JOSH MELTZER The Roanoke Times

Armen Grigoryan, a dentist from Armenia, will graduate today as a dental hygienist from Virginia Western Community College.

Armen Grigoryan is looking forward to finally working on teeth again.

Eight years after moving to the United States, Grigoryan, a dentist from Armenia, will graduate today with an associate degree in dental hygiene from Virginia Western Community College. He is one of 16 newly minted dental hygienists and one of roughly 600 students who will graduate from the school.

"I've been around dentistry all my life," said Grigoryan, whose mother also is a dentist. "When it came time to make a decision and do something, I knew I was going to be a dentist."

After getting a dentistry degree in Armenia, Grigoryan practiced for a few years before moving to the United States. He settled briefly in Los Angeles before moving to Roanoke.

But his foreign degree and his work experience are not recognized in this country. If Grigoryan wanted to be a dentist here, he would have had to start dental school again. Instead, he worked in retail until enrolling in Virginia Western's dental hygiene program.

As a dental hygienist, Grigoryan will perform duties such as teeth cleaning, exams and X-rays. He still can't work as a dentist but, to him, being a dental hygienist is good enough for now.

"Since I was a little child, I was fascinated by all the tools and all that stuff," he said.

His mother tried to dissuade him from a career in dentistry, noting that the job is hard on a dentist's spine and eyes, but Grigoryan wouldn't budge.

Although he's already been trained as a dentist, Grigoryan still found the Virginia Western program "very intense." "And it should be because when people go to the hygienist they want to know that this person is trained to do it," he added.

The program's head, Marty Roberson, described Grigoryan as an "ideal student," one who never trumpeted his previous dental experience.

"He came in with a wide-open mind and said, 'I'm a sponge and I want to learn,' " she said.

Part of the training involved working on patients who signed up for free dental cleanings and exams through the college. The students see their patients in an exam room in the school's Anderson Hall, where 10 dentists' chairs are arranged in a half-circle.

"Armen is really good at explaining things to patients in his chair," she added. "He gets great compliance."

For his part, Grigoryan said he was a little rusty after eight years away from teeth. But he was able to shake off the rust easily.

"It's like riding a bicycle," he said. You don't forget.

Now that he's done with school, Grigoryan is looking for a job as a dental hygienist in Roanoke. He said he wasn't sure whether he wanted to go back to dental school.

Roberson, however, didn't hesitate.

"I do hope Armen does go back and gets his dentist's license because I think he would be an excellent contribution to the profession."