Dental hygenist info please?

ok i am looking for some careers to go into that pay pretty well. i want to know if there are any dental hygenist out there that can answer these questions:


i live in orange county, ca. where did you go to dental school? did you get an associates at a community college or do you need coursework first before you get accepted to some time of special training school?


2) how long did it take you to graduate completley?


3) how many years of school does it take?


4) was it hard to get your first job how long did it take you?


5) what kind of stuff do you do in this job- what are you not allowd to do?


6) is the schoolong really hard- do you have any tips?


7) how much did you get paid starting out- then after a couple years?


do you get good benefits?


i really would love to work in pediatric denistry if anyone knows anything cool things about that please let me know. i know there is a lot of stuff here but i cant seem to get what i need. thanks in advance!!!!!

Dental hygenist info please?
Ok, help has arrived!!!


I have been a dental hygienist for almost 1 year, and it does pay really well.


California will probably pay better than this, but I got 28 dollars an hour starting out.


My 1st year of college (university), I took the general classes that my college advisor told me to take. These include classes like basic algebra, a few biology classes, speech class, computer class, english, etc.


I took all the classes that were not a part of the actual dental hygiene curriculum. It's a really good idea to do this, because my dental hygiene program was REALLY hard in itself..


I would suggest that you study very hard and don't slack off. Hygiene is sometimes a difficult and always-changing profession, but it is very rewarding.


Pediatric hygiene is fun: you place a lot of sealants, give Fluoride treatments, and have fun with the kids!


The do's and dont's: you cannot diagnose ANYTHING. You can only "describe" symptoms to the patient. It is up to the dentist to tell a patient he has a cavity or infected tooth, etc.


You cannot place fillings or do root canals, crown and bridge, or pull teeth.


Altogether, I spent 3 years in college: 1 year general classes, 2 years hygiene classes.


Basically hygiene involves cleaning teeth, polishing teeth, flossing, giving fluoride, taking x-rays, patient education, examing patients for several conditions, relaying that info to the dentist, and you can go to elementary schools, and teach kids about oral hygiene.


Most universities have 2-year hygiene programs, so check with them for their specifics.


If you have any more questions, FEEL FREE to email me at dental_scaler@yahoo.com.


Hope this helps!
Reply:First of all if you are thinking of getting into hygiene only because it pays well than you may want to reconsider. Hygiene is not for everybody. I have known many docs in CA that have paid their hygienists close to a $100,000. Hygienists in the west, including CA, NV, and Arizona can easily make fifty dollars an hour, or commission which puts them close to the 100 grand per year mark. However with the cost of living so high in CA what hygienists get paid there pretty much meshes with what we are paid here on the east coast. Excluding the NJ, New York, and CT areas. The cost of living in my area (southeast) is lower, so I get paid very well for where I live. I have a BS in hygiene, it took me a little over four years. Yes the schooling is very hard and anyone that thinks that hygiene is only about cleaning teeth is wrong. I went in thinking that it would be tough, but nothing prepared me for how hard it really is. I had to learn things that I never thought had anything to do with oral health (now I know better) things like: a person's medications can interact with some things that we use in dentistry, many meds cause dry mouth, which leads to another set of problems. The classes I had not necessarily in order were: Anat/Phy. 1%26amp;2, head/neck anat., micro-bio, bio-chemistry, english 1%26amp;2, psychology, public speaking, history, college algebra, medical term, periodontics, pharmacology, embryology/tooth morphology, pathology, oral anesth/injections, nutrition, public health dentistry, dental assisting, radiology, National Board Review, Clinical hygiene 123%26amp;4, which included hundreds of hours of clinic time with actual patients. After hygiene school I then had to take the National Dental Hygiene Board test, and also our regional clinical hands on test to become licensed in my state. You can have all of the schooling in the world but if you don't pass these last two tests than you don't practice hygiene period. You have to be licensed by your state. Your GPA should be a 3.8 or better. Hygiene school has become very competitive. The last time I checked, which was last month, the waiting list where I went to school was five years. I was lucky enough to get in on my first try, I graduated in 2002. I make about forty-two dollars an hour, including benefits. My benefits are vacation, sick days, scrubs twice a year, free dental care, continuing education classes, and a monthly bonus if we make over a certain amount of collections per month. I have made about five hundred extra per month bonus. I get paid very well, however I work hard for it. I do all of my own work, some hygienists have assistants that help them, however I prefer to do everything myself. Thats just me, I like the one on one attention that I can give my patients. I had my first hygiene job before I ever graduated. I was hired on the spot in February of 2002. I graduated in may of 2002, and went to work in June of 2002 as soon as my license came in the mail. You usually will take your National Board in March, your practical exam in April, which gives you just enough time to graduate, and wait about six weeks for your results which come in the snail mail. This for me was the hardest part, the waiting game. However if you do well in school than you will do well on your boards. I love hygiene and would hate anything else, including being a dentist. I love people, and I love the fact that I can talk and work. I have a certain amount of autnomy, even though I work under a dentist, I have my own room and my own book of patients. I get to work without the dentist being on top of me. I do my thing and my doc may come in briefly to check something, or if they have had an exam in the last year than he does not come in to check at all. I decide on how much time that I need to see a patient, and fill my schedule accordingly. I work about thirty two hours per week and get paid for full-time. I never work weekends, and have fridays off. Dentistry is not for the faint of heart, it can be stinky, bloody, gross etc. You have to be very careful because you can have possible exposure to infectious diseases, like Aids, Hepatitis, TB etc. We have to be careful of things like needle sticks and sharp instruments. You have to know how to take care of people, know how to read them.....If words like pus, blood, spit, mucous, black hairy tongue, running sores, etc bother you, than dentistry is not for you. If you can't stand to say the word than you can bet that you won't be able to handle seeing it. Your best bet is to do a lot of research and reading about hygiene. It is a very rewarding career, however it can be stressful and hard on the hands and body. Research, Research, Research.....Best.





The above RDH is correct we can't by law diagnose, however we can state our opinion, which is different. My doc many times after he has "officially" diagnosed someone with say periodontal disease will ask me what course of treatment that I think is the best. While I am not diagnosing, I can still give my opinion on what I think is best for the patient with a particular problem. I have to carry my own malpractice insurance as well. I can be held liable, because I am licensed just like the dentist. Basically we as hygienists are a second pair of eyes for the dentist. We watch out for things like gum issues, decay, perio disease, gingivitis, oral cancer and lesions, etc. For the most part we spend more time with the patients than the doc so we have to have sharp eyes to watch for things out of the norm and bring it to the dentists attention. In some states like CO hygienists can have their own practices and work indepen. of the dentist.

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