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Want to know what Dental Hygienists do all day?? If you’re looking to find a career in Dental Hygiene, this is the post for you!
Becoming a Dental Hygienist is extremely exciting and if your anything like me, you want to do all the right research to make sure this is the right career for you.
As a Registered Dental Hygienist myself, I am giving you not only the big details but all the small details that no one ever tells you!
You are going to learn about what Dental Hygienists do, AND I’m also going to give you day-to-day examples! From examining patients for signs of oral diseases, taking x-rays, cleaning teeth, making whitening trays, and more.
After learning about what Dental Hygienists do, you are going to be SUPER prepared and confident, to make a decision, if Dental Hygiene is the RIGHT job for you!
This post is all about what Dental Hygienists do, so you can have all the tools and information to make the right career decision for you!
What Do Dental Hygienists Do?
1. Assessing | Dental Office Medical History Form
Most importantly, this is the first thing we do before we do anything! We go over the patient’s medical history, we are mainly focused on allergies, medications, and health problems that may impact or contraindicate treatment.
Dental Hygienist, will manage both simple and medically complex patients.
For example, if a patient just had a knee replacement, the patient may need to take an antibiotic prior to treatment, or if the patient had open-heart surgery recently, they may need to back off treatment for another 3 months.
In some cases, we may even have to call their doctor or consult with a specialist, to get clarification, if we can treat the patient. We also, look to see how much and what type of medication/s the patient is on.
Some medications can cause stain or give you dry mouth, this is when we start to build in our little brain, what we will be recommending for the patient, to take care of their teeth at home.
Why do Dental Hygienists Take Blood Pressure?
2. Blood Pressure + Vitals
As Dental Hygieist, we always take the patient’s blood pressure and vitals, at the beginning of every appointment. Most importantly, we want to make sure the patient is healthy and stable before we start any treatment.
For example, if the patient’s blood pressure is extremely high, we will get in contact with their Doctor/Specialist, to see what the next step should be.
Consequently, if the patient’s blood pressure is slightly high, but not alarming, we may dismiss the patient, and recommend them to see their Doctor, to either get on blood pressure medication or possibly to adjust their current medication.
3. Guidelines for Prescribing Dental Radiograph | Types of Dental X-Rays
To clarity, at my office, our protocol is to take BWX (Bitewings X-Rays) every 6 months to once a year. And a FMX (Full Mouth Set of X-Rays), every 3-5 years, depending on the patient’s risk factors.
In some cases, we may need to take additional x-rays if a patient is having a concern with their teeth or gums.
If the patient has a concern, it is our job to try to figure out what kind of additional x-rays we will prescribe for the patient.
For instance, if the patient has sensitivity, we can ask the patient, “Is your sensitivity, too hot or cold or chewing?
From their we can make a decision on if we need any additional of x-rays to take.
We would either take a BWX OR a PA (Periapical) of the tooth depending on the severity of the situation.
4. Oral Health Assessment Tool
Periodontal Charting | Oral Cancer Screening
Not only do we clean teeth, but we also check and examine the patient for oral cancer. We also, inspect the head and neck of the patient for any abnormalities.
Dental Hygienists don’t diagnose, but we can be very helpful, by pointing things out we see, to help the Dentist.
In my office, we do periodontal charting once every year, in some cases, we will chart once every 3-6 months.
Periodontal Charting, is the measurement of the space in between the tooth and the gum.
We use Dental X-Rays and the patient’s periodontal chart, to determine if the patient needs a regular cleaning or a deep cleaning (SRP).
Dental Treatment Plan
5. Managing Patients
Depending on the patient’s recall, the doctor will come in for an exam. After that, you can relay any concerns or findings to the Dentist, that you have seen or that, the patient has mentioned.
To sum up, you basically give the Dentist an overview of what you have heard/seen up to the point he or she comes in.
The Dentist will let the Dental Hygienist know, or confirm, if the patient has any decay (cavities), etc. At the same time, while the Dentist calls out what treatment the patient needs, you will use this time, to enter this information into the computer system.
6. Dental Hygienist Cleaning Teeth
What Do Dental Hygienists Clean Teeth With?
This is the BEST part! The Dental Cleaning!
Dental Hygienists, use a combination of dental instruments to scale debris/tarter/plaque of the patient’s teeth.
Also, remove any stain with instruments or/and polishing the teeth with a special paste.
In some cases, we will give the patient a regular/healthy mouth cleaning (Prophy) or a Periodontal Maintenance cleaning, which is a cleaning for a person who has bone loss, (we go a little deeper into the gum).
In other cases, we may give a gross debridement cleaning, if the patient has not been in for a long time.
