Dental Hygienist Role

My goals after high school are to study dental hygiene. In order to become a Dental Hygienist, i'll have to earn an associate's degree. Some of the community colleges i’m thinking about enrolling in are Portland community college and Mt.Hood community college. I will attend one of those community for two years then transfer to University of Oregon. I would like to get an internship at a dental office while attending school. An internship will help me get an experience of what it's like to be a dental hygienist.

All equipment must be cleaned in between patients if it is re-usable and not for single use. There are three levels of risk High, intermediate and low, and three ways to decontaminate Cleaning, Sterilisation, and Disinfection.

My whole life, it has been apparent to those around me that I would be a dentist. I am highly inquisitive, passionate, compassionate, experienced, and I love teeth. I remember getting so excited to have my teeth cleaned as a child because my trips to the dentist were so much fun! At a young age, my mother instilled the importance of oral hygiene care. To this day, I wonder if it was the dentist, dental hygienist, or just the dental office ambiance that had me engaged as a young child. Almost immediately after graduating high school, I went to school to become a registered dental assistant and at that point, I figured out that I possess good manual dexterity, which is a fundamental skill to be efficient in the dental field. At the same time, I unlocked the key to my calling, passion. Six years later, I realized I had the potential to

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.

Nature of the work for a dental hygienist is a wide range of challenges. Dental hygienist plays as the side kick of the dentist to better help their patient’s oral health conditions. The reason I mentioned theirs a wide variety of responsibilities is because different states have certain regulations on practices dental hygienist can actually do. Procedures like patient screening, head and neck inspection, and dental charting. Also, taking X-Rays, and removing plaque from all surfaces of the teeth. Dental hygienist also applies sealants and fluorides to the patient’s teeth and gums to help prevent diseases from forming. The information I conducted from my dental hygienist Linda. She noted that she teaches her patients proper instructions on flossing, and brushing teeth, and also nutrition counseling. Make an impression on their patient’s teeth for study casts which is models of teeth used by the dentist to evaluate patient treatment needs (Linda Smith). Finally, dental hygienist performs documentation and office activities. Academy of General Dentistry gave me the sources

Dental hygienists play an important role in the dental care facilities since they apply their knowledge on every case by removing tartar, stains, and plaque from teeth. They are in charge of applying sealants and fluorides to the teeth in order to protect them, they take and develop x-rays which helps them determine the patient 's vocal health and then present all this information through a report for the dentists to see. Once they have documented the patient 's care, they begin a treatment plan for each patient. They also educate their patients about the oral health and techniques they should apply and how to brush and floss the teeth accurately. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016-17, p.2) Dental hygienists apply critical thinking, compassion towards their patients, interpersonal skills, and dexterity while on their jobs and are supposed to be very detail oriented since they work on small parts of the body and need precise use of the tolls. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016-17, p.4).

Cleaning is the first step in reprocessing instruments and it is called decontamination. The cleaning process is all soiled instruments placed in the prewash ultrasonic washer for ten minutes to remove any bacterial spores for instance, blood, tissue, and bone fragments. Then the instruments are sent through a wall washer. The wall washers are designed for the final cleaning of all instruments. Once the washer is finished, it unloads in the

I observed a second year student in the dental clinic who was incredibly enthusiastic, genuine, cheerful, and helpful, and her personality would fit perfectly into what I consider the typical dental hygienist. She seemed very well prepared and confident in her ability to treat her patient. A dynamic conversation was held throughout the appointment with her easygoing and cooperative patient. Besides the appropriate clock and chair positions, I was not aware of many proper techniques when I observed at the beginning of the semester. I noticed the student kept the patient chair in the same position for treating the maxillary and mandibular teeth. I observed her for the full four hours including the preparation before her patient arrived until

All areas that are being used for healthcare activities should be cleaned with either disinfectant wipes each morning and in between patients/procedures. Equipment should be all new out of the packets and clean. For things more major such as vasectomy’s, minor surgery or family planning clinics, areas should be cleaned everywhere with a disinfectant fluid and also with wipes, gloves should always be worn as well as other PPE such as aprons and hats. All equipment should be new from the packet and only touched by the person who is using

