Elementary School Teacher vs. Dental Hygienist
How is a person supposed to decide on a career? How would one know if they would be satisfied with that career for the rest of their life? Carefully analyzing different aspects of a career is a great start. Becoming an elementary school teacher or a dental hygienist are two great options for the work industry. When analyzing these careers one should consider the work requirements, salary, stress levels and the contribution to society.
Work requirements are an important factor in a career selection. The two careers in question could not be more different when it comes to work requirements. The duties for an elementary school teacher consist keeping students safe, teaching them their curriculums,
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teaching students life lessons and so much more. Teachers are expected to get their students to a certain level and then send them to another grade. Although some may think that this sounds simple, when one takes into consideration all the duties that a teacher has to take on by themselves, it is very difficult. Dental hygienist also take on many roles. Rachel Naud states that, “Present-day dental hygienists are responsible for providing preventative oral health care advice to consumers, evaluating individual oral care programs, and planning and implementing treatment” (1). These two roles are could not be more different but they are both complicated in their own ways. The salary of a career could arguable be the most important aspect of the job.
Although many would not want to admit it, money can be the deciding factor in some things. Public school teacher salaries can vary depending on the state that they teach in. According to Yakima Herald the average pay in 25 out of the 50 states for an elementary school teachers is less than $40,000. She also states that 13 states paid their teachers $45,000 or more (1). The amount of money that a teacher receives is very low. In North Carolina teachers are under payed as well. In most states teachers have a chance to increase their pay by going back to school and getting a Masters degree. In 2013 the governor of North Carolina decided to get rid of tenure for teachers and also to get rid of the pay increase for teacher with their masters degree (Banchero 1). To have a bachelors degree or even a masters degree and to be making under $50,000 is something that one should take into consideration when deciding on a career. Dental hygienist receive more money then an elementary school teacher. Nora Powell associate dean for the dental hygienist program at Broward College states, “You don’t have to have a bachelor's degree and you can make $50,000 to $60,000 annually, working four days a week..” (Pounds 1). Going to school for a less amount of time and making more money in the long run should be a deal
breaker. Stress can be a breaking point for many individuals in any career that they choose to go into. Stress is also unavoidable for many school teachers in the United States. Although many would believe that a teachers job only consists of having fun and teaching children how to read, being an educator is more complicated than many can understand. “I love teaching, but I am no longer free to teach the way I know works” (Richards 1). This is the way that many educators are feeling. New state and federal regulations are making it impossible to teach students unless it comes directly out of a book. Teachers are also faced with mounds of never ending paper work and regulations they must follow. According to Jan Richards the student performance expectations have increased but the support and resources to support that goal have been reduced (2). As for a dental hygienist, this job can be practically stress free. Dental hygienist often get to pick the hours that they work and how many days a week. This can vary from one to even four days a week (Pounds 1). Dental hygienist make much more than an elementary school teacher and they also work less days a week then a teacher as well. For many people, the contribution to society is very important when it comes to a career selection. I feel like making a difference in society is a matter of opinion but is a very important design to make. Making a difference in the world is very important to me and is a very important factor in my career choice. For an elementary school teacher, they could arguably be the biggest influences on the upcoming generations. As for dental hygienist, some could say they also make a difference in the world. If it wasn't for the dental industry we would have bad oral health which would contribute to an overall bad health. As for making a difference in the world, a teacher is a hard career to beat. After careful consideration, I recommend becoming a dental hygienist when up against an elementary school teacher. Dental hygienists’ work requirements, salary and the stress levels beat an elementary school teachers any day. As for an elementary school teacher, I believe that a person has to truly have a passion for helping children. I do not believe that anyone would go into the teacher field for the money or any other factors. Teachers overlook all the downfall in the career to help children everyday, and I believe thats what makes teaching a special career.
Dental hygiene is amongst many professions that come with an increased risk of injury. In fact, evidence suggests that the incidence of dental professionals acquiring musculoskeletal disorders is reaching 96%. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), these complications are a result of “repetitive motion or awkward posture for more than 2 hours at a time, unassisted frequent manual handling (eg, scaling an area using the same strokes), and unassisted forced manual handling (eg, heavy calculus removal using hand-activated instruments)”. These complications not only affect the quality of life for the
o Please describe a time when you performed a thorough head, neck and oral exam and the findings had a significant impact on how you proceeded with the dental hygiene process of care. Annette was performing her usual head, neck, and oral exam on a patient and found an enlarged thyroid. She recommended to the patient that she go see her primary care physician to get a better diagnosis. The patient went to her primary care physician and was told there was probably nothing. Later, the patient returned to the dental office and saw Annette and told her what the physician said.
Some people tend to believe that a dentist is all about pulling teeth, filling gaps, and drilling holes in a mouth. That may be true, but this is more about the person that treats a patient prior to a dentist drilling into a mouth. Dental Hygienists provide more than just the basic examination. They also give advice on how to properly brush and floss, the types of foods to avoid, and give examples of what teeth could look like if not taken care of correctly. A dental hygienist provides preventive, therapeutic, restorative and educational interventions to promote optimal oral health.
