What It Takes to Be a Dental Hygienist

A degree from a credited Dental Hygiene school along with a State license is what it is least required to be declared a dental hygienist.

To get admission in a dental hygiene program, a high school diploma and the college entrance test are demanded. The subjects that a high school dental hygiene enthusiast should pick up are biology, mathematics and chemistry. Advanced course in DH sometimes require students to have at least 1 year of college completed. There are minor differences in the requirements between different schools.

Most programs grant associate degrees to the students though some even administer Bachelor's or Master's degrees. A private dental clinic often requires the applicant to have at least an associate degree to be considered for employment. Fields like research, teaching or clinical practice require higher degrees.

Hygienists need to be licensed by the State in which they choose to practice. A graduation degree from an accredited dental school is the minimum requirement that the licensing authority requires. Most states, except Alabama, require candidates to take the ADA (American Dental Associations) Joint Commission written examination. Some states even require them to clear examinations that deal with the legal aspects of dental practice.

Dental Hygienists are usually compatible with other people as they are often required to work in cohesion with other dentists and dental assistants. Dental hygienists also require to have extensively developed manual skills as the tools they use are handled by hand and in the patient's mouth, there is little room for error.

Growing in this field calls for higher education i.e. a Bachelor's or a Master's degree. The advancements that this field offers spread into the realms of research, teaching and personal practice. Many practicing dental hygienists jump to teaching and have achieved brilliance in the field.

The employment factor of the job is amazing. As dental hygienists have the power to work in multiple offices, there are a lot of vacancies. The major job openings, around 96%, are in offices of dentists. There is a growing demand of dental hygienists due to growth of population. People are becoming more conscious about oral care and hence fuel the demand for hygienists. Research has indicated that people are finding the link between general care and oral care which leads them straight to these hygienists. With increasing workload on the dentists, more hygienists are being hired to complete these jobs for them so that they can themselves perform more complex procedures.