Dental Hygienist Pros and Cons

From 3arf

Are you thinking about becoming a dental hygienist? It helps to talk to as many hygienists as possible before you plunge into a career change. I have been a hygienist in Australia for five years. I have written about some points that may interest you if you want to be a hygienist.

A dental hygienist is a flexible job. Many dentists need hygienists for full time, part-time, casual or relief work. An organised hygienist can work at various locations at a time schedule that suits them. A hygienist with good communication skills or a great receptionist can organise time off work in advance. Basically, patients can be booked in to suit your schedule. Flexibility is certainly desirable for busy mothers with children to look after.

Dental Hygiene has great job security. Firstly, many western countries have an ageing population. Which means more demand in the future as elder people are more susceptible to periodontal disease. Due to improved oral hygiene and water fluoridation people are keeping their teeth longer, which means more future demand. And finally, many countries are simply not training enough oral hygienists. These factors ensure the worker generally has good employment prospects.

A good dental hygienist can make average money. A hygienist with good communication skills can make better money. Remember to negotiate with your boss skilfully. Don't forget about commissions and to review your pay periodically. Find out what other hygienists are getting for their experience level. However, if your not confident, negotiating can be a major source of anxiety. Because many dentists are running their own business they tend to be stingy. But only if you let them get away with it!

If I have one warning about dental hygiene it would be this: watch your back! looking in people's mouths all day will do permanent damage to your neck and back if you have incorrect posture. Many people do not think of this when choosing hygiene as a career. They imagine a clinical environment that is indoors and air-conditioned. Just remember, these things are not very appealing if you are going home every day with aching pain.

One thing that bothers me is what I call the inferiority issue. Whether you like it or not you will always feel lower than the dentist. You can kid yourself that you're a "valuable member of the dental team" but trust me, the sidekick role gets old. Not good if your ambitious or full of pride. Patients will always ask "are you a dentist?", "why didn't you do dentistry?" and "do you plan on becoming a dentist?". Many students plan on being a hygienist and then going on to studying dentistry in the future. Although many have admirable plans very few achieve this goal.

Teeth would be so much easier to clean if they weren't attached to people. And anywhere there are people there is trouble. Because patients are human they can be scared, illogical, grumpy and suspicious. If they don't fidget, making the work frustrating, they can grumble, complain and accuse you of being rough and trying to rip them off. The people factor acts as a magnifier. It makes the work extremely rewarding but you definitely have your bad days every now and then.

Being a dental hygienist has its ups and downs. Its a great job to fall back on and people will always value teeth. However, just remember that it can be a "dead end" job. If your working to make somebody else rich then your limiting yourself. Use dental hygiene as a stepping stone to take you where you want to go. Personaly, I love writing stories, competition judo, property investment and studying and trading options on the stock market. Dental Hygiene has been a valuable and flexible source of income to support my life goals.


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