Dental Hygenist - Open Your Mouth Now!

Ladies and gentlemen, this week I'm going to elaborate a bit about one of the most demanded professions in most countries: the female oriented field of dental hygiene. This profession which looks simple at first glance, requires prolonged training and years of experience and unsurprisingly demands a lot of manpower. I'm going to answer a few questions:

1. What are the responsibility fields of a dental hygienist?

2. Is this a feminine field?

3. What are the job & wage prospects of this field?

4. What is the proper training for this career?


What are the responsibility fields of a dental hygienist?

1. Performing a basic scrutiny to the patient's mouth and observing basic problems.

2. Observing basic gum issues.

3. Basic instruction for  quitting smoking.

4. Instruction for mouth issue prevention by proper nutrition.

5. Tooth scaling removal.

6. Polishing the teeth  using Fluoride.

7. Removing stitches (after mouth surgery).


Is this a feminine field?

Well, if 90% - 98% female employees in this field implies it is, so it is.  Traditionally, para-medical professions have been identified with females in the last 100 years or so.  So I guess that if you are male and don't see yourself in a feminine field, you better skip this article..

On the other hand, even if you are male and find this field as attractive to you, maybe you'll be able to overcome  the gender issue in order to enjoy the benefits of the profession.


What are the job & wage prospects of this field?

 It's hard to find an unemployed dental hygienist because of a few reasons:

1. There's always a demand for this service, as people tend to have tooth problems.

2. This profession needs a prolonged training.  You can't work without a license and you can't have a license without a 3-4 years studies & training period.

3. It's not a million dollar career:  you can  make a decent living but generally not more.  Thus the masses aren't attracted to this field.


What is the proper training for this career?

Generally speaking, dental hygienists need to study 3-4 years in order to get a degree and a license of a professional in this field.  The academic and professional tracks reach about 2000 hours of study and practice. The profession is taught in universities and academic colleges, which means that you need to meet the admission criteria of academic institutions.