Christensen 1

Allison Christensen

English III

Davis

02/22/18

A Career in Dental Hygiene

A lot of kids dread going to the dentist, but the importance of dental hygiene

overshadows the fear of going. Kids and even adults normally do not know the difference

between a dentist, a hygienist, or a dental assistant. Most just go to the office, get their teeth

cleaned, and leave without knowing what goes on behind the scenes in a dental office. Though

the job of a dental hygienist seems simple, the career requires lots of things which includes: the

proper schooling and training, a wide knowledge of the career, and it requires preparation for

high school students.

In order to understand the following, one must know the definition of dental hygiene.

Dental hygiene means “The science and practice of the recognition, treatment and prevention of

oral diseases (Denise).”

Dental hygiene has grown a lot since the 1800’s, when people started caring about their

oral health. In earlier times, people did not care about their teeth, which caused them to lose all

of their teeth at an early age. For example, America’s first president George Washington had

dentures because he did not have enough healthy teeth to use on their own (Worsley). As time

passed, people began to learn about the importance of teeth and why everyone should keep their

teeth healthy and strong. When someone takes care of their teeth, It helps them save money

because they don’t need to pay someone to pull out their teeth, if they take care of their teeth
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themselves. Also in this time period people started noticing that people started smiling in their

portraits, so everyone started wanting nice teeth to smile in their portraits. After people wanted

nice teeth, people began studying teeth and creating jobs to help others with their oral health

(Worsley).

About one hundred years ago, in 1913, Dr Alfred C. Fones established the first school

of dental hygiene. Dr. Fones also developed the concept of the term prevention specialists or a

dental hygienist, because it sounded more official than their previous title as dental nurses. He

also believed that teaching children about oral health helps create in their youth that will last for

hopefully their whole lives. Twenty years later, more people understood dental hygiene, and

started to write books about things like mouth cleanliness, and the prevention of dental diseases.

In 1940, the president of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) said, that even

though hygienists need to understand science, he thinks that the likelihood of hygienists

becoming scientists ends up as improbable. Though hygienists do not have to end up as

scientists, they still need to have an education for their future occupation. Before 1947 a

hygienist had to have eight to twelve months of required schooling, but after 1947 the

requirement doubled to 2 years of training in order to become a hygienist.

Although the importance of dental hygiene in the past did not have an important role in

society, the growth in the dental occupation has grown exponentially in the present.​ In May, of

2016, the United states had 917,230 total occupations in dental offices, and 194,830 dental

offices in this country alone. Imagine the number for the entire world. (U.S. Bureau) A lot of

people in the world have interests in encouraging others to keep their teeth clean, which explains

why the number of dental hygienists in the country continues to grow throughout the years. The
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population in the world increases every day, which means that the world needs more people to

help care for the needs of the growing population.

A dental hygienists main responsibility addresses towards cleaning teeth, and helping

patients develop good oral health to prevent tooth decay. This leads to gingivitis, a type of gum

disease. They also remove calculus from teeth, both on the visible surface and below the gum

line. Hygienists may also perform “deep” cleanings for the treatment of periodontal disease

(Tracy) This emphasizes how the field of dental hygiene ranks as one of the top 30 fastest

growing jobs (dental hygienist). With this knowledge, people can understand the importance of

their job and why dental offices have more roles other than just dentists. For example, evidence

shows that dental hygienists have helped the rate of cigarette smoking, grow smaller. (Edwards)

Smoking does not keep the respiratory system healthy, and especially not for the mouth. So,

since hygienists main job addresses towards cleaning the mouth, they have helped stop the cause

of teeth rotting from cigarettes.

The job for a dental hygienist requires different traits that someone would not learn in

school, such as patience, and keeping the environment calm. Every day hygienists put shiny,

pointy tools into people’s mouths, which frightens many children and adults. So, they must make

the environment cool, and pleasant to make sure their patient stays calm. Hygienists do a variety

of tasks that include scaling and polishing teeth, and showing patients how to keep up with their

oral health (​Geshelin)​. These traits do not come naturally to everyone, so if anyone has a desire

for becoming a dental hygienist, they can practice those traits by working in an environment that

requires patience, especially with children. A job like working in a daycare, or a customer

service job will help build skills for patience, and working with people. Other traits include
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paying attention to detail, speed, skill, dependability, and an ability to work under pressure

(Geshelin). Many people become a dental assistant before they become a dental hygienist, just to

see if they would enjoy having a job in that environment. It also looks very good on applications

for hygienists programs for different colleges (​Geshelin)

