Dental hygienists are usually the professionals in the dental offices who work on cleaning your teeth. They are not to be confused with dental assistants, who usually do the "less-skilled" jobs in the dental office. A dental hygienist is a licensed professional. In order to become a dental hygenist, a motivated person must complete dental courses available at accredited schools of dental hygiene.
The Dental Hygienist's Role. A dental hygienist removes soft and hard deposits from teeth, teaches patients how to practice good oral hygiene, provides other preventive dental care, and examines patients' teeth and gums, looking for disease or abnormality. They also perform root planing as a periodontal therapy, take and develop dental x rays, apply cavity-preventive agents such as fluorides and pit and fissure sealants, and in some states, dental hygienists may administer anesthetics, place and carve filling materials, remove sutures, and smooth and polish metal restorations. A dental hygienist will make from $20-$30 per hour, working a typical work-week of about 35 hours. A hygienist must attend dental hygiene schools in order to learn all these skills.
For additional information, click on the links below.
Web Design - Small business custom website from EverestWebDesign.com.
Rich Christiansen: - Management metaphors at RichChristiansen.com.