Watch SVdP's Betty Vargas get into dental school

When Beatriz (Betty) Vargas was 20, she was working as the cashier at a local fast-food restaurant when a customer came through that would change her life — Dr. Ken Snyder,  the current executive dental director and at-the-time dental director at St. Vincent de Paul. 

His instant belief in her potential to do more would set her on a whole new professional path leading to her acceptance into Midwestern University’s College of Dental Medicine-Illinois.

Betty immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 11. Due to family circumstances, she had to be separated from her family and spent most of her teens couch-surfing between friends and working odd jobs. She didn’t get the chance to go to school in the States, and all she was left with was the fifth-grade education she completed in Mexico before immigrating.  

“I was lucky enough to even go to fifth grade, because most of my siblings only went to first grade, second grade,” Betty said. “Some of them, they don't even know how to read or write.”

When Dr. Snyder and another dental employee went through the drive-thru of the fast food restaurant where Betty worked, she took their order. The employee was a regular, so Betty immediately recognized her. When they pulled forward, Betty greeted them with a smile and conversed with the employee in Spanish. Betty's friendliness and superior service left an impression on Dr. Snyder.

As they pulled out of the drive-thru, he thought about the dental assistant position that had just opened at SVdP's dental clinic, now named the Delta Dental of Arizona Oral Health Center. Betty seemed to have potential to be a perfect fit for the position: Hard-working, friendly, cordial, and she (sort of) knew a dental assistant. Plus, she knew Spanish, which is a skill they were lacking in the clinic at the time. 

Dr. Snyder stopped in the parking lot, walked into the restaurant, and asked Betty if she’d like a position as a dental assistant. She was shocked and flattered. She couldn’t say no — despite the fact she didn’t understand what he was offering because she barely spoke English at the time.  

Because of this, when she showed up for her first day of work, she didn’t realize that she was going to begin training to be a full dental assistant.  

“I thought I was going to be cleaning the offices at night, be the janitor,” she said. “When he asked me if I wanted to work for him, I never thought as an assistant. Never.”

Thanks to the deft guidance and supervision of Dr. Snyder, Betty quickly learned the ropes of being a dental assistant and became an irreplaceable member of the dental team. 

“I learned how to do sealants, fills, how to interact with patients (especially the difficult patients), and how to assist for oral surgery and implants,” said Betty, who has now worked at the clinic for more than 20 years. In that time, she developed an easy, natural connection with the pediatric patients and still loves working with kids to improve their teeth and set them up for a lifetime of good oral health.

But it didn’t end there. Over the years, Dr. Snyder challenged and inspired Betty to grow as a person too.

“Dr. Snyder would say, ‘Okay, so now you have to work on your GED and you have to start taking college classes,’ And then help me climb the ladder little by little,” she said.

Dr. Snyder and the staff of the clinic also helped Betty learn English, get her immigration status settled, and study through her classes at Phoenix College.  

Little by little, with each obstacle overcome, Betty realized that becoming a dentist wasn’t just some fantasy, it was a goal that was within reach.  

As Betty was finishing her prerequisites for dental school at Phoenix College in 2024, Dr. Snyder and the other friends she’d made at the clinic helped her through the application process to Midwestern University’s College of Dental Medicine-Illinois. In December, at the age of 42, Betty got the call she had long dreamed of and worked so hard for — she had gotten into dental school.

There was the question of finances, but Dr. Snyder already had that covered. He shared Betty's inspirational story, rallying his personal contacts to contribute to a fund to help pay for her tuition.  

"Without Dr. Snyder, this couldn't happen. Without St. Vincent, too. There's a reason why I've been here 23 years. I don't know where I would be without my time at SVdP,” Betty said. “I think I did it, too, because of my kids, just to be an example. I wish my family, my siblings or their kids can get inspired by that. It's never too late.”

Betty isn’t an isolated case at the dental clinic. Several other dental assistants have gone onto dental school to get their full degrees, including Francisco and Betty’s own friend, Dr. Betzanahy Leyva, who started as a dental assistant, went to dental school, returned to SVdP and is currently SVdP’s assistant dental director. 

After dental school, Betty hopes to follow in her friend's footsteps and return with her dental degree to work for SVdP, paying forward to her patients the kindness and chance she was given.

“It's a good feeling that not only are we helping the patients,” Dr. Snyder said. “We're helping our people achieve their full potential.”