In order to qualify for a job as a hygienist, a student must go through the proper

schooling. Now, finding the right college may have some difficulties, but through research,

people have found that those who go to a bigger college, have the same grade point average as

those who go to a smaller college (Olmsted). Also, community colleges work ​as good ​just the

same or even better than a fancy school out of state. For example, Central Piedmont Community

College (CPCC) in Charlotte, North Carolina has one of the best dental hygiene programs in the

united states for a community college, and it does not require the harsh applications like big

universities (Tracy).​ CPCC exemplifies as o​ne of many community colleges out there that have

good programs for students seeking a career in dental hygiene.

For schools like CPCC, a system of points exists in order to help students receive a

higher advantage for getting into the program. Things like getting good grades in high school,

A’s give higher points than B’s or C’s. Also, things such as going to Orientation classes, working

as a DA I (Limited Duties Assistant), and observing for 40+ hours in a dental office, can help

add points to a students list (Tracy). Doing things like this helps show those in enrollment that

the student has more initiative than others applying for the program.

The length of schooling depends on what kind of field a student wants to pursue. For

dental hygienists, it takes about two, to four years, and leads to an associates degree in dental

hygiene. For assistants, it takes one year, and to become a dentist it takes about eight to twelve
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years of college, and it requires getting into a dental school (Tracy). Both dental hygienists and

assistants can get their proper schooling done in a community college. In order for a dental

hygienist to finish their schooling, they must take 47 credits of coursework. Generally, for

community colleges the price of schooling depends how many semesters a student needs to take

for their occupation. The price has grown through the years, leading to higher costs in 2018 as

well. Normally, the cost of schooling has higher numbers for hygienists compared to assistants.

In the end hygienists get paid higher rates after college. Also, things like acceptance rate come

into play. Only 30 students get accepted into the program every semester at Central Piedmont,

which does not seem like a lot. Usually, Men get accepted into dental hygiene programs more,

because this occupation tends to have a lot of female dominance in terms of the number of

women compared to men (Tracy). So if a female student wants to become a dental hygienist,

then they have to work a little harder to get into the program, since the competition for women

tends to have a higher rate.

More and more colleges have come out with dental hygiene programs because of a high

demand for oral healthcare in different areas. For example, the people of Queens, New York

added their first ever dental program because so many people lived there, and the number of

dental hygienists did not match the amount of people in the town. This program ended up as the

first dental program established in New York City since 1990 (Pr, Newswire). Having a new

dental program has helped those in the area who have looked for a dental office. It has also

helped those who live in one of the only dental offices in the area relieve the overwhelming

amount of people visiting their office. This kind of situation has happened through many areas

going through the same problems, and it has helped so many people.
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In order to get into a dental program in college, high school students should take courses

that will help them get accepted into college programs. For dental hygiene, students should have

skills in subjects that focus on courses including math, chemistry, biology, and anatomy to help

with the classes that college students will have to take in order to become a dental hygienist. An

advanced placement class (AP) for classes like chemistry, and biology could count as college

credit for some community colleges.​ If a student would have taken AP chemistry in high school

with a C or higher, they would not have to take a college chemistry class that will delay them

from getting into the program quicker. This goes the same for other AP classes like AP Biology.

While in the program, a student must complete four prerequisites before completing the program

itself. Also, students must take 2 required tests in math and english (Tracy). A student could

work at an office for minimum wage after high school, and if they did this for 5 years they could

qualify to become a certified dental technician. That could work if a student does not have the

desire to go to a college for two years. Knowing what a highschool student wants to do in the

future helps them a lot because they prepare early, so they do not have to worry about it when

they do figure it out after high school.

Schools like Pine Lake Preparatory in Mooresville, North Carolina help their students

prepare for their future by writing a research paper about their career. This way, students can

understand what they have interests in, and what they can do in high school for their future

career. Going to a preparatory school versus a public school, benefits a student more because

they help ​prepare​ students to learn how to work hard early on, so that they will work hard when

they become adults that contribute to the future of the United States. If all students work hard,
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then not just people in the dental world will have hard workers, but every profession will have a

share of hard working people.

