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Although this site is mostly revolving around the duties and other functions that have to do with dental assisting, I wanted to expand it a little more an talk about how to become a dental hygienist. As I have said before one good way that you can become a dental hygienist is to become a dental assistant first, this way you will at least get your foot in the door. Not only that, you will have much more experience out in the field, or working in an dentistry office to put it in other terms. The difference between a dental hygienist and a dental assistant is mostly more responsibility, and much more schooling that must be taken, along with making abotu 20,000 more a year, roughly. Remember the assistant is usually the one that is helping out the hygienist, and then in some cases they work under the dentist or even with the dentist. How Long Does It Take To Become a Dental Hygienist? It will vary from state to state, but in all reality it can be done in as little as two years, though it may not be that easy to find a job right away. Most offices will require you to have at least an associates degree to be able to work as a dental hygienist, along with a state license to be able to work as a dental hygienist in an office. Other offices may require more schooling though such as a bachelors degree or even a master’s degree. The state license if the big thing though. Say if you have a license in the state of Florida and wanted to work in California, you would have to take the state license test again for the state of California, which will surely be different than the one that you had to take in Florida. So that is one thing that you have to keep in mind, and it is usually the same thing for dental assistants and dentists too. Duties of a Dental Hygienist These are just some of the duties that you may be expected to perform on a daily basis, helping the dentist in procedures, cleaning the teeth, checking the teeth and gums for proper health and make sure that they are free from disease, putting fluoride on teeth after cleaning, taking and processing x-rays, helping out with fillings and other stuff depending on what the particular state laws allow a certified dental hygienist to be able to perform. If you want a rewarding career in an esteemed dental office such as TMJ Dentistry then this may be the one for you. Like I have said before though it would be wise to become a dental assistant first. This will give you a great feel for the field and will open your eyes a little bit to see if this really is something that you would want to do for the rest of your life. As far as a Dental Hygienist gets paid, the average salary is in the ball park of about 60k a year, or around 30 dollars an hour. But a big thing about that is where you are employed at, as every state has different salary ranges for dental hygienists. Dental Assistant Training. “Dental Assistant Training.” March 2011.
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