pic

About Kawelona Doctolero-Tolentino, RDH

Registered Dental Hygienist in Fremont, CA

Kawelona Doctolero-Tolentino, RDH

Kawe graduated from the Dental Hygiene program at Chabot College. Kawe was actually born in Hawaii on the island of O’ahu and moved to California when she was a child. Prior to becoming a hygienist, Kawe worked part time at Auntie Anne's Pretzels then began her journey in the dental field as a dental assistant.

She always saw herself working in the medical field and was torn about becoming a nurse because she wanted a field more focused and specialized. Kawe realized that she grew up in a family that did not take care of their teeth and she wanted to do better for them and herself. She wanted to take better care of her own oral health as well as educate her family on the importance of dental hygiene. That sole realization determined her career choice into becoming a dental hygienist to not only share her knowledge with her family, but also better her community. Kawe loves that being a dental hygienist can be challenging, but rewarding and fulfilling at the same time. She enjoys helping patients build their self -esteem by fixing their teeth and smiles. The most rewarding part is being able to put a patient's anxiety and fears about dentistry at ease.

In Kawe’s spare time she loves to spend time with her family. Some of her hobbies include hula dancing, bike riding, walking her dog, hiking around the bay, and going on adventures with her boyfriend. Kawe enjoys catching up on Netflix series and reading mystery, thriller, and suspense novels. An interesting fact about Kawe is that she is a lefty! Being left handed in dentistry is not only rare, but can be challenging to work with a team that is mainly right handed. In the future, Kawe would like to become a hygienist that is able to travel to different parts of the world and educate patients in need.