Dental Hygienist In The United States: A Case Study

For my senior project I have explored the career of a Dental Hygienist, who is a licensed dental professional who is registered with a dental care association within their country of practice. Their duty is to clean teeth, examine patients for signs and symptoms of oral diseases such as gingivitis, and provide other preventive dental care. They also educate patients on ways to improve and maintain good oral cavity health. Dental hygienist occupation has many important aspects to their job, which makes it a very rewarding occupation. According to my research dental hygienists is one of the top career choices in America, being so, over the years the career has evolved into a high demanding occupation.

All states require dental hygiene license obtained by State Dental Board. As it stated earlier, requirements varies from state to state. During two years of program, students are required to attend lectures, labs and clinics. The majority college program requires the completion of courses such as radiology, Dental head and neck anatomy, pain control, pharmacology, public health, medical emergency, oral pathology and periodontology. By end of two years, students are required to take written state boards and regional clinical boards. Usually dental hygienist needs Associate’s degree in “dental hygiene” to begin working. According to American Dental Hygiene Association, hygienists are getting their bachelor’s and master’s to further their career

My name is Maribel and I'm 19 years old. I was born and raised in North Carolina. I do not have kids yet, but plan on having at least one later on in the future. I love to run, I use to be in cross country in which we would run 3 miles everyday. Sadly, I haven't ran since I graduated which was in 2014. But, plan on getting back on track because this freshman 15 I ended with is not good. I'm going to school to become a dental

Majority of the writing in my major is going to include writing in a chart. Each chart will include information about the patient, and what went on during the appointment. A patient’s reason for the visit, health records, patient complaints, examinations, treatments, and things that the hygienist noticed during the visit are all examples of information that could be included in a chart. I have noticed that my dental hygienist will write about my visit on a computer in the room. It is important that the hygienist writes clearly, correct, and concise. Dentists, office staff, and insurance companies are examples of people who could potentially read these charts. So, it is important to make sure that each chart can be easy to read and understand. It is not good to have any sort of confusion in the charts, that way if a person reads them they do not make a mistake.

When I was a freshman in high school, my parents sat me down in the living room and told me that if I wanted to go to college, I’d have to pay for it myself. Our financial difficulties were large enough to merit the statement. My step-dad was hardly able to work anymore because of health problems from a career in manufacturing. My mom also suffered in the over-saturated market for dental hygienists in Mesa—she was recently fired from a corporate office for refusing to sell unnecessary treatments to patients, and could only find a job in an office run by an abusive dentist who screamed at his employees and who even threw a computer at an assistant at one point. My mom needed to leave the office, but nobody knew if she would find work anywhere

Dental hygienist focuses on oral health. They clean the patient’s teeth, tell them how they can improve their oral health, and tell the patient about any oral disease that they have or can possibly happen from poor oral hygiene. To become a Dental Hygienist you have to graduate from an accredited dental hygiene program and have a license in the state they have practiced. It takes 2-6 years to become a Dental Hygienist, they make an average salary of $55.307 annually. The dental hygienist work in many places such as: private dental practice, community health centers, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, practice clinics, schools and state/federal government services.

At this time in my life, the career chose that I find more interesting is a Dental Hygienist. As a Dental Hygienist, I will have to work hard to succeed in my career. If I don’t go to college I won’t get a good education and I will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of different types of jobs.

With furthering one’s education, they can advance from dental assistant to dental hygienist. The pay is much higher with a median salary of $72,330. They are much more involved with their patients. They clean their teeth and show patients how to properly clean and floss. The stats show that the occupation will grow 19% before 2024. If one is willing, this would be a great advancement.

In this POW we have to describe what we would do once we complete high school and move out, we have to explain what part time job we get, how much we pay for bills, groceries, transportation, and where we live at. When we do this we can have roommates to help pay for items, or we can be alone. In order for this to work we can’t go over our budget with or else it doesn’t work.

In order to obtain a dental hygiene licensure from the state of Idaho, one must complete the Western Regional Board of Examination or Washington State local anesthesia examination for local anesthesia, the jurisprudence examination, the National Board Dental Hygiene examination, and two clinical examinations (one clinical for local anesthesia) (State of Idaho Board of Dentistry, 2012). Prior to these examinations, the hygienist needs to complete the following educational criteria and/ or the equivalents from a Commission on Dental Accreditation approved school (Partido, 2013): two academic college years of an accredited dental hygiene program that are full-time psychology, sociology, communications (written and oral), anatomy and physiology

My plans after completing high school is attending Southern University Shreveport Louisiana (SUSLA) or Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) to become a dental hygienist. The entry level for this occupation is an associate’s degree and it takes up to three years to complete. A dental hygienist clean teeth, examine patients for signs of oral diseases such as gingivitis, and provide dental care. I have already started working on the path to reach my future occupation by taking up a dental assisting class at the Caddo Career & Technology Center (CC&TC).

Isn't it everyone’s dream to have a job where we love it so much it’s our hobby and not really our job? Well, at least it has been for me, wanting to become a dental hygienist. I don't really want to do it for the money (although it is pretty decent pay), but the work environment and what you are providing for others. The satisfaction you get when you can make someone smile or make them feel confident about their smile. And “boy oh boy”, is there a story behind on how I found a hobby/part-time. I have. I'm pretty sure that we’ll have heard the saying "We are going to end up doing what we hate the most", and well this is what happen in my situation.

The American Dental Association (ADA has 155,000 part dental specialists) perceives nine (9) dental claims to fame. An authorize Dental Specialist has taken propelled preparing subsequent to moving on from dental school. The claim to fame preparing program must be perceived and authorize by the ADA Council on Dental Education at a certify foundation. Most states require a Dental Specialist to restrict their practice to their forte. A certify Dental Specialist can choose to practice General Dentistry with specific preparing. This is not a proclaimed authority that is constrained just to their strength. A general dental specialist can give any dental treatment that they are able and positive about doing. The majority of the claim to fame regions

The economy plays an important factor of what people want to spend their money on. Dental/ oral health care is important to most people in today’s today world. Since the dental/ oral health industry is very big there are many trends that are arising such as the cost of dental care increase or decreasing, market of the industry and lastly global dental industry.

*This post on orthodontic care is sponsored by Charleston Orthodontic Specialists. All opinions expressed are our own.