Get Ahead By Going to a Dental Hygienist School
Dental Hygiene jobs are one of the fastest growing jobs in the nation and to take part in this, you need to get licensed. A dental hygienist school helps you in getting there. To understand the opportunities and what this involves let’s look at the overall picture.
What does a Dental Hygienist do?
A dental hygienist is a licensed dental care professional and oral health educator who works as part of a team along with the dentist. The dental Hygienists works on a wide range of dental care tasks providing preventive, educational and therapeutic services for the control of oral diseases. This includes:
- Cleaning teeth
- Removing tartar build-up
- Taking x-rays
- Treating with fluoride
- Applying sealants
- Inspecting gums for disease
- Providing advice on good oral health
- Office tasks like patient screening, documentation and office activities.
Licensing and Dental Hygienist Schools Requirements
To become a registered dental hygienist one has to graduate from a minimum two-year college program that includes classroom studies and extensive supervised clinical experience. A high school diploma or equivalent and passing an entrance test are usually required to obtain admission into a Dental Hygienist School. Most dental hygiene programs award associate degrees. In most cases that is all that is necessary educationally to practice in a private dentist’s office. For those wanting to go into research, advanced degrees will be required.
The majority of associate degree programs can be found in community colleges, technical colleges, dental schools or universities. It is important to obtain one’s education from a program that is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).
All states require that dental hygienists be licensed to practice. Most require that applicants be graduates of an accredited dental hygiene program and pass the written National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE). Most states also require the passing of a clinical examination which is administered by state or regional testing agencies.
Dental Hygiene Schools Checklist
In order to participate in this excellent opportunity, an education from a dental hygiene school is integral. Thus great care should be exercised in choosing the right school. The following are some important points to be considered:
- The most important item to check for with dental hygienist schools is the accreditation status. Courses from an accredited school can be transferred to other post-secondary institutions. They are accepted by certifying and licensing boards. Accredited schools maybe able to offer students access to government student aid programs.
- Review and check the academic credentials and work experience of the faculty or course instructors. Does the instructors have recent workplace experience? Are they members of association boards and other committees. It is very important for the course instructors to be current about workplace requirements.
- What Post-graduate certificates or programs are offered by the dental hygienist schools? These programs are typically focused on a specific subject or type of client example identification of mouth cancer, elderly dental health or pediatric oral health. These certificates add value to your degree.
- Check the records kept by the dental hygienist schools of graduate employment statistics. These records are collected by three, six, and 12 months after graduation. The reports will contain information on starting salary, full time or part time, position, title, etc. This helps in getting the real local picture of the job market for Dental Hygienist and upon graduation, what you can expect.