A dental hygienist is a medical professional who, following graduating from dental hygienist school is under license to perform oral dentistry and specializes specifically in preventive oral health. Because of the variety of strict requirements involved in the job, in most countries, dental hygienists are extremely qualified individuals, sometimes with more than one degree from their studies.  I’ve compiled a short Q&A to be able to inform you of all you need to know.
What are my options?

For those aspiring to pursue a career in this field, there is a wealth of options for studying to become qualified. Dental hygienist schools are most prominent in the USA, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. The standards of Dental Hygiene Regulations vary from country to country; For instance, in the USA you have to have attended a Dental Hygienist school that has been accredited by the American Dental Association (ADA).

After completing your studies, you have to obtain a license to practice. In most cases you will have to write an examination (or even a few examinations) and successfully pass it before being given the license to practice.

What Programs Can I expect to Find?

Most dental hygienist schools offer Diploma programs (That can be anything from 1-3 years) or Bachelor Programs. The most common options are the Bachelor of Sciences in Dental Hygiene, or the Bachelor of Oral Health degrees. Both are usually 4 year study programs.

Where Are the Best Dental Hygienist Schools?
That question is quite relative, because there is hardly ever a universal “Best” for anything. However, there is a great choice in schools in Georgia, USA. They offer advanced and detailed courses that would prove to be of great value, while still offering some variety to cater to various different educational needs.

The Dental Hygiene School at the Medical College of Georgia in particular offers a great option for students looking to study either the Bachelor’s program, or even go as far as a master’s program.

If you’d prefer not to study in the USA, the University of Bristol in England offers a comprehensive Dental Hygiene program. However it is only available as a full time 2 year diploma.

Conclusion
Dental Hygiene is a competitive field, so you’ve got to do what you can to get ahead. Attending a top dental hygienist school already puts you at an advantage over your competition. Be sure to choose the school and the course that best suits your needs and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a dental hygienist. Best of luck to you all!

Hygienists are in demand and can make good money depending on where they are located. Dental hygienists can get paid by the hour in bigger cities or you can opt for a full time job that can pay anything from $25,000 to $30,000 with benefits. That is not bad considering that you are just out of dental hygienist school with hardly any experience. As you gain experience, you would be able to command a much higher salary.

Let us look at the services you would have to perform as dental hygienists. The focus of the job would be on guiding people on preventative oral hygiene and therefore cleaning of the teeth, gum care and teaching them how to brush properly would be your important functions.

In addition to this, you would also be required to address common dental problems faced by many of the individuals such as staining of the teeth, plaque formation, tartar cleaning, advising them on the right fluoride paste to be used, collecting information and maintaining patient records for future use and so on.

Remember that you are a very important person for the patient. It is a well known fact that people are wary about taking dentist appointments due to fear of pain and uneasiness. As a practicing dental hygienist, you are expected to make sure that the patient is totally at ease about the dental treatment you’d be giving them.

While you may be good at dentistry skills, you also need to develop the knack of infusing confidence in the patient about the line of treatment and how it is not going to be very painful to them.

Dental hygienists generally have an associate degree or a Bachelor’s one. You are required to put in two years for the former and 4 for the latter. These dental hygienist programs are normally offered by the local colleges and other technical institutes. You must ensure that the institution is an accredited one for the degree to be recognized in the world outside.

Once you complete your dental hygienists education, you are required to take a license from the State authorities in which you plan to put up your practice. You would also need to pass the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination and this would be in addition to the State clinical exam.

The benefits of the dental hygienist profession are the flexible work schedule as you can work part time or full time. The career is a lucrative one with things getting better on the salary front as you put in more years and also add to your qualification. The job involves dealing with people of all kinds and it would help if you are an extrovert and can communicate well.

Dental hygienists are very much in demand considering the scarcity of qualified hygienists. This is good news for you if you wish to take this up as a career.

Dental hygienist salary is something that has been a subject of debate. People have often felt that the profession is not as lucrative as some of the other more glamorous ones. The feeling is that this profession like other health care ones requires a lot of hard study, dedication and unless the rewards are commensurate to the efforts put in, they are not too keen to it take up as a career.

Fact is that if you are sure about your capabilities in terms of putting in the hard work to qualify for the exam and then study for the course, you can get quite a lucrative dental hygienist salary package!

As per the latest reports and statistics prepared by the United States Bureau Of Labor, the mean salary of a dental hygienist has been found to be close to $50,000. This is a pretty encouraging and healthy figure. This also means that a fair percentage of the dental hygienists must be drawing salaries even higher than $50,000 depending on their experience and qualifications.

Considering that you can start your practice as a dental hygienist just out of your dental school hope to earn a salary of about $30,000 at the lower end of the spectrum.  You only need to have an associate degree or a Bachelor’s degree to be able to qualify to practice. You can also become a dental hygienist by completing a certificate course, however, in that case your dental hygienist salary would be slightly lower.

As you put in more years of experience and back them up with relevant additional qualification by doing a Master’s program, your chances of getting big jumps in your salary will go up significantly.

More experience also opens up better job opportunities outside of your State or area and you can always migrate to places that offer a better dental hygienist salary package along with other benefits. Much would depend on the demand-supply situation existing at that point in time though at a particular location. If there are already many licensed dental hygienists settled and doing well in an area, you will find it difficult to command a premium for your services.

Dentist hygienist jobs at hospitals and government clinics are not as lucrative as the ones in private clinics. However, the benefits in a government hospital or clinic are usually better and it is up to you to choose the best option for yourself.

Dental hygienist salary figures are therefore not as low as thought of and for the right candidate, this profession can be a very lucrative and satisfying one.