Many people decide to pursue a career in dental hygiene even after they have chosen to

follow a different career. For example, a man had the job of a construction worker, and he liked

his job, but he did not like the hours. He worked too long in the day that he missed out on

important things in his family life. He even missed the birth of one of his children, because his

job would not let him go. After that, he decided to work in dental hygiene because the hours

worked better for his family life, and he ended up enjoying the job (Catchpole). The occupation

of dental hygiene benefits a lot of parents, considering how the hours normally cover 3-5 days of

the week, working about 30-40 hours (Tracy). This really helps parents for how flexible the

hours work out, and if a hygienist had a baby, then they would get maternity leave. If they work

in a typically nice establishment, then they could get paid maternity leave. It really just depends

on what kind of dentist office they work in. If a student plans on having a family in the future,

then they should consider dental hygiene.

The benefits of this job helps make it such a great way to work. Some of the benefits

include; creating a schedule that works for the hygienist, schooling does not cost as much as

most college programs for a normal occupation, most offices help out by providing insurance

packages as well as free dental care, and helping others feel good about their clean smile (Tracy).

When a hygienist starts their career, the rate of pay tends to start higher, compared to other

occupations starting rate (catchpole). Trained dental hygienists who have had experience earn

wages that vary between $35,000 to $45,000 every year. This concludes that hygienists normally

pay off their student loans quicker than most jobs. William Rainey Harper College wondered if
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their program ended up benefiting their former students, so they mailed surveys to 30 of the

graduates from the class of 1994. 23 of the graduates responded and all except one had a job in

dental hygiene. The full time workers in the group (59%) received payment up to 44,400 a year,

which ended up as 2.1% higher than other wages of WRHC graduates from past years (Holt).

Some of the best hygienists cannot hear, or have to stay in a wheelchair because they

have a disability to walk. People with disabilities can have the job as a dental hygienist, if they

have the proper schooling, and have the knowledge that a dental hygienist needs in order perform

the tasks given (Geshelin). This gives many people the opportunity to work, who may have

never had the chance to work somewhere because of their disabilities. Immigrants who have

problems speaking english clearly will not have problems with their job if they decide to work in

a dental lab. They typically study teeth, or create molds of patients teeth in order to create things

like dentures (partial and complete), work with orthodontic appliances, or crowns and bridges.

Working in a dental hygiene related job has made so many people smile, because they have great

job benefits, and a pretty good job that makes both the patient, and the employee happy.

Dental hygiene has changed so much throughout the years, and it has helped so many

people learn more about their oral health and the importance of it. If an adult or child understood

the importance of the role that dental hygiene has on their health, they would not have as great of

a fear of going to the dentist. Also, if any student has the desire to have a great job, with great

benefits, they should seriously consider looking into this field because this occupation will

change them. Though it requires the correct schooling and patience, it will change the way that

they treat people, and they will have a happy job and a happy life.
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Works cited page

1. Tracy, Nathan. Personal Interview. 1 January, 2018

2. Catchpole, Dan. "YVCC Student All Smiles with New Career Path." ​Yakima Herald-Republic

(WA)​, 09 June 2013. EBSCO​host​,

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3.PR, Newswire. "Plaza College Introduces First Dental Hygiene Program in Queens."

["Plaza-College-Dental"]. ​PR Newswire US,​ 15 Aug. 2017. EBSCO​host​,

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&AN=201708151521PR.NEWS.USPR.NY66060&site=ehost-live&scope=site

4. Worsley, Lucy. "Oral History." ​History Today​, vol. 61, no. 5, May 2011, pp. 5-6. EBSCO​host,​

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&AN=60909913&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

5.US Bureau of Labor Statistics, ​https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes292021.htm

6. "Dental Hygienist." ​Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers,​ vol. 80, no. 8,

Nov/Dec2005, p. 48. EBSCO​host​,

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7. Edwards David , Freeman Toby M. Roche Ann (2006) Dentists' and dental hygienists' role in

smoking cessation: an examination and comparison of current practice and barriers to service

provision. ​Health Promotion Journal of Australia​ ​17​​, 145-151.

8. Olmsted, Jodi L. ​Longitudinal Analysis of Student Performance between Host and

Cooperating College Learners in the Dental Hygiene Program at Northcentral Technical

College in Wausau, Wisconsin.​ 01 Aug. 2001. EBSCO​host​,

9. Geshelin, Hanna. "Dental Hygiene: Careers to Smile about." ​Career World​, vol. 29, no. 2,

Oct. 2000, p. 12. EBSCO​host,​

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10. Bowen, Denise M. “History of Dental Hygiene Research.” ​American Dental Hygienists

Association,​ 21 Feb. 2018, jdh.adha.org/content/87/suppl_1/5.full.