Michelle’s Story

Michelle Fairchild’s career path took several unexpected turns before she found her place in dental hygiene. She originally set her sights on becoming a veterinarian. After earning two career-complementary bachelor’s degrees at Eastern Oregon University, she worked at Bailey’s Vet Clinic while applying to vet schools. But after three years of rejections, she had to reconsider her future.

Seeking stability, she took a job at the Oregon Department of Transportation, where she earned her Commercial Driver License (CDL) and built strong relationships with her crew. Over time, she began to consider other careers more aligned with her college coursework. That’s when she discovered dental hygiene.

Michelle was soon accepted into the highly competitive hygiene program  at the Oregon Institute of Technology. And the transition wasn’t easy—she moved away from home, leaving behind the tight-knit community she had built at ODOT.

At times, she questioned whether she had made the right choice. But as she worked through the program, she discovered a passion for periodontics and the relationships she could build with patients. Now, at Umpqua Periodontics & Implants, she specializes in periodontal care, helping patients maintain their oral health while forming deep connections with those she treats.

Michelle has found particular fulfillment in working with elderly patients, a group she believes is often overlooked in healthcare. “Sometimes when they come into the dental office, that might be the only interaction they get with another human being that day,” she says. Her journey wasn’t what she expected, but she sees every detour as a step that brought her to the right place.