Inspirational Woman: Anna Middleton | Leading Dental Hygienist, Therapist & Founder, London Hygienist

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Meet Anna Middleton

Leading Dental Hygienist, Therapist & Founder, London Hygienist

Anna Middleton is a leading dental hygienist, therapist and founder of London Hygienist – an independent dental business aiming to change the way oral health care is delivered to the public and improve access to dental services.

In this piece, Anna talks to us about her career journey, the challenges she has faced and shares advice to her younger self.

Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role

I am 35 years old, half Russian/half English. I am a dental hygienist and therapist and the founder of ‘London Hygienist’ which is my independent dental business I founded to change the way oral health care is delivered to the public and improve access to dental services.

Did you ever sit down and plan your career?

No, I actually studied sound engineering and music technology at college before becoming a dental nurse. When I started I didn’t even know what a hygienist was until I started nursing with one. Working with her is what then prompted me to pursue a career as a hygienist. I also never planned to become a dental therapist – this is what I did during lockdown – a top up degree at the University of Essex. Even creating ‘London Hygienist’ didn’t truly come to life until after I qualified as a hygienist in 2017.

Have you faced any challenges along the way?

I didn’t have the required A Levels to get into university to become a hygienist but I didn’t let it stop me from applying. I poured every bit of my heart and life experience into my personal statement and ended up getting offered 2 places in the end. Finding my feet after I qualified in the professional world was challenging too and I felt isolated and unfulfilled but I overcame that when I started building my business.

What has been your biggest achievement to date?

This weekend I held my first ever in-person 1 day course called ‘Thrive’ for hygienists and therapists. It is something I have wanted to do for sometime but let my own limiting belief factors hold me back – until now. The course was designed to share my journey of how I build my business and inspire others who may wish to pursue a similar route.

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What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?

Constant self development and always working with purpose. Even when I have hard days I go back to my company / personal promise and remind myself why I started all of this.

How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?

I think it’s been one of the most important things I have had on my journey. I have a mixture of professional but also personal people I turn to for help and advice. It’s something I think I would like to do more of for others and partly why I created my course too. I have an open door policy at work and regularly have students and qualified clinicians come to spend the day with me.

If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Parity, what would it be?

Interestingly, I work in a very female dominated job role where there are more female hygienists/therapists than male. However, this is changing which is fantastic and I even had 2 male delegates on my course. I personally feel that focusing on the results, rather than the person, is the fastest way to accelerate change, along with fair play = fair pay.

If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?

I wish I stood up for myself more when I was faced with some tough encounters. I worked for someone who wasn’t very pleasant and looking back I should never have let myself be treated in that manner and nor would I ever want someone else to experience that.