If a patient wears a denture, partial, night guard, or retainer, we will typically clean it for the patient. We clean it by putting it in an ultrasonic bath, with a special solution, to professionally clean it for the patient.
7. Scaling and Root Planing
PerioChip | Arestin
Scaling and Root Planning (SRP), is done for patients who have active Gum Disease.
In other words, a patient that needs SRP is a patient who at this point, needs a little more help with their oral health/cleaning.
We clean the root surfaces of the teeth, where patients cannot get to anymore.
To sum up, the goal/outcome is the reduction of pocket-size, so patients can better keep their gum/teeth clean at home.
PerioChip (antimicrobial) and Arestin (antibiotic), can both be placed under the gum-line, post SRP, or in a patient who comes in every 3-4 months (Periodontal Maintenance), who may have one or two little areas with bleeding.
In conclusion, PerioChip and Arestin, will kill the bacteria, that causes gum disease, and in return reduce the pocket size and bleeding.
8. Gingival Curettage | Dental Nitrous Oxide
Curettage is considered a surgical procedure.
This is done by removing a thin lining of the tissue inside the gum pocket, with an instrument called a curette. By removing the diseased tissue, it will promote, reattachment of healthy tissue to the tooth.
Using nitrous oxide is very effective in treating dental fear. Managing dental anxiety during dental treatment is key for some patients, to get the treatment done.
Depending on the state, you may be allowed to administer or monitor the patient during the nitrous procedure.
Not every state allows hygienists to perform Gingival Curettage and Nitrous Oxide administration.
In addition, you will need additional training/credentials to provide these treatments, be sure to check your state laws. Here’s a helpful link to show what states allow Nitrous. and what states allow curettage.
9. Restorative Dental Hygiene
The American Dental Hygiene Association (ADHA) States:
Dental hygienists may qualify for a restorative certificate by completing a state dental board
approved continuing education course and obtaining a restorative certification.The restorative services provided by dental hygienists may include some or all of the following
-ADHA
services:
Apply cavity liner/base
Place (and also carve and finish) amalgam restoration Place and finish composite restoration
{Place and/or remove temporary restoration}
Place and/or remove temporary crown
Fabricate temporary crown
-ADHA
Click Here For: Dental Hygiene Restorative Duties- By State
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Desensitizing Teeth and Gum
10. Dental Hygiene Local Anesthesia | Dental Topical Anesthetic
As a Dental Hygienist, you will be able to (depending on what state you will practice in) give patients local anesthesia.
This is a separate license you will have to apply for, and don’t worry most schools nowadays incorporate it into their curriculum.
Here’s a link, to what states allow you to administer Local Anesthesia.
We also can use topical agents, to make the patients feel comfortable during the cleaning.
Such as Oraquix, which is an alternative to local anesthesia, if the patient is not comfortable with needles. Oraquix is placed in between the tooth and gum, this helps but does not completely numb the area. It also can be time-consuming. 🙁
We can also use topical gel, like benzocaine, and many others, that can help patients take the edge off during the dental cleaning.
If a patient is having chronic sensitivity on the root surfaces of their teeth (when a patient has recession), we can apply a desensitizing agent called Gluma (a desensitizing agent).
This helps block the tubules of the dentin, which is the second layer of our tooth), before the cleaning, to make the patient feel more comfortable.
At the end of the appointment, we can also apply fluoride varnish (a highly concentrated fluoride mineral, that strengthens the tooth enamel) to the teeth, to further help with sensitivity.
11. Oral Health Education
Dental Hygienist | Product Recommendation & Education
This can be a really enjoyable and rewarding part of your future job!
Not only do we give product recommendations, but we also counsel patients about good nutrition, bad health habits like tobacco cessation, and its impact on our oral health.
We teach patients how to brush and floss if need be. Don’t be surprised that we give adults, brush and floss demos, ALL DAY LONG.
We customize each of our patients recommendation and education.
Here are SOME, but not all 🙂 Examples:
Home Care Recommendations | Electric TB, Floss, & Tongue Scraper | Water-pik | Mouthwash: ACT-Fluoride Rinse, Antiseptic, Antibacterial, or Biotene | Fluoride Varnish, MI-Paste, OR/& Prevident Rx. | Sensodyne | Whitening |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Active Gingivitis | ✔ | ✔Antibacterial | ✔Fluoride Varnish | |||
Active Gum Disease | ✔ | ✔ | ✔Antiseptic, OR Peridex Rx. | ✔Fluoride Varnish, Prevident Rx. | ||
Yellow Teeth | ✔ | ✔ACT-Fluoride Rinse | ✔Fluoride Varnish | ✔ | ||
Bad Breath | ✔ | ✔Antibacterial | ✔Fluoride Varnish | ✔ | ||
Dry Mouth | ✔ | ✔ACT-Fluoride Rinse, | ✔Fluoride Varnish, Prevident Rx. | |||
Sensitivity | ✔ | ✔Fluoride Varnish, Prevident Rx., MI-Paste | ✔ | ✔ |
12. Dental Sealants | Whitening Trays | In-Office Whitening
Dental sealants are little plastic coatings, we can put on the occlusal (top) surfaces of the teeth, to prevent decay (cavities), from forming. This treatment is recommended mostly when we get our 6 and 12-year molars.
