About Dental Hygienist Training

Answer 1

The dental hygienist is an important figure in any dental office. The job of a dental hygienist encompasses a wide variety of different tasks, and may include instructing patients about how to care for their teeth and mouth, performing teeth cleanings on patients, and providing other dental care of a preventive nature. A dental hygienist may also occasionally perform more complicated duties such as taking x rays of the mouth and root work on the teeth.

Depending upon the state in which the dental hygienist practices, a hygienist may even perform many of the same duties that a dentist typically performs. Such duties can include administering anesthesia to patients, filling cavities, and removal of stitches following oral surgery. Dental hygienists may perform these duties on their own or work as a team with a dentist.

To be a practicing dental hygienist, a student must attend classes at an accredited school of dental hygiene. After graduation from a dental hygiene school, each student must pass a two part exam. The written portion of the exam will consist of textbook material, while the practical portion of the examination will consist of caring for patients according to proper procedures. The examination, typically given by the American Dental Association Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, will be given at a state testing facility. After passing an examination, a student can receive dental hygienist certification. In certain states, dental hygienists must also undergo a test regarding the legalities in the dental field.

Dental hygienist training may take from two to three years. In most cases, dental hygienist programs will accept students who are high school graduates and who have completed entrance tests for the dental hygienist program. Many dental hygienist programs prefer that students have at least one year of college, especially studying subjects such as math, chemistry, and biological sciences. Any person who is interested in becoming a dental hygienist will benefit from school coursework focusing on math and the sciences since these areas will be examined in much more detail during their training.

Because dentistry is a growing field, dental hygienists are very much in demand. Even recent graduates of dental hygienist schools will generally be able to secure jobs with relative ease. A dental hygienist will often have a flexible schedule, perhaps even working for more than one employer, and this is considered by many to be a benefit of the job.