Barbara Perkins:  

After graduation I attended Jane Addams School of Dental Assisting in Cleveland, Ohio completing the program in June of 1981. I worked in various dental offices and clinics before working in Orthodontics with Dr. Norman DeLoach in Cleveland Heights in 1984. While working with Dr. DeLoach I decided to become a nationally certified dental assistant through the Dental Assistants National Board which is based in Chicago, IL. This certification allows me to work as a dental assistant in any state. In 1984 I was hired at MetroHealth Medical Center as a dental Assistant and remained at MetroHealth for a total of thirteen years until I applied and was accepted into a dental program for training to work with Developmentally and Mentally Challenged Individuals offered by the University of Washington at Seattle. I was one of four chosen to participate in the program and the only dental assistant that was chosen nationally. After completing the program I was hired to coordinate the Geriatric Oral Health Center at Case Western Reserve University in 1996 where I was responsible for providing education to senior citizens, nursing home staff, and family members who were affected by Alzheimer's and dementia. During this time I enrolled in David N. Myers University where I received my Associates of Arts with Honors in ...Expand for more