Dental Hygienist's Program
Dental hygienists are the people who clean dental patients' teeth. They also examine the teeth and gums for overall health, and report any problems they might find to their supervising dentist. On average, dental hygienists earn anywhere from $30 to $40 per hour, and because many dentists hire hygienists for only two or three days per week, it is not unusual for hygienists working full time to work in more than one dentist office.
Unlike dental assistants, who often receive their training on the job, dental hygienists must graduate from a hygienist program, pass a state-supervised exam, and receive a hygienist's license. This is true in forty-nine of fifty states; the exception is Alabama, where certain regulated programs allow hygienists to receive their training and licensure on the job.
Finding the Right Dental Hygienist's Program
There are many programs available for dental hygienists. It should be noted, however, that there are currently only 286 programs that are accredited by the American Dental Association (the ADA). Most states require that the program be accredited in order for a hygienist to earn their license. All fifty states have at least one accredited program, but several states, including some states in the western and southern parts of the country have only one accredited program.
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Entering a Dental Hygienist's Program
Dental hygienist's generally have these basic minimum requirements:
Applicants must be at least 18 years old and possess a high school diploma or a GED
Many programs require that applicants have successfully completed at least one year of college
All applicants must have fulfilled basic math and science requirements during high school
Applicants must show basic academic competency through college exam tests (the SAT or the ACT)
In addition, it is not uncommon for applicants to four year, bachelor's degree dental hygiene programs to require applicants to have completed at least two years of college prior to their enrollment in the dental hygiene program.
Most dental hygienist programs are either two year associate's degree programs, or four year bachelor's degree programs. Some dental hygienists go on to earn their master's degree, which enables them to teach others the trade.
What the Coursework is Like
Dental hygiene programs begin with the basics of human anatomy, as well as chemistry, physiology, and biology. After the basic prerequisites are finished, future dental hygienists learn about such topics as oral diseases, oral microbiology, sedation and pain control, craniofacial anatomy, and geriatric dentistry.
The skills a good dental hygiene program teaches cover everything the future hygienist will need to know in order to perform the day-to-day functions of a dental hygienist. These include:
Performing oral health care assessments, such as examining a patient's teeth and gums for any abnormalities that may indicate the presence of an oral disease
Reviewing patient history and collecting data on patients in order to better serve and care for that patient's oral health
Screening for oral cancer
Checking and recording blood pressure
Taking x-rays – although this is often the job of the dental assistant rather than the dental hygienist, in some dental offices it is primarily the job of the dental hygienist to take oral x-rays
In addition to learning how to take the x-ray, the hygienist learns basic radiology safety to protect both themselves and the patient from unnecessary radiation
In addition to all of these skills, the dental hygienist's program will teach the basic of all dental hygiene skills: removing plaque and any other potentially harmful or cavity-causing deposits from patients' teeth. Cleaning teeth is the “bread and butter” of dental hygiene work. And along with learning how to clean the teeth of their dental patients, the hygienists learn how to educate patients, whether young or old, on how to best care and protect their oral health over the long term.
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