Dental hygiene

Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health, 20050229 by Lisette Hilton

Definition

Dental hygiene is the profession of cleaning teeth and helping patients maintain oral health. Dental hygienists are licensed professionals-key members of the dental health care team who provide educational, clinical, and therapeutic dental services, such as preventive care, dental examinations, and instruction about how patients can better care for their teeth and gums.

Description

Dental hygienists are trained to provide dental hygiene care for patients, they work with dentists to deliver oral care to patients, and they use their interpersonal skills to educate and motivate patients about how to prevent dental disease and maintain oral health. In the clinical setting, dental hygienists:

Assess patients' teeth and gums and review oral histories.

Educate patients about nutrition and self-care to prevent dental disease, teaching them how to clean the mouth using aids such as toothbrushes, interdental devices, and other efficacious products.

Examine head, neck and dental areas for disease.

Perform x rays and other diagnostic tests.

Perform preventive dental services, such as removing calculus, stains and plaque from teeth, to keep the teeth and gums healthy.

Screen for oral cancer and high blood pressure.

Educate patients about oral health and its link to general health.

Place and remove periodontal dressings or temporary fillings.

Make impressions of teeth to use as models for dentists to evaluate treatment needs.

Apply preventive agents such as sealants and fluorides to keep teeth healthy.

Remove sutures.

In administrative roles, dental hygienists consult with dental health or insurance companies, market dental products, and initiate community dental health programs. Dental hygienists also hold positions at colleges and universities, where they teach dental hygiene or conduct clinical research. Another area of opportunity is in public health, where dental hygienists provide health policy and program administration and management; research community-based care methods; focus on oral health promotion and disease prevention; and help assess, develop, evaluate, and initiate oral health care delivery systems. In these capacities they often have little or no direct individual patient contact.

Dental hygiene is a profession that requires its practitioners to work closely with patients, earning their trust, maintaining a high level of oral care, and teaching them the skills they need to stay healthy. Providing these valuable services usually fosters a tremendous sense of personal fulfillment. Dental hygiene is a highly skilled, prestigious discipline with room for advancement. Flexible hours and work environments make the work attractive. Dental hygienists have little problem finding full- or part-time work during daytime, evening and weekend hours in almost every area of the world. Many also enjoy the job security that dental hygiene offers. Rapid advances in preventive dentistry combined with an aging and growing population ensures that dental hygienists will be busy for the foreseeable future.

Work settings

Dental hygienists usually work in private dental practices. However, other employment settings include health maintenance organizations, long-term care facilities, schools, military bases, universities, research facilities, governmental agencies, dental supply companies, or in veterinary dental medicine.

Education and training

Dental hygienists are licensed oral health care professionals who have either a two-year diploma, certificate, or associate degree in dental hygiene or a four-year baccalaureate degree. They are educated through community college academic programs, technical colleges, dental schools, or universities. Dental hygienists should work well with others and have good manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination to use dental instruments in the small area of a person's mouth.

Students in dental hygiene programs receive laboratory, clinical, and classroom instruction in subjects such as anatomy, physiology, chemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, nutrition, radiography, histology, periodontology, pathology, dental materials, dental hygiene theory and practice, and social and behavioral sciences.

Dental hygienists must be licensed in the jurisdiction in which they practice. To become licensed, dental hygienists must have graduated from an accredited dental hygiene school and passed written and clinical examinations. Accredited dental hygiene programs require an average of 2,000 curriculum hours, including 585 hours of supervised clinical dental hygiene instruction. Two-year associate's degrees allow dental hygienists to take national, state, or regional license examinations.

Usually, an associate's degree is qualification enough for those who want to practice in a private dental office. High school students considering a career in dental hygiene should consider taking such courses as health, biology, psychology, chemistry, mathematics, and speech. Some baccalaureate degree programs require that applicants first complete two years of college before being accepted into dental hygiene programs. About half of the dental hygiene programs prefer applicants who have completed at least one year of college. Students or school counselors should contact individual programs for their requirements.