it comes to cleaning her room.

"You gotta put your barriers on your little room," said Albert, who completed the dental program at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park. "You know there's a possibility where there are droplets of blood. The room has to be sanitized."

In addition to room sanitation, a pet peeve of Albert's is when other dental assistants fail to clean their rooms properly.

"I worked with girls that just don't clean their room good," Albert said. "But they didn't go to Forest Park."
Word of mouth

When she first enrolled at Forest Park, she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Then she saw a familiar face wearing scrubs at college, she questioned their clothing choice.

"I was like 'Why are you in uniform? This is Forest Park,'" Albert said.

After chatting with the girl in uniform and finding out she could finish the program in about five months and make a chunk of change, Albert enrolled in the program.

"I just did it, I just tried it," Albert said. "When you're 18, 19 it's pretty cool not to have to work at McDonald's."


Albert then headed to St. Louis Community College- Florissant Valley to finish her associate's degree.

"I bounced around a lot," Albert said.

Albert wasn't planning on coming to Webster. She had already been accepted and completed registration at University of Missouri-Kansas City's dental hygiene program.

"I had a change of heart," said Albert, whose boss and co-workers had written letters of recommendation for her. "I just decided not to go at the last minute."

Friends at Webster urged her to look into the university, so Albert researched Webster, Fontbonne University and Harris-Stowe State College. She enrolled at Webster without a major.

"I always knew I was gonna go back to school," Albert said of her decision to attend Webster without a major in mind. "I guess I'll find
something when I get there."

After flipping through the course catalogue, she decided on something different than oral hygiene - public relations.
Brewmaster

She is currently the public relations coordinator for fiancé Raymond Hill's beer business, Hill Brewing Company. Albert said Hill has always loved beer.

"He eats, sleeps and breathes beer," Albert said. "And one day he just decided he wanted to brew beer."

Despite the time she spends tasting and promoting beer, Albert doesn't even drink beer.

"I'm not a heavy drinker," said Albert, whose preferred drink is a Fuzzy Navel. "I just don't fall in that category."

Along with Albert and her fiancé, there are five other people who are working to get Hill's Brewing Company out on the market.

"We're trying to launch around May 30," Albert said. "We're not selling now."

They decided on High Falls Brewery in Rochester, N.Y., as their brewing location. They plan on having a location in New York as well as St. Louis.

"His main goal is to get a piece of the market and to be nationwide," Albert said of Hill's beer brewing fantasy.

Albert said the hardest part of starting a business from scratch is finding the money.

"Getting our funding has been slow," Albert said. "It's hard to get people to invest in a company."

Once their business takes off, Albert said she and Hill plan on giving back to the community. They want to sponsor events and give speeches on oral hygiene and entrepreneurship and possibly engage in a bigger project, like supplying computers for school children. Hill works as a computer network administrator.

"We just want to do a good batch of positive things," Albert said.

After graduating May 14, Albert plans on finding a job in the public relations field and leaving her love for dental hygiene behind.

"I am really gonna miss my patients when I cross off into the public relations world," Albert said.

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