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Why I chose dentistry
What do i need to become a dental hygienist essay
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Explanation of Career
A career as dental hygienists offers a wide range of objections (“Dental Hygienist”). Dental hygienists are to help patients prevent dental related diseases. Most dental offices are open select hours; hygienists appreciate regular hours and hardly have to work evenings or on the weekends, and work only part time for multiple dentists. Hygienist usually works with a certified dentist to meet the concerns of patients. Dental hygienists are likewise educators; they teach patients how to maintain their oral health (“Dental Hygienist”). They so much more than just clean teeth (“How to Become...”). Dental hygienists are compassionate with good communication skills as they work close with both dentist and patients. Some of the things they do are, oral x-rays, apply fluoride and fissure sealants, removing plaque, calculus, and stains from teeth. Hygienists are required to
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wear safety glasses, surgical masks, and gloves to protect themselves (“Dental Hygienist”). Education According to the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (“Dental Hygienists”), the required education is either a certificate or an associate’s degree. In high school some classes are to take is biology, chemistry, mathematics, and get some volunteer hours at a dental clinic (“Career: Dental Hygienists”). This license is required by every state in the country. For one to even be considered as an applicant, the student must have, at the minimum, a high school diploma. The most common schooling for somebody aspiring to become a dental hygienist is a two year schooling program from a school that is recognized as being accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (“How to Become”). Most college classes to become a hygienist are oral biology, community dental health, dental materials, and nutrition in dentistry (“Dental Hygienist Education…”). There are many other classes to be taken to get certified. If one wished to progress further into the field the hygienist would need to pursue a bachelor’s degree, as most employees want a person with four years of schooling (“How to
Become”). Working Conditions Dental hygienists held about 192,800 jobs in 2012 (“Dental Hygienists”). Dental hygienist work in bunch of different settings such as private dental practice, community health settings, nursing homes, hospitals, prisons, schools, and faculty practice clinics. A dental hygienist happily experiences a substantial amount of flexibility in their work schedule, a schedule that is composed of either full-time or part-time, evening or weekend hours. Skills and Training Dental hygienists are good to have good skills such as compassion understanding that some patients do not like to have to go over dental work, or may have fears. Interpersonal skills are also one; the dental hygienists must work close with patients and dentists. Physical stamina they should be comfortable performing tasks, and bending over patients for a long time. Dental hygienists need to assist and care for others providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients (Dental Hygienists”). Some other skills are speaking, active listening, critical thinking, judgement and decision making, and monitoring. Earning and Salary The median wage of a dental hygienist in May was 70,210. The lowest ten percent earn less than 46,540, and the top ten percent earn 96,280. Nationwide hygienist gets 32.52 per hour for pay.
A dental hygienist is a very important role in any dental office. As stated by a dental assistant, “Dental hygienists work closely with the dentist as well as hands on with the patients. They assist dentists with operative procedures such as fillings and extractions, and making molds of patients teeth” (Wilson, Jennifer). A large part of their job is teaching patients proper dental care to ensure a lifetime of healthy teeth. This includes proper brushing and flossing techniques. According to the job out look, a day as a dental hygienist can include taking x-rays, cleaning and scaling teeth, charting treatment plans, putting sealants on teeth, taking impressions of teeth and completing information about the patient’s oral and medical history (Summary). In some states dental hygienist are allowed to give local anesthetic and place and remove sutures (Delivering Local Anesthetic). According to advantages of becoming a dental hygienist, hygienists spend more hands on time with the patients than the dentist does. These are some of the instruments that dental hygienists use on a daily basis: toothbrush, scaler, mirror, ultrasonic scaler, explorer, suction, computer, salvia ejector, rubber cap polisher, dental models, x-ray machine and probe. The dental hygienist uses a toothbrush to remove soft plaque from the teeth. Plaque is a soft coating on the teeth that contain bacteria. The bacteria can cause tooth decay and gum disease. The amount of plaque on the teeth gives the hygienist an idea of how well the daily brushing and flossing of the patient’s teeth are completed on a regular basis. The scaler is used to remove hardened plaque or calculus from the teeth. The mirror is used to look closely at the surfaces of the teeth a...
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
To become a dental hygienist, one must attend a college or university that has a dental hygiene program. “Your coursework will include classes such as the
According to the book, “Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist”, a dental hygienist is a dental health specialist whose primary concern is the maintenance of oral health and the prevention of oral disease. A career as a dental hygienist provides a wide range of challenges where in the dentist office, the dental hygienist and dentist work together to meet the oral health needs of their patients. There are many things that dental hygienists do that you may not realize when you think you are just going in to get your teeth cleaned.
