Are you a young person in search for challenging but enjoyable and well-paid healthcare job? You are interested to find out which professions are most required and how you can educate yourself in a certain healthcare field and gain employment.
Healthcare professions are in the continual development due to the new discoveries and demands of our time and new professions constantly appear and among those that are always high in demand is the profession of dental hygienists. Bureau of Labor Statistics has recorded dental hygienist jobs growth of 19 percent which is far more than the average for all occupations.
Where can dental hygienists get employment and how good is their salary?
Dental hygienists are in demand both in general dental practices and in specialty practices such as pediatric dentistry or periodontics. They may also be employed in hospitals and nursing homes where they are expected to provide the patient with services of dental hygiene and in dental schools and dental hygiene education programs to teach hygiene students and help them acquire necessary knowledge and skills. Besides the fact that dental hygienists can get a job much easier than people in other healthcare fields, dental hygienist salary is also far better than salaries in other fields.
If all this sounds inviting to you and you would like to become a dental hygienist, then you should get acquainted with all the responsibilities of this type of career and all education requirements.
What does the job of a dental hygienist involve?
Although the career of dental hygienists may appear to be quite simple, it belongs to a group of the most challenging ones. Dental hygienists are supposed to work in the dental offices and cooperate closely with the dentists in an attempt to meet all oral health needs of their patients. Their job includes a multitude of different functions and responsibilities that they are expected to perform, and the range of these functions and responsibilities vary from state to state depending on the set of regulations of each state. They are supposed to perform an oral examination of their patients and look for signs of diseases and clean their teeth. Besides this, they should also develop X-rays, apply medicinal materials and sealants to the teeth, make entries to the dental charts, clean teeth from calculus and plaque, teach their patients how to maintain proper oral hygiene, take teeth impressions for study cases, etc.
What should you do to be able to apply for the position of a dental hygienist?
To be able to get a license for work and apply for the position of a dental hygienist and to be able to meet all demands of this job you have to gain a certain level of education and acquire all knowledge and skills that are essential for this type of career. There are many ways of how you can do that, but one of the best options is choosing and enrolling an appropriate and well-accredited dental hygiene school. There you will pass through the training and acquire some basic skills and knowledge necessary for this job. It is also highly recommendable that as soon as you finish your school, you complete some of the additional training programs that are available and where you will perfect your skills and gain new experience and knowledge. After this, you can apply for your license, and once you obtain it, you can apply for the job of a dental hygienist as well.