A Wellness Approach to Mission Dentistry

A Wellness Approach to Mission Dentistry - What Mission Dentistry Teaches Us About Everyday Care

Program Overview

Mission dentistry challenges clinicians to think differently. With limited time, resources, and follow-up, we are forced to ask a deeper question: What truly improves a patient’s life when we may only see them once?
This course explores a wellness-centered approach to mission dentistry, using real-world mission experiences to highlight often overlooked patient needs — particularly oral dryness and comfort. While extractions and urgent care are critical, dry mouth is a widespread and underrecognized condition that significantly impacts comfort, healing, nutrition, and quality of life in mission and underserved populations.
Participants will explore simple, practical ways to support oral moisture and comfort using non-complex, patient-friendly solutions, including natural oral moisture sprays, fluoride therapies, and thoughtfully designed preventive support. The course will also highlight how products can be applied in mission settings and seamlessly translated into everyday general practice.
Through storytelling, reflection, and practical takeaways, attendees will learn how lessons from mission dentistry can elevate patient care everywhere — reminding us that wellness, dignity, and comfort are essential components of comprehensive oral health care.

Original Date 02/17/2026 at 7pm CST

Your Presenter

Tami Wanless MEd., RDH

About Your Presenter

A dynamic global educator, Tami Wanless speaks worldwide on progressive dental hygiene and wellness-focused care. She holds a Master’s degree in Adult Education, a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science, and a degree in Dental Hygiene. With more than three decades of teaching experience, Tami has educated dental professionals at three of Illinois’ most prestigious dental hygiene programs.

With over 35 years of clinical dental hygiene experience, Tami brings a unique blend of real-world practice and educational excellence to every course she delivers. She has led and participated in numerous dental hygiene missions around the world, providing care to underserved populations and shaping her deep passion for mission dentistry and compassionate, patient-centered care.

Tami continues to work monthly in private practice in the Chicagoland area, ensuring her teaching remains practical, relevant, and immediately applicable. She authors and presents on a wide range of dental hygiene topics, with a strong emphasis on wellness, prevention, comfort-centered care, and the lessons learned through mission dentistry.

Known for her high-energy, engaging, and inspiring presentation style, Tami is deeply committed to supporting dental professionals through both research and lived experience. Her courses challenge attendees to think differently, care more deeply, and apply mission-driven principles to everyday practice — all while delivering meaningful, lasting impact for patients.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Describe how a wellness-based mindset enhances patient care in mission and underserved settings.
Recognize oral dryness as a common but frequently overlooked condition in mission dentistry.
Discuss the impact of dry mouth on comfort, function, healing, and overall quality of life.
Identify simple, non-invasive approaches to supporting oral moisture in limited-resource environments.

Explain how natural oral moisture products can be incorporated to enhance patient comfort and dignity.
Explore the role of preventive tools, including fluoride therapies and thoughtfully designed support in wellness-focused care.
Translate lessons learned from mission dentistry into practical strategies for everyday general practice.