78 Photo Essay: Tracy Spain, Dental Hygienist, Bivona Family Dentistry

Words by Justin Hunter | Image by Blakeney Clouse

Have you ever taken a moment to consider the value of the mouth to the human experience? 

“The mouth is very important. It is the place where we take our first and last breath,” says Tracy Spain, dental hygienist at Bivona Family Dentistry in Jasper. 

Spain has spent nearly 30 years peering into patients’ mouths all over Walker and Jefferson counties. The Walker County native understands the power of a smile or eating without tooth pain. “I love my patients,” Spain says. “I get so much joy out of making each patient feel better. I have had patients become tearful in the chair because they are getting to smile in pictures, and they haven’t smiled in years.” 

Spain says she “stumbled” into dentistry in the early 1990s. What began as a part-time receptionist position for an oral surgeon snowballed into a satisfying career as a dental hygienist.

Early on, her family thought she was destined to be in dentistry. “My grandfather gave me a small picture from when I was around three years old,” Spain says. “In the photo, he is brushing his teeth and I am pulled up to the sink. He said, ‘You know, I guess you were always into teeth because we never could brush our teeth when you were in here.’”

Spain began working in oral surgery in 1992, eventually transitioning to general dentistry, working with Dr. Vurl Baumann’s office as a dental assistant and schedule coordinator. Dr. Baumann saw something special in Spain. In 2004, he paid for her to go through the hygienist program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She obtained her license in 2006 and spent the next 12 years as a traveling dental hygienist. 

During that time, Spain formed a circuit of dental practices between Jefferson and Walker Counties. When a hygienist needed someone to cover their shift because their child was sick, she was the person to call. She kept an incredibly detailed calendar mapping out where she would be each day.  

“I thought, I’m ready to settle down and know where I am going each day,” she says. “Then, the Lord just put me in Dr. Bivona’s office. I love it there.”

February 2021 marked two years since Dr. Bivona recruited Spain to work full-time in his practice. Her love for her patients keeps her coming to the office every day, and she can’t fathom a life without helping people smile. 78