Dental hygienists are respected members of a dental team. They work closely with the dentists to determine the best treatment for your oral health.
Beach View Dental
(228) 604-4440
1924 E Pass Rd
Gulfport, MS
Diamondhead Dental Clinic
(228) 255-2543
5404 Indian Hill Blvd
Diamondhead, MS
Necaise Amy Rdh
(228) 896-6252
1712 15th St Ste 201
Gulfport, MS
Allen James W DMD
(228) 385-3038
250 Beauvoir Rd Ste 1A
Biloxi, MS
McFarland Family Dentistry
(228) 255-6657
4349 Gex Rd
Diamondhead, MS
Dental hygienists are health professionals that are part of the dental care team and play an important role in preventive dental care. Hygienists perform oral hygiene or health care reviews that include collecting and evaluating medical history. They examine your head and neck along with oral cancer screening and dental charting. Dental x-rays are also taken. They educate and counsel their patients how to take proper care of their teeth. Plaque control, at home oral hygiene programs, and good nutrition for oral health are taught. Periodontal therapy is also done. This includes root planing, removing plaque, calculus, and stains from teeth. Depending on the state where they live, hygienists are allowed to administer anesthetics or use a syringe to give a local anesthetic.
Hygienists need to learn psychology, or the knowledge of human behavior, as well as have a good knowledge of the principles and processes for providing good customer and personal services. It’s imperative for hygienists to have an understanding of all equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies for necessary protection and security of people, data, property, and institutions.
Skills include active listening, which includes giving full attention to what people are saying. Good eye contact is important when going over treatment plans with your patients so they trust you. Hygienists should be active learners, so they can solve problems and make decisions for present and future problems. They also should recognize their responsibilities as a teacher and adult learner. It’s vital that all dental hygienists have the ethics, values, skills, and knowledge essential for this health care profession.
Dental hygienists must be licensed by the state in which they practice. Licensure is a protection for the public from persons that aren’t qualified and from unsafe practices. This means graduation from an accredited dental hygiene school. You’ll also need to pass a written and clinical examination admistered by the American Dental Association’s Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations. Admission to a dental hygiene school requires a high school diploma and college entrance test scores. It is helpful to take classes in high school such as English, biology, speech, math, algebra, chemistry, and nutrition. You need to be 18 before you can start dental hygiene training.
Most programs offer a certificate, a bachelor’s degree, or a master’s degree. If you want to work in a private dental office, then you’ll need an associate degree or certificate. Teaching or clinical practice in public or school health programs requires a bachelor’s or master’s degree. With a master’s degree, a dental hygienist can work in the oral health products industry in sales, marketing, research, and management. You can also direct dental hygiene programs when you have a master’s degree.
Supervised patient care experiences are provided to students enrolled in dental hygiene education programs. Liberal arts courses such as sociology and psychology, and basic sciences such as physiology, pharmacology, and immunology are some classes that you will be taking as a dental hygiene student. This includes courses in clinical procedures, dental anatomy, pharmacology, dental equipment, and dental radiography, which are part of clinical sciences. Courses in community and public health dentistry will also be given. Additional training is available in business administration, basic science, marketing, public health, and education. It’s important to continue your education to keep up on the latest skills and knowledge.
Personal achievement and satisfaction can come from providing valuable health care to patients that helps them prevent disease or future problems with their oral health. Opportunities to help children, the elderly, and the disabled can be rewarding, as well.
The variety of the work can be appealing if you like a lot of different responsibilities. You can use creativity when approaching patient management and education because of the different personalities of your patients. The flexibility of working full or part time and scheduling according to your needs is another advantage of being a hygienist. If you’re an independent type person, you’ll probably enjoy getting the job done with little or no direction.
Dental hygiene as a pre-dentistry major can be a great advantage for students. They will have hands-on experience in dentistry because clinical training will begin in their sophomore year and then in the dental clinic for two years.
Dental hygiene is a wonderful career opportunity for men and women. All ages, races, and ethnic backgrounds can become a dental hygienist. Being able to use the abilities you’ve learned can give you a feeling of success. This is a much in demand career with many job opportunities. Hygienists have said they enjoy the close relationships they form with their patients. A compassionate personality toward people’s fears and helping them ease their fears are the keys to success in this type of business.