Some people have a motto that they live by or share with their children. Adrian Trevino has two.

Trevino, a dental hygienist at Western Dental in Riverside, graduated from West Coast University with the third dental hygiene cohort at WCU-Orange County. He hurt his back at his previous job and needed a way to support his growing family without risking further injury.

“When I joined hygiene I was injured, I had two children and a wife. My motto then was ‘Failure is not an option.’ It just was not an option and I had to get through school,” he said. “There were no excuses that were going to be accepted. No one was going to come in and take care of my family. It was up to me.”

Several years — and three more children — later, Trevino has a new motto.

“Now that I’ve graduated school, I tell my children almost every day that ‘Hard work is not always fun but it has to be done.’ And this is something that I make them repeat over and over, especially with homework and everyday life because this will set them up for success,” Trevino said.

Top 3 tips for: A Perfect Smile

1. Floss

There’s no other way around it. Every time you eat would be the best way to do it because you’re removing the food that’s going to feed the bacteria that’s going to cause the chaos down the road.

2. Floss

My flossing pattern depends on the moment or I guess what I ate because sometimes there’s some meat stuck in between some certain teeth and that’s where I’m gonna start.

3. And floss

As long as they’re using floss I don’t care what kind they use — a pick, string, however they do it, it doesn’t matter to me as long as they’re doing it. The average use of dental floss per person in the United States is 14 inches annually. That’s not very much.

— Adrian Trevino, RDH

“I would let anyone that is thinking about going to this school know that success comes with hard work and dental hygiene is only the start and the beginning of a bright future.”

If you could give yourself a pep talk on your first day at WCU, what would you say?

If I could go back I guess I would encourage myself during the long hours of study, those times when it got really stressful going to school. I had two children at the time, my wife was pregnant, a lot of other issues that were going on in the background that got really, really stressful at that time. I had a good core group of friends that really helped me out and allowed me to focus and study with them. I would go back and tell myself, ‘It’s all worth.’ It’s all worth it, because those long hours are gone, you know? It was like in a blink of an eye, it’s over and now I’m practicing going on almost seven years now.

What’s the best part of being a dental hygienist?

The best part of being a dental hygienist is just meeting new people. For me, that’s what it is. I love meeting people. I love just finding out what their desires and dreams are in life because I introduced myself. Being a dental hygienist has a lot to do with community relationships. I’m meeting these people for the first time and I’m getting them to open up, find out about their health, about their family and just seeing who they are. And then I work in the area and I live in the area, so then I see them around in the stores so it’s really a big part of my life now.

What advice do you have for WCU students?

My advice for people trying to go to West Coast is know what you’re getting into to, set the expectations. You’re building memories here. You’re not just going to school, this is something that’s going to follow you for the rest of your life and it’s something that’s going to better your position in life as well. Your income bracket will change, your view on life will change. Your critical thinking skills will definitely be increased, so enjoy it and get the best out of it.

WCU provides career guidance and assistance but cannot guarantee employment. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or position of the school or of any instructor or student.