I am thinking about going to school for Dental Hygiene. I know there's good money involved and schooling is sorta difficult and competitive (at least here it is). But, I'm in my 30's and feel that I could handle it and do well. What are the pros and cons of your job?? And is it true that most Dentists are a pain in the butt to work for?
Question for Dental Hygenist?
Dental hygiene is a great second career. I went to hygiene school when I was twenty eight. I have found that having more life experience has helped me a lot when it comes to hygiene. I love my job and would not trade it for anything.
Pros: Great working hours
Great money
Being able to help people understand and take care of their teeth. esp making them understand that oral health care is an indication of their whole body health.
Good benefits, sick leave, paid holidays, some medical, free dentistry minus the lab fee.
The ability to make the difference in someone's life, esp older patients who look forward to their cleanings because they don't have anyone else to visit with.
One on one care and autonomy, you don't have the dentist looking over your shoulder the whole time except for exams.
Great experience, you gain so much knowledge by going to hygiene school and learning and doing well there is a great self esteem motivator.
Great working hours, you can still if you choose work part time and make great money.
You get to deal with a wide variety of personality types and will grow with your public relations skillls.
Cons: Having difficult patients that no matter how much you explain to them that their oral health is important, they still don't follow your advice, you have to learn to not take this personally.
Late patients, they show up twenty minutes late to an appointment that you already had forty five minutes set aside for them.
PITA patients (pain in the ***) there are some that you can't make happy no matter what you do.
The liability issue, you have to make sure that you look at their medical history to be sure that they don't have any condition that could be hazardous to their health by the care you are giving them.
Kid patients that wig out every time you try to get near them, and said kids parents blaming you for everything.
No medical benefits (usually) though you do get free dentistry most of the time.
Not being able to take a day off without throwing the whole hygiene book into upheaval. Esp. if you are like I am and there is only one hygienist. But hey **** happens, kids get sick, you get sick etc.
Nasty mouths! People that have not been to the dentist in forever and have the most horrible breath, but you get around that by double masking and putting some vicks around your nose.
Hygiene school: it is harder than you could ever imagine, there is so much more to know than just cleaning teeth, you have to have biochemistry, microbiology, periodontology, oral pathology, anatomy one and two where you have to cut open a nasty cat and ID all of their muscles and internal organs. Clinical hygiene, head and neck anatomy, tooth morphology.... the idea is that you have to understand the disease process and the bacterial that causes it. You have to take a whole class on pharmacology and understand what medicines interact with eac other and the mechanics of how they work and interact in the body. Medical emergencies, you have to learn to take pulse, blood pressure etc.
I got into hygiene because I love dentistry, but I was not prepared for how hard it really is. You have to do a tremendous amount of studying which takes it's toll on your family and social life. We were all so stressed out in hygiene school that sometimes we wondered if it was all worth it, which by the way it is. If you don't mind looking in someone's mouth and being able to help them in an effective but firm manner than this is for you. Some people find hygiene mundane, but I disagree. Every patient is different and you will never find two identical mouths. Include their personality and you ar ein for a treat. Did I forget to mention radiology (x-rays) this is a demanding class and very hard so if you decide to go into hygiene start studying radiology now. You have to know the anatomical landmarks of the mouth and teeth and know what type of x-ray waves are what. You have to know many concepts that are mandated by law such a ALARA (as low as reasonably achveiable) etc. You have to know a lot of stuff. Hygiene school is very hard to get into so if you don't have at least a 3.5 than many times they won't even look at you. However it is a rewarding career with many perks. I have worked for many dentist over the years by temping and working full time and I can honestly say that none of them have been a pain to work for. Yes some have their issues, but that can be said about any job that you encounter. Hygiene is not only about cleaning a patients teeth or deep cleaning. If you are slow you have to sharpen your instruments, call and confirm patients, clean, etc. At my office there is no set job description, if I am not busy with I patient I always find something to do to stay busy, that is just the type of person that I am. The worst thing that you can do is go into a job with the attitude that you are above anyone else, we are people just the same as everyone else at the dental office and if our toilet is dirty than I of course clean it. Hygiene is a great career do a lot of research before you make your decision. If you are truly committed you will find it to be a very fulfilling career. If you are only going into it for the money (which I am not saying that you are) you will be very dissapointed. You have to really be a people person, with great customer service abilities. You have to be able to put on a happy face for your patients even when you have had a bad day. They need all of our attention and compassion. Good luck.
