North Carolina Dental Hygienist Wears Cute Costumes to Work
Missie Dawkins Dental hygienist Judy Cornelison in costume
Many people dread going to the dentist. But Greensboro, North Carolina, dental hygienist Judy Cornelison always tries to make her patients relax and smile when they walk into the office.
"I discovered early in my career that people don't like to come to the dentist," she tells PEOPLE. So she wears a funny costume or hat when she greets a patient. It's an icebreaker, she says.
It all started in 1994, when a patient brought her a hat from a New Year's Eve party. "I wore it that day, and it just changed patients' whole demeanor," she recalls. "It puts patients at ease."
Her costume collection grew to include a singing turkey hat, "Super Floss" (pictured) and even a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater.
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She usually takes off the full costume and just leaves on a funny hat or glasses while she's cleaning teeth.
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"I didn't realize people were so afraid of the dentist," says Cornelison, 70, who retired a year-and-a-half ago, but still fills in at dental offices. "But you hear horror stories — and it just makes me happy that I can make them smile at least once before they leave."
When she retired, much of her collection was gifted to one of her patients, an eye doctor, who said, "I want your stuff!"