Young children and many adults are terrified of visiting the dentist. The first clinician they would see is the dental hygienist, making it extremely important for the dental hygienist to be kind, understanding, and easy to talk to. These characteristics will allow patients to be at ease and enjoy their dental visits. It is also important for dental hygienists to be good listeners so they could understand their patients` concerns. Physical skills are just as important as interpersonal skills in this career. It is important to have good finger dexterity and near vision. These physical skills will come to good use because the job of dental hygienists require them to use instruments in the small area of a patient's mouth. It is also crucial that a dental hygienist be in good physical shape. Dental hygienists spend most of their time crouched over a patient which could result in back pain if the hygienist is not healthy and

While shadowing my fellow upper cohorts during the clinic I had made many observations. Unfortunately I was only able to shadow one clinic, although I observed a lot. Marie was the first student that I was shadowing, she was the CA for the day. We started by stocking the cabinets with the necessities. Marie and I then took the dental tools out of the machines that cleaned, sterilized, and dried them. I was shown that there are two sides in the lab. What I mean by this is that the left side is a dirty side which you should always wear gloves so that you are always protected from the bacteria and germs that the tools carry. Everything on this side has to be handled carefully and you must always wash and sanitize your hands when you are through. The right side is the clean side where the tools and dental accessories are kept so that they stay clean and sterile. Next I was with Jennifer, although she had no patients that day due to a

Work with staff to provide the patient with the highest standard of care by supporting any needs they might have. Setting up treatment room and ensure that all surfaces are clean to set out instruments and disposables that are needed for each patient. Pulling, reviewing and updating patient records after treatment. Fill in for the front desk if necessary by greeting patients and welcoming them in the office, scheduling next visit, re-scheduling visits as necessary, calling patients when rescheduling is necessary. I think one of the most important things to do in this job that is not mentioned so much is to remember personal details to initiate conversation with patients, as Dental Hygienist will always be seeing, and interacting with this patients. It also shows and demonstrates the patient that you are interested about their life. Remembering personal details can also be beneficial because when some patients come and sit at the dental chair their blood pressure may be high due to stress or anxiety and initiating a conversation with them, will help them relax and bring down their blood pressure. This career does not obligate you to travel, but most Dental Hygienist jobs only offer a part time, meaning they might have to travel around there area to put in more work hours, in various facilities such as dental offices, schools, nursing homes, etc. But there are facilities that hire Dental Hygienist full time, so it does not obligate them to travel. This job allows you to work inside and with staff but it is considered to be more of an independent job, because Dental Hygienist are expected to know more than an assistant because they perform more treating patients and diagnose heath issues. (Nguyen, 2018). It can be stressful but it seems to be rewarding. After interviewing Cecile Nguyen I learned a lot more about this career and understood that it is not easy but it is very rewarding as

Dental hygiene has had a significant impact on my life since I was a child. While most children would absolutely dread going to have their teeth cleaned, I was the kid always eager and ready to get to the dentist office. Throughout my journey of traveling through life, I have had several experiences that just called to me saying dental hygiene is definitely the career for me. Shadowing my own dental hygienists and having the privilege to be hands on and work with them was amazing. I enjoyed every minute from simply going over X-Rays to getting to know the patients personally.

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.

Today there are many precautions that are taken to insure that the equipment used in hospitals and other heath care facilities are washed properly before being sterilized. Shortly after the surgical procedure, the soiled and contaminated equipment is sorted and is taken to the decontamination room. The decontamination team then should be properly downed in attire used to handle blood and other contaminants. The instruments and other equipment are rinsed off and soaked in cool sterile water with an enzymatic detergent. Using saline is not advised as this permanently damages the instruments. Each instrument should be individually scrubbed to help eliminate debris. This starts off the washing process. Many facilities invest in washers like the water-decontaminator to minimize manual cleaning. Another means of washing instruments is called the ultrasonic washer. This washer used sound waves by, “converting high-frequency sound waves into mechanical vibrations” (University of Rochester Medical Center, 2016). This allows small microbes to free itself from the surface of the