Dental Hygienist: Have you been flossing? If not, the Dental Hygienist will know. A Dental Hygienist examines and makes sure that you have been flossing, brushing, and much more on your teeth. You really should make sure that you schedule cleanings every couple months or so. Your teeth are a big part of your health, and if you don’t take care of them, you will eventually end up with fake teeth, or the proper name would be Dentures.
1. Use critical decision making skills to reach conclusions about the client’s dental hygiene needs based on all available assessment data.
Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved going to the dentist. I was never scared, not even when I went for my fillings and wisdom teeth extractions. Mostly all the hygienist I have had so far have been friendly, patient and always ready to help with a big smile on their face and that is what attracted me towards this career. I want to help people in need that cannot afford the services.
As we grow up, we are often asked what we want to be. Many people say careers such as a doctor or an actor. When I grow up, I want to be a dental hygienist. When I tell people this they often think i’m crazy for wanting to “work in someone’s mouth”. Dental hygiene is appealing to me. It is a big part of personal hygiene and keeping yourself healthy. One of the first things a person notices about you is your smile and I want to help people perfect theirs. I know that being a dental hygienist will not be the easiest thing in the world but there are some benefits. You don’t have to work full time if you don’t want to. Also as stated by Jenny Lewellen, “Overtime is not expected” (Lewellen). Hygienists also get a good salary. “The median annual wage for
It’s been a long time since the last narrative and a lot has changed. The internship with the dental hygienist failed miserably. After three sessions, my mentor just stopped communicating and cut all ties with me. I attempted to email her multiple times but I remained unheard. So, I had to find a way to troubleshoot and look for another mentor and place to intern at.
Specifically, these are the main questions asked to get insight on how people’s oral health can be
The view to the smell to the feeling of the dentist. Not too many people are satisfied about going there because they either had bad experiences or they do not take care of their teeth very well. Striving and passionate to become a Dental Hygienist at Salt Lake Community College. There are many interesting facts that I am interested in such as different types of dental problems build inside the mouth what could happen, preventing the germs before the buildup, prevent the fear that people have when they go to the dentist and more specific details.
Before I explain why I want to be a Dental Hygienist and why I think I will be an asset to the profession, I want to shed some background information to help you understand more. Ever since I began high school, I knew I wanted to be in the heath care field. I went though four years nursing classes taught by the high school. The health care field is a strong interest of mine. So, during my senior year, I decided to do dual enrollment with Albany Tech, to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. I took classes like medical terminology and diet and nutrition. Half way through my senior year, I realized it was not something I wanted to do. My mind was completely changed on getting my nursing major after high school was over. I was stuck and didn’t
Dentists treat a variety of patients everyday from pediatric to elderly patients. Radiographs, although they exposure the patient to ionizing radiation, are essential to assess bone loss, carious lesions, impacted teeth, and other abnormalities that can not be seen clinically in an exam. According to an article by Johan Aps, since radiography is a crucial diagnostic tool during a complete dental exam, the dental radiographer should be cautious while dealing with radiation exposure by keeping in mind exposure justification, limitation, and optimization especially for children and their safety. This means the dental hygienists should do everything they can to keep radiation exposure “as low as reasonably achievable” (ALARA), postpone exposing
I decided to do my research report on dentistry because it is a perfect blend of science and art. It is a science in that you must fully comprehend on the different types of diagnostic and procedures you are doing. It is an art in that you are constantly working with your hands to create a beautiful smile. The impact you make on helping a person achieve an impeccable smile is not one to compare with materialistic things like money or cars. People often mistake dentist as only doing practices when in fact they could do more, like research. I was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to interview Dr. Sarah Pham, DDS, a close family friend who practices dentistry in her own private office in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Pham was
For my interview paper I interviewed my personal Dentist Dr. Rich Rappa. Dr. Rappa was a very less fortunate child and grew up with just him and his mother. Although he was his mother only child they still was very poor because his mother worked a dead end job ,and they had rarely no family support . While interviewing him he mentioned that him seeing his mother struggle always gave him a urge inside to become something successful in life. He made it clear that he had never gone to the best schools to get an education so that also made him extremely grateful for all that he had growing up. Later on he started to tell me when it was that he first was interested in becoming a dentist. He said it had all started in junior high because of someone teasing him about his teeth. From there on he started
When choosing ones profession there are always two important questions to ask yourself. Is it what you love doing, and is the pay going to be enough to support you. For me the second question has never had much of an impact on my decision, along with most others who are educators or wish to become one. Teaching is not a job that one chooses to be rewarded by the pay. It is a job that is chosen for the rewarding feeling of knowing that it is the most effective, and most enjoyable way one can change the world; therefore, if teachers are noble enough to sacrifice such a huge aspect just to better our future generations, then don’t you think they should be paid what they deserve?