Kristen Robbins, M.P.H., B.S.D.H., R.D.H. (B.S. ’16), a VCU School of Dentistry alumna and adjunct professor, was installed as the 2023-24 president of the Virginia Dental Hygienists’ Association (VDHA) at the VDHA annual business meeting on the weekend of Oct. 27. 

“I am honored and excited to begin my role as president of the VDHA,” said Robbins. “I accept this responsibility and look forward to building on the momentum of our past presidents and continuing to advocate for and engage members of the dental hygiene profession.” 

The VDHA is a chartered affiliate of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA), the largest professional organization for dental hygienists. The organization’s mission is to improve the public’s total health and advance the science and practice of dental hygiene.

Robbins was elected president-elect by her peers in October 2022 after being nominated by current VDHA president Heather Tuthill (B.S.’11, M.P.H.’15) and former president Emilie Ellis, RDH (B.S.’14). 

“It’s honestly not something I expected so early in my career,” said Robbins. “They (Tuthill and Ellis) said ‘I think you’re ready.’ It is really humbling that a lot of my mentors believed in me and saw things in me that I didn’t even see in myself.”

Robbins graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Dental Hygiene from VCU in 2016. She then earned a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) from Columbia Southern University in 2023.

Her advocacy with the VDHA first started when she was a dental hygiene student at VCU. Since then, she has held several roles including legislative co-chair and chair for the Greater Richmond Component and member of the nomination committee. 

Robbins says her goals during her presidency are to increase student membership and involvement and continue to grow the professional value and importance of VDHA.

“Without our association, we may not have a profession. We are the insurance of Dental Hygiene,” said Robbins. “If we don’t have volunteers and members that pay their dues, we can’t advocate for things like the recent Medicaid reimbursement expansion which expanded access to care for our patients.”

She says the association is also collaborating on a licensure compact with the Virginia Dental Association, which would address the dental hygienist shortage in Virginia by allowing providers from outside the state to come to Virginia and provide care in underserved areas suffering from a workforce shortage. 

“We are trying to work on how we can fix that gap, and we are working very closely with the Virginia Dental Association,” said Robbins. “We want to continue to build and strengthen that relationship. We both have the common goal of increasing access to care and to protect and grow our professions.”

Now that Robbins has been installed as the new president of the VDHA, former president Heather Tuthill will serve as the immediate past president.