What is a dental hygienist? Dental hygienists are the work horses of the dentist industry. You see these tireless professionals whenever you visit a dentist’s office for a routine checkup or regular cleaning. In fact, you likely spend far more time interacting with this person than you do the actual dentist. This is a very hands on field and practitioners of dental hygiene are a very well represented body of professionals. However, what exactly does a dental hygienist do beyond these very vague concepts laid out?
A dental hygienist, as can be inferred from their title, is concerned with keeping your teeth clean. Dental hygienists are very practical in their work. Unlike dentists who are more overseas and experts on dentistry as a broad field, with differing opinions and beliefs on how to treat conditions, a dental hygienist must be more down to earth and grounded. Dental hygienists are concerned with what works. For them it is all about using what tool to clean what area.
Furthermore, dental hygienist duties include working with patients in a greater capacity than a dentist. Usually a dental hygienists or dental assistant will first meet with a patient when they enter a dental office. After a brief overview of the patient’s medical history, the typically questions will be addressed such as does anything hurt or are there any areas of sensitivity. This gives a dental hygienists a better idea of what trouble areas to look for once they begin their job in earnest.
At this point, a dentist will usually see a patient and then begin a more in depth examination of the patient’s mouth. The dental hygienist will take note of the dentist’s instructions and then proceed with the advised procedures. Once the dentist has finished his performance, the dental hygienist will begin to get their hands dirty, so to speak that is.
What does a dental hygienist do?
Everyone has, hopefully, been to the dentist at some point in their life. A routine cleaning is the usual purview of a dental hygienist. This involves scraping away plaque and buildup that accumulates on the teeth. While this experience can be pretty unpleasant for most people, it is a required cleaning procedure to ensure future problems won’t arise concerning oral health. Other cleaning procedures will then probably be observed such as flossing for the patient and also applying whiteners and fluoride to strengthen the integrity of teeth.
Becoming a dental hygienist is an easy proposition because there are a bevy of dental schools open with programs designed to turn aspiring hopefuls into dental hygienists. Typically a dental hygienist hopeful must have a degree of some sort before they enter a program. Usually this degree is an associate but bachelor’s degrees are more than welcome for acceptance. Coursework for a dental hygienist is similar to dentists but focuses more on hands on work and also is far quicker with less of an emphasis on surgery and anesthesia.