Dental Hygienist

• Most offices schedule 8-10 patients a day for prophylaxis (cleaning). Most provide 30 minutes to 1 hour for cleaning, exam (periodontal examination, measurements of the gum and recession by instrument) and x-rays (usually taken by assistant).
• Writes the charts for the day with complete overview of what was performed, reviewed, seen clinically or via x-ray, and next appointment recommendations.
• Homecare is an important part of the appointment. To know what the patient routine is and how to add or to modify it for their betterment of oral health.
• A valuable dental hygienist always sees each mouth differently and treats and educates patient based on their dental history, medical history, and family dental history (since it plays a major role to a patient’s condition).

• Manual dexterity: Ability to use hands with skill and coordination.
• Good with details
• Compassion
• Ability to put patients at ease
• Good communication skills

“This field requires persistence and care. People matter while they are in your chair as much as the procedure you are rendering; therefore, a clinician must be willing to read the personality of the patient, what keeps them comfortable, and body language. The dental field is all about personal care and compassion that comes from wanting to work with people of all kinds and to care for your patient, each one.  Communication will take a RDH far and most successful in this career path, proper ability to explain what is being taken place and using solid examples to have patient relate in other aspects is also key. To maintain a fulfilling career choice and composure in this field one should really work in a dental office early on to see the scope of the field first on, its limitation, and its weight on the body. Most don’t know that the hygienist is most likely the first to treat the NEW patient in the office, so much relies on how that first visit of treatment and personal care goes to have the patient return.” - Marjan Shafieyan, RDH

• Dental Offices: Some dental offices might hire a dental hygienist for only 2-3 days so may have to get a job in multiple locations.
• Convenient Care clinics: low-cost, quality preventative oral health care facilities run by dental hygienists.

• Disgruntled patients: People just don’t like to go to the dentist.
• Repetitive tasks
• Sometimes hard to find a dentist that you can get along with.
• You will be touching saliva and the inside of people’s mouths.
• Industry changes (technology, places of employment) so you must be aware of where the industry is going, how it is changing, how you stay competitive
• Might not be able to get a full-time job right off the bat. Might have to work part-time then find another part-time job. This is a career where you have to be proactive in finding a job and finding multiple jobs.

• The cosmetic dentistry industry (such as teeth whitening, veneers, braces and implants) is increasing due to new technology. The growth of these complex procedures provides an opportunity for dental hygienists to take over the more routine and preventive care formerly done by dentists.
• Convenient Care Clinics: There has been a growing demand for low-cost, quality preventative oral health care and these are run by dental hygienists.
• Due to medical system focusing more on prevention, there will be a push to improve oral health knowledge and training among family doctors, nurses, physician assistants and other health care workers. Thus, more opportunities for dental hygienists in education and in schools.

• Liked going to the dentist.
• Liked cleaning your teeth and understood why it was important.
• Enjoyed science classes.