Dental hygienists are in line with any other profession related to the medical and healthcare sector. Dental hygienist requirements include being well qualified, presentable, and should have a passion for serving people.

It is therefore necessary for you to find out whether you would be able to meet dental hygienist requirements and get good grades in your high school exams, especially in Chemistry, Math and Biology. You must also be prepared to slog for the qualifying entrance exam for dental hygienist schools.

So what is the role of the dental hygienist? Unless you are clear about that, you would not know what you are setting yourself up for. Clarity regarding the profession is vital for you to make up your mind.

A dental hygienist is responsible for good oral health of the patient. He or she has to play the role of an educator, technician and even counselor depending on the type of patient being treated. So merely having the qualifications and skills are not sufficient.

Dental hygienist requirements also include soft skills to make the patient comfortable and ease their anxiety. All of us are aware of how patients feel while sitting in a dentist’s chair. Though most of your treatments are not going to be painful, however the set up is bound to make most patients feel uncomfortable. It is therefore your job to make your patients feel at ease.

Of course this calls for different skill sets that you will pick up with experience. It also has to do with your inherent nature. If you are an extrovert and love talking to people, you will easily befriend them and would be able to make them feel comfortable.

Dental hygienist requirements demand that you should have the appropriate qualification. You can begin with getting the associate degree in dental care (a 2 year program that is offered at most local community colleges).

An alternative to this would be the 4 year diploma called the bachelor’s diploma. This qualification will enhance your professional chances and you can get opportunities depending on the type of accreditation your school enjoys and the marks you have been able to score in the course over the 4 years. As mentioned before, you need to have a good academic record in your school and should have taken subjects like math, chemistry and biology.

Once you are through with your accredited course, you are required to appear for an exam that would provide you with the license to operate as a dental technician. Some States mandate that you must get some practical exposure to dentistry and for this you may have to work with a professional dentist.

Dental hygienist requirements are thus pretty straightforward and knowing about them before hand will help you take the right decision.

A necessary qualification for anyone aspiring to pursue the profession is the completion of dental hygienist programs. They can be in the form of a certificate course, an associate degree or a full fledged Bachelor’s degree. There may be some minor changes in the way these programs are known in different countries but they broadly cover a similar curriculum.

In the US for instance, you can get a certificate after attending a program for a year. The associate degree course is a 2 year one and the Bachelor’s degree can be obtained after 4 years of study. You can also do a Master’s program after getting the Bachelor’s degree.

The associate degree program is the one that is very popular given its rather short study period. Most jobs demand this minimum qualification and you must also ensure that the college you decide to enroll in is an accredited one and recognized by the American Dental Association. In addition, you will also require a license from the State you are in as further approval to practice dentistry.

Australia follows a slightly different process. The minimum qualification to practice dentistry here too is a two year associate degree.  But there is also an advanced diploma program for the same period that they have in place. The Bachelor’s degree is a 3-year full time program. The college or institution must be accredited by the Australian Dental Council.

The dental hygienist programs within Australia are not many and you will find it a very competitive sphere. Dental hygienist licenses too have to be renewed on a yearly basis and certain parts in Australia insist on proof about you continuing your education.

Canada has a 2-year diploma program like Australia and it is a mandatory requirement for pursuing a career in the field. The dental hygienist programs in the country are monitored and certified by the National Dental Examining Board Of Canada. Like the US, the role of the dental hygienist does vary depending on the location.
So, essentially apart from minor differences there is actually a lot of similarity about these dental hygienist programs in most countries.

Dental hygienist programs are not very expensive. But getting into them is a challenge and you need to have good scores in your studies. You can therefore seriously think of enrolling into one if you feel you have the aptitude and are willing to put in enough hard work.

Are you aware that dental hygienist education is much sought after thanks to the lucrative career opportunities in the field. With increasing awareness about dental health most people today are quite proactive about maintaining their dental health. This means a dental hygienist has become a much sought after professional. It’s hardly surprising then that a dental hygienist’s remuneration is in the range of $30,000 to $70,000 per annum.

So, if this has inspired you enough the first thing you need to do is to search for accredited dental hygienists schools that will train you to pursue the profession. It is vital to obtain your dental hygienist education at an accredited facility, as that’s the only way you will get a license to practice. Thankfully, there are actually many dental hygienist schools that are certified by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.

There are various options that you choose from. You may enroll into a two-year degree course for an associate degree. This is normally the minimum education requirement in most States. You may also choose to pursue a four-year bachelor’s degree. The latter will give you far greater professional choices than an associate degree as well as the promise of a better starting salary.

Dental hygienist education equips you with the capabilities essential for carrying out dental care in the most appropriate manner.  You will be taught how to perform basic dental care tasks, so that you can offer elementary treatments and teach your patients the best oral care practices.

Though every school has its own set of admission requirements, there are certain basic criteria that you have to meet. These include excellent marks at the graduate level, you should have taken subjects like Math, English, Biology and Chemistry and splendid marks at the entrance test as well. Dental hygienist education will include courses that deal with the physiology, pharmacology, microbiology and oral pathology aspects as well.

To graduate, college students are also required to take part in ‘clinicals’. These are on-the-job instruction programs at a working dentist. The exposure to real dentist work is a great learning experience. It enables aspiring dental hygienists to identify and connect with their theoretical lessons.

You will also pick up other subtle aspects of how to make the patient comfortable, what to say and how to deal with patients that are uncomfortable and apprehensive. These are things that cannot be taught through books and that is the main reason why practical training assumes such great importance.

Dental hygienist education can help you build a solid and successful career, provided you make the right choices and put in enough hard work.