Dental Hygienist – A New Great Career Option
Here at HomeRoomEdu.com, we are keen to provide you the information of various options for study programs and careers. Today we have brought to you the information of career in dental hygiene. The inspiration behind the topic is bakersfieldcpr.net, a site having a comprehensive list of dental hygiene schools in California and a wealth of information on career options in the dental and other types of medical industries. We then decided to give you information like what is a dental hygienist, what s/he has to do, how you can become a dental hygienist, and many such points. Hopefully it will be useful to you to get a great career option. So, read on!
What is a Dental Hygienist?
A dental hygienist is a professional who offers preventive oral health to her/his patients. S/he has to complete graduation from a recognized dental hygiene school of higher education, licensed to provide clinical, educational, administrative, therapeutic and research services. So, if you are interested in something related to dentistry, you can choose this career.
Duties of a Dental Hygienist
A dental hygienist works together with a dentist in the dentist’s office or even independently to meet the patients’ needs of oral health. But remember the job is quite challenging and the challenges are pretty varied. So, if you would like to enter a career which is tough, this is something you may love. Some of the duties of a dental hygienist are:
- Screening procedures for assessing oral health of patients, reviewing their health history, screening for cancer, dental charting, inspecting head and neck, and measuring pulse and blood pressure
- Taking dental X-rays (radiographs) and developing them
- Applying materials like fluorides and sealants to patients’ teeth to prevent further damage
- Removing plaque and calculus from all dental surfaces
- Advising patients about taking appropriate care of oral health, e.g. flossing, brushing, nutritional advice
- Taking patients’ teeth impressions for study purpose (to understand the exact problem and treatment needs of patients)
- Documentation and office administration
How to Become a Dental Hygienist?
Before choosing an appropriate dental hygienist school or program, you should remember two points – deciding what you want to become (there are various career options for a dental hygienist that are discussed below) and choosing the right school for you. Do a research to find a school which can offer you the best education in the field you want to choose.
After you complete your course, you can start practicing as a dental hygienist either independently or with a dentist. You should be licensed for starting your own practice. For example, authorities will verify RDH license if someone wants to practice as a dental hygienist in California on her/his own.
Scope
Dental hygienists are in a great demand in dentists’ offices, general as well as specialists, like pediatric dentists or periodontists. You can get a job also in hospitals, public health clinics and nursing homes.
It’s not always necessary that you should practice in a dentist’s office. You can start your own practice too. There are many examples of dental hygienists who are practicing independently and are successful.
If you love teaching in addition to dentistry, you can also apply for a post of a lecturer in a dental hygiene school and education programs. You have still other career options like research, business administration and office management. What’s more, there is a chance to enter the corporate world because companies producing dental products are always in need of dental hygienists to market their products.
All in all, you have multiple career options after taking a degree in dental hygiene. You can pick up the most remunerative among them.
Benefits of Being a Dental Hygienist
The career of a dental hygienist is challenging and at the same time rewarding too. Here are some prominent benefits of being a dental hygienist.
- Working with People: If you love to work with people, the job of a dental hygienist gives you a satisfaction of being always connected to people. Since you help them in many ways and take care of their oral health, you get a personal satisfaction too. The relationship and trust you develop in people’s mind is also a great reward.
- Diversity: If you are keen in learning how to tackle various situations, the job of a dental hygienist provides you just what you want. This is because you come across many problems every day. This also develops your clinical and interpersonal skills day by day. You also get opportunities to attend special populations like disabled, children and elderly. You may also get a chance to provide guidance about oral health in primary and secondary schools and other establishments.
- Flexibility: If you are a person who wants a free time to hang out with friends, party and have fun, along with performing your job duties promptly and correctly, you can get the necessary flexibility for all these activities in the job of a dental hygienist by choosing full- or part-time options and also evening and weekend hours so as to suit to your career and lifestyle requirements comfortably.
- Job Security: Because of the success the preventive industry is getting in reducing episodes of dental problems, dental hygienists are in a great demand. Due to their services, various populations will retain their teeth for longer and will understand the importance of dental hygiene for their future generations. Therefore, dentists have to essentially appoint dental hygienists than ever before. And hence this industry has a job security.
An Important Point to Remember
We can understand that you are excited to real all the information about becoming a dental hygienist and the lucrative career options. Here is something important which also you have to remember. To get the full endorsement of your qualification and abilities as a dental hygienist you have to undergo the testing by the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE). This is an independent body of the American Dental Association that assists state bards to evaluate the qualification of dental hygienists for the purpose of licensure. They assess your ability to understand crucial information from fundamental dental hygiene and biomedical sciences and the capability to apply it in the real world for solving problems. So, you should remember to review the NBDHE Candidate Guide, Rules of Conduct, Eligibility requirements, procedures of dental hygiene testing centers and examination regulations.
So, how to you find the career option of a dental hygienist? Don’t you think it’s lucrative? If you do, get thorough information of this course, find a good school and start your journey towards a great career!
