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Dental Hygienist
Salary, Jobs Outlook, and Career Facts
Employment of dental hygienists is expected to grow much faster than average for all occupations through 2014, ranking among the fastest growing occupations, in response to increasing demand for dental care and the greater utilization of hygienists to perform services previously performed by dentists.
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Significant Points
- Most dental hygienist programs grant an associate degree; others offer a certificate, a bachelor's degree, or a master's degree.
- Dental hygienists rank among the fastest growing occupations.
- Job prospects are expected to remain excellent.
- More than half work part time, and flexible scheduling is a distinctive feature of this job.
Salary and Earnings for Dental Hygienists
Salary and earnings vary by geographic location, employment setting, and years of experience. A dental hygienist may be paid on an hourly, daily, salary, or commission basis.
Benefits vary substantially by practice setting and may be contingent upon full-time employment. According to the American Dental Association, 86 percent of hygienists receive hospital and medical benefits.
Nature of Dental Hygienist Work
A dental hygienist removse soft and hard deposits from teeth, teaches patients how to practice good oral hygiene, and provide other preventive dental care. A dental hygienist examines patients' teeth and gums, recording the presence of diseases or abnormalities. They remove calculus, stains, and plaque from teeth; perform root planing as a periodontal therapy; take and develop dental x rays; and apply cavity-preventive agents such as fluorides and pit and fissure sealants. In some States, a hygienist administers anesthetics; place and carve filling materials, temporary fillings, and periodontal dressings; remove sutures; and smooth and polish metal restorations. Although a hygienist may not diagnose diseases, they can prepare clinical and laboratory diagnostic tests for the dentist to interpret. A dental hygienist sometimes works chairside with the dentist during treatment.
A dental hygienist also helps patients develop and maintain good oral health. For example, a hygienist may explain the relationship between diet and oral health or inform patients how to select toothbrushes and show them how to brush and floss their teeth.
A dental hygienist uses hand and rotary instruments and ultrasonics to clean and polish teeth, x-ray machines to take dental pictures, syringes with needles to administer local anesthetics, and models of teeth to explain oral hygienist.
Working Conditions for Dental Hygienists
Dental hygienists work in clean, well-lighted offices. Important health safeguards include strict adherence to proper radiological procedures, and the use of appropriate protective devices when administering anesthetic gas.
Dental Hygienist Training, Qualifications, and Advancement
A dental hygienist must be licensed by the State in which they practice. To qualify for licensure in nearly all States, a candidate dental hygienist must graduate from an accredited dental hygienist school and pass both a written and clinical examination. The American Dental Association's Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations administers the written dental hygienist examination, which is accepted by all States and the District of Columbia. State or regional testing agencies administer the clinical hygienist examination. In addition, most States require an examination on the legal aspects of dental hygienist practice.
A high school diploma and college entrance test scores are usually required for admission to a dental hygienist program. Also, some dental hygienist programs prefer applicants who have completed at least 1 year of college. Requirements vary from one school to another. Schools offer laboratory, clinical, and classroom instruction in subjects such as anatomy, physiology, chemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, nutrition, radiography, histology (the study of tissue structure), periodontology (the study of gum diseases), pathology, dental materials, clinical dental hygienist, and social and behavioral sciences.
A dental hygienist should work well with others and must have good manual dexterity, because they use dental instruments within a patient's mouth, with little room for error.
Dental Hygienist Jobs
Dental hygienists held about 158,000 jobs in 2004. Because multiple jobholding is common in this field, the number of jobs exceeds the number of hygienists. More than half of all dental hygienists worked part time—less than 35 hours a week.
Almost all jobs for dental hygienists were in offices of dentists. A very small number worked for employment services or in offices of physicians.
Job Outlook for Dental Hygienists
Population growth and greater retention of natural teeth will stimulate demand for dental hygienists. Older dentists, who have been less likely to employ a dental hygienist, are leaving the occupation and will be replaced by recent graduates, who are more likely to employ one or even two hygienists. In addition, as dentists' workloads increase, they are expected to hire more hygienists to perform preventive dental care, such as cleaning, so that they may devote their own time to more profitable procedures.
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The Commission on Dental Accreditation accredited 266 dental hygienist programs. Most dental hygienist programs grant an associate degree, although some also offer a certificate, a bachelor's degree, or a master's degree. A minimum of an associate degree or certificate in dental hygienist is generally required for practice in a private dental office.
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Median hourly salary and earnings of dental hygienists were $30.19 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent make between $24.63 and $35.67 an hour. The lowest 10 percent make less than $19.45, and the highest 10 percent make more than $41.60 an hour.
Flexible scheduling is a distinctive feature of this job. Full-time, part-time, evening, and weekend schedules are widely available. Dentists frequently hire hygienists to work only 2 or 3 days a week, so hygienists may hold jobs in more than one dental office.
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