President’s Message

Hi and Hello Oral Health Prevention Specialists!

I’m thrilled to introduce myself and express how truly honored I am to serve as the President of the MDHA for the 2025-2026 term. Thank you for the opportunity to step into this position and represent our state association. I take great pride in the ability to amplify your professional voices, opinions, and beliefs, and ensuring they are acknowledged.

As I originally hailed from Houston, TX, I have been a local Montanan in the Flathead Valley for 25 yrs.  I completed most of my prerequisite classes at U of M in Missoula and transferred to Great Falls College-MSU where I attended the DH Program in 2008. However, this is not where my dental career started. In 1995, one year after graduating high school, I reluctantly began working as a dental assistant. I was trained on the job, after which point my employer then paid for my dental assistant education through the Greater Houston Dental Society. It was here that I discovered my love for dentistry. I worked as an assistant for 4 years in Houston before moving to the Flathead Valley in 2000. As a dental assistant in Montana, I’ve worked for numerous dentists throughout the northwestern part of the state, from Great Falls to Missoula, and Whitefish to Polson. My desire to become a dental hygienist finally came to fruition with the graduating class of 2011. I will always cherish my years in dental hygiene school and the close personal friendships I still have. Across the state, I’ve worked in diverse private practices and public health clinics. While my passion lies in public health, I still find private practice rewarding—and I see transformative changes on the horizon that will reshape the profession of dental hygiene in ways we only imagined.

I have been an active member of the MDHA starting with SMADHA in 2009 while in hygiene school. I wrote my first article that was published in Access Magazine that recounted my first experience with lobby day, and I’ve served on the MDHA board of trustees as Historian (now PR/Media Chair), and as the component trustee for Kalispell, and most recently as president-elect. I have attended numerous state conferences and CE classes over the years. In 2018 I was invited to speak in front of over 400 guests in Orlando, Florida regarding the use of eClinical Works, the dental software program I used while working at the FCHC Dental Clinic (now known as Greater Valley Clinic).

I attended ADHA’s Annual Conference in Long Beach, CA for the first time this October and saw the concerted efforts of our national association firsthand. They continue to advocate for RDHs throughout the nation and uplift and empower us within our profession.

The last 3 years have personally allowed me to eyewitness the changes and benefits that can occur while working together with MDA. Being a part of the group of professionals who came together to help pass HB321 has been such an honor, and I continue to look forward to working towards improvements and better outcomes for oral health throughout the state.

When I’m not immersed in all things teeth, my 5-year-old daughter keeps me young and on my toes. My oldest daughter, now 22, recently moved to New Hampshire to launch her own adventure in “adulting.” My husband and I have been together for 14 years—married for 8—and he’s my biggest cheerleader in hygiene, fully aware of how passionate I am about oral health.

In closing, I’d like to share with you our goals for this year that were discussed at the 2025 Strategic Planning session that took place late October in Kalispell.  In the coming year, MDHA will focus on keeping you informed, expanding our statewide impact, and growing our membership by highlighting the real value of belonging to your professional association. We’ll continue building a strong, collaborative partnership with the MDA through the Taskforce to address emerging legislative opportunities and challenges. During this non-legislative year, we plan to use the downtime strategically to build a strong foundation for future legislation. We want to hear directly from you: What are your top interests, concerns, and priorities? Where can we advocate most effectively for oral health prevention across our state and for the ongoing evolution of our profession?

Finally, we aim to strengthen our association by increasing visibility and engagement statewide—through community events, partnerships with other organizations, and collaborations with companies that share our goals.

Together, I look forward to what the year brings for all of us!    

Shawna Kugler-Ohman, RDH, LAP, MDHA President