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Dental Hygienists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Administer oral hygiene care to patients. Assess patient oral hygiene problems or needs and maintain health records. Advise patients on oral health maintenance and disease prevention. May provide advanced care such as providing fluoride treatment or administering topical anesthesia.

Related: Dental Assistants Licensed Practical & Licensed Vocational Nurses Medical Assistants Ophthalmic Medical Technicians Surgical Assistants

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments.
Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
Apply fluorides or other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay.
Record and review patient medical histories.
Expose and develop x-ray film.
Make impressions for study casts.
Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments.
Remove excess cement from coronal surfaces of teeth.
Administer local anesthetic agents.
Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer.
Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.
Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.
Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills.
Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
Conduct dental health clinics for community groups to augment services of dentist.
Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills.
Provide clinical services or health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients or the general public.

Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.

Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Education

Associate's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

125370/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

60.27/hr

Currently Employed

8,830

Yearly Projected Openings

750

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Concern for Others
Integrity
Dependability
Cooperation
Self Control
Adaptability/Flexibility

Attachments or replacement parts for dental instruments
Dental amalgamators
Dental cutting or separating discs
Dental dam supplies
Dental examination chairs
Dental film processors
Dental hygiene instruments
Dental impression trays
Dental instrument sharpening accessories
Dental laboratory air abrasion units
Dental lasers
Dental material pluggers or tips
Dental matrices or sets
Dental operatory retraction cords
Dental probes or explorers
Dental pulp or vitality testers
Dental radiology films
Dental saliva ejectors or oral suction devices
Dental scalers
Dental syringes or needles or syringes with needles
Dental tongs
Dental x ray units
Dental x-ray bite blocks or wings or tabs
Digital cameras
Electronic blood pressure units
Medical acoustic stethoscopes
Medical radiation films or badges
Medical radiological shielding aprons or masks or drapes
Mercury blood pressure units
Microscope slides
Notebook computers
Oxygen therapy delivery system products
Personal computers
Scanners
Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
Teeth cleaning devices
Ultrasonic cleaning equipment

Accounting software
Calendar and scheduling software
Electronic mail software
Internet browser software
Inventory management software
Medical software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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