The education requirements include having an associate's degree in dental hygiene and a bachelor or master’s degree required for research, teaching, or the clinical practice in public or school health programs. A daily routine for a Dental Hygienist is waking up to get to work at least a half hour before the first patient comes. They then should look over the charts about the patient’s situation with their teeth and see what medical treatment they need. They then bring the patient in and perform the treatment. Lastly, they charge the patient for the certain treatments, like the cleaning, and then for say a filling, they will charge them separately, and then the patient will leave. Soon after they will start all over
When most people think of dental hygienists, the first and only thing they think about it cleaning and whitening teeth. However, that is mainly what dental hygienists do, but they also learn to do a lot more than that. According the occupational outlook handbook, hygienists clean teeth, examine patients for signs of oral diseases such as gingivitis, and provide other preventative dental care. They also educate patients on ways to improve and maintain good oral health. As explained on American Dental Association, the dental hygienist...
The best description of a dental hygienist is a professional whose main job is to teach their patients necessary oral hygiene skills and provide great dental care. They perform various tasks around a dentist’s office such as applying fluoride treatments, removing plaque and stains, taking x-rays, removing sutures, placing temporary fillings, and evaluating the patient’s overall health (“Dental Hygienist” Coin Career). Dental hygienists do not just work in a dental office, but they also can work at schools, nursing homes, health clinics, and many other dental settings. Close contact is necessary when doing this job. Working with people is an everyday thing in this profession, so one must be able to communicate and get along with their clients very well. Having certain traits such as excellent hand-eye coordination and great motor skills are very important to posses since dental hygienists work on their patients mouths (Porterfield 4). Communication is vital since dental hygienists are constantly teaching patients how to hav...
The average pay is around $72,000 a year. “I usually work around 34 hours a week” (Lewellen). Most hygienists work four hours a week. The pay may increase depending on where you work and also how long you’ve worked there. Education for dental hygiene is semi-difficult but most people can accomplish it. “Dental hygienists need an associate’s degree in dental hygiene. Programs typically take 3 years to complete. All states require dental hygienists to be licensed; requirements vary by state” (College). Depending on where you live and where you go to college will determine what requirements and skills will be needed.
As a future dental hygienist, I want to be able to help educate people about dental hygiene, prevent cancers and help rural communities overcome oral diseases and cancers. Dental Hygienist usually work in dentist office's, some of the responsibilities of a dental hygienist are removing tarter, stains and plaque from teeth, they take dental x-rays and access patient oral health and report findings to the dentist.
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.
The education requirements vary depending where you are, but typically it vary from a high school diploma to the completion of a postsecondary training program. There are no formal education requirements for entering this career and some high school students have even went from their diploma straight to on-the-job training. Although, postsecondary dental assisting programs offer more comprehensive career training. Dental assisting programs are typically 1-year diploma or certificate programs that tend to focus more on technical training through classroom, laboratory, and clinical instruction. Some community colleges also offer 2-year associate's degree programs which combine general education, technical training, and more extensive clinical practicums. Licensure and/or certification might be required by some states. Some states allow dental assistants to perform all duties assigned by a dentist but in other states they must obtain licensure or registration to perform certain duties. Obtaining the licensure vary in states as well. Some may include completing an accredited postsecondary program or may have to pass a written or practical exam, which could be required. Most dental assistants maintain licensure by earning continuing education at state-specified intervals. To get the certification, The Dental Assisting National Board offers the Certified Dental Assistant (CDA®) certification which was
There are numerous specific skills that are required for this profession, such as, critical thinking, active listening, good communication and reading comprehension. The total credit hours include the Dental Hygiene Program. After completing the prerequisites and the program, I will graduate with an Associate Degree in Applied Science. The next objective will be to become certified as a dental hygienist.
Assisting the dentist in everything from patient relations to a wide variety of dental treatments and procedures.
1)Why do you want to be a Dental Assistant? I love people and that is why I want to become a Dental assistant. Being a huge people person and I'm always willing to learn, adapting is essential to this line of work and that is why I will be a perfect fit for the dental assistant program. Getting to know the patients and spending time with them is one of the reasons I am really looking forward to my future as a DA. I am an empathetic person and easily relate to others. This will really help me to be able to provide my patients with the best possible care. Originally I had planned on applying to Manhattan Area Technical College for their Dental Hygienist program. They require that all applicants have a minimum of forty hours experience shadowing
Introduction: In Canada, general dental health is not part Canada’s national system of health insurance (Medicare) (1) except for some dental surgical procedures that are performed at hospitals. Since Oral health does not come under the Health Act about ninety-five percent of the oral health care services are offered on a fee-for-service basis. Oral health care is under provincial or territorial jurisdiction like other health care services and publically financed dental care programs provide the remaining five percent of oral health care services (2). Thus, majority of Canadians receive oral health via privately owned dental clinics. Privately owned dental care gives these services providers control over dental service charges, types of available treatment for the patients and number of follow-up appointment for treatments or routine care. Service users pay for the dental expenses from their own pockets or utilize insurance coverage (1).