As a Dental Hygienist, we can also get to whiten your teeth in the office and make custom whitening trays! I find this super fun and rewarding.
You will be able to work with different brands, Zoom-in-office whitening is my favorite! Here is a little more info on Zoom.
13. Therapist 😉
Yup! this is part of it!
Occasionally we will get patients who are in pain or super stressed and a ball of anxiety.
As a Hygienist, we must be sensitive to the patients emotions, and try to talk them into feeling more comfortable.
In other day-to-day situations, it can be really enjoyable once you get to know your patients well.
You will begin to gain a relationship with your patients, they will start to trust you, you will become more than just a dental hygienist, you will become a friend who takes care of them, and you will want to take care of them as if they were family <3
14. End of appointment Duties-Post Treatment | Schedules Appointments | Clean Up and Notes
At the end of the appointment, we clean our rooms, bring any instruments or dental x-ray rins (whatever we have used), to the sterilization room, and then typically, we write our patient notes.
We are pretty damn important, when it comes to documentation, we literally write down EVERYTHING, including anything the Doctor went over that day.
The Doctor will simply walk in do the exam and leave.
The rest is up to you!
Then, we then set up the room again, as well as look at the next patient’s chart to get an overview of what happened last time, what u need to do today etc. (Depending, on if you did this before or not).
I typically do a chart prep the day before, so I am extra prepared the next day, on what I need to do. 🙂
Every office can have a different protocol, at the end of our appointments, we schedule our patients next visit, as well as walk them to the front desk and relay any message on if the patient needs any other appointments, such as fillings, crown, or consultation with a specialist.
15. Public Health Dental Hygienist | Dental Hygiene in Medical Settings and Health Clinics | Dental Hygiene Teacher
Depending on the state you work in, Dental Hygienist may work in a public setting without the supervision of the Dentist.
This kind of job can be very rewarding, you can work anywhere from daycares, schools, homeless shelters, community events, and more. You can also teach Dental Hygiene students in school. As well as becoming a rep for big companies like Colgate and Crest.
Click Here For: Public Health Dental Hygienist- By State
16. Extras | Dental Hygiene
Depending where you work.
We also help out the front desk and the sterilization area, help keep the dental office clean and organized.
You may be in charge of ordering for the office or even managing the dental hygienist meetings of the office.
If you don’t have a patient, some offices have the dental hygienist, work on the hygiene recall system, to get patients into the schedule.
We also, can call and confirm our patients, or in general call and make patient appointments.
Other duties we may do are place/remove sutures, prescriptive authority in some states, and place and remove perio dressings.
Click Here: For a Complete List of Dental Hygiene Duties- By State
In Conclusion | Dental Hygiene
As Dental hygienists, we work under the supervision of a Dentist, OR in some cases by ourselves in a medical setting or even a school. We examine patients for signs of oral diseases, such as gingivitis or periodontal disease, as well as give our patients generous and caring preventive care.
You can honestly call us a Dental Nurse! I always found it easy to explain it that way.
Dental Hygienists are usually type-a, social, generous, kind, caring, and very social human beings!
We are a pretty SPECIAL part of the Dental office 😉
and we DEFINITELY, don’t just “clean teeth.” We are way more important than that, TRUST ME 🙂
As Dental Hygienists, we are typically the ones that spend the most time with the patients, and we are the ones who REALLY get to know them.
We are literally in charge of where the patient goes next, we can make a HUGE impact on our patient’s health.
A career in Dental Hygiene, can be super rewarding as well as having flexible hours.
So if you either work full-time or part-time, you can make your own schedule, and you can even work in more than one office.
My advice, if this post might have overwhelmed you 🙂 Don’t be scared, you won’t know everything once you get into the field, it takes time.
It took me 10 years to probably feel like I could probably do the Dentists job 🙂 Just like any job, you get better and faster as you go.
Don’t forget to leave a comment bellow!
I would LOVE to hear from you!
XOXO, Trish ❤
Source: Current Dental Terminology. (2021). American Dental Association. https://cdtapp2021.ada.org/
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Source:
“Scope of Practice.” American Dental Hygiene Association, ©2012-2020 ADHA.org, www.adha.org/scope-of-practice. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.
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