Reply:I think "perioligament" did a great job of explaining a lot of the pros and cons of dental hygiene. One major thing that she forgot to mention is how hard the profession can be on your body. Most hygienist suffer from some kind of back or neck problems after many years of practice. Also there is a high rate of Carpal tunnel syndrome for hygienists. I myself am recovering from shoulder surgery from a repetitive use injury caused by my job.
I absolutely love my job, and I would encourage others to do it also, but the pain I have from the job seems to increase the longer I practice. (I've been a full time hygienist for 8 1/2 years and I am 30 years old)
Reply:I changed careers because it was impossible to support myself on part time hours. I decided to work contract work for many dentists in order to expand my options. I was looking for a full time job. I had plenty of job offers, but they all wanted to job share. I cannot make a living working from 2-5, 2-6, or 4-8. That's only 15-20hrs per week. It's not even guaranteed hours. If your first or last patient doesn't show up, you don't get paid. You either start your day later, or go home early and you don't get paid. As a contract worker, sometimes I was busy working, sometimes I wasn't. I was busy when the other hygienists were on maternity leave because I would take their place. It was frustrating driving around living off the scraps from others. One day, I worked for 3 different dentists!!!! You have to manage your time well in order to be on schedule for the patient who would be waiting for me in another office across town!! Sometimes I worked for 2 different dentists in 2 different cities, in one day!!! Sometimes there was arguments. It was frustrating when I would accept a job on the condition that I would be out at a certain time to go to my next job. They would try to schedule me later. That is not acceptable. I work on a first come, first serve basis and it is rude to show up to work late and will guarantee that I will never be called back. I got into a few nasty arguments with the dental receptionists who expected me to stay later. I never did, I always walked out so I wouldn't be late for my next job.
It is true that dentists have a fit if you don't come into work if you are sick. I was fired because I went to my relative's funeral. She was found dead in the woods due to foul play. I could have fought it and reported him, but it was only a temp job and he is obviously a jerk that I don't want to work for anyway. Meanwhile, if he feels like golfing or hunting that day, he expects you to take a day off work with no pay. They don't even give you notice most the time because they don't respect you. One time I showed up at one of the dental offices to work and she said, "Oh, he is not here, he decided to go to Florida this week instead of next week." I was so angry. They went out of their way to call me and ask me to fill in, but when the dentist changed his travel plans they couldn't be bothered to let me know. I actually turned down other jobs because I thought I was going to be working those days.
Sometimes dentists that lived an hour to an 1.5 hours away from me asked if I would work 2-5 or 2-6. That's crazy, especially considering the cost of fuel these days, not to mention the wear and tear on my vehicle. I would not work out of town unless it was for at least 8 hours to make it worth my while.
Sorry, but I don't think the money is good at all, unless you have a full time job with guaranteed hours, and that is extremely rare in that business.
I suggest you look for a job that has benefits and guaranteed hours. What about nursing or another more stable job in the health care field. All the dental hygienists I know wish they could change careers. I changed careers and I am glad to be out of it. I can finally afford my own house!! In fact, I made more money in my new job when I was working as a co-op student in college than I did as a dental hygienist, plus, I have FULL benefits and a pension. I highly recommend you find a job that offers you more than dental hygiene will.
Although things did not work out in the workforce, I value the education I received in dental hygiene school. I don't regret taking the program, I learned alot. Oral Pathology was my favourite subject and I love learning about health and diseases. I wish I didn't waste so much time looking for a full time job, which didn't exist in my area.
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