How is the profession Dental Hygiene?It's hard or easy?Can anyone from this professiongive me details.?

Answer 1

Someone else just posted a question like this and I answered them. (they also wanted to know what a typical day was like for a hygienist) I'm just going to copy and paste my other answer since it was long.
Hi. I've been a dental hygienist for more than 20 years and I'd love to answer your question. First, the qualities required are doing well in school, especially in the science areas, being able to communicate well with people from all walks of life, patience, a good attitude, and a strong desire to get through the very stringent dental hygiene program at your college. It's not an easy program at all, very difficult and that weeds out the people that aren't going to be able to pass their National and State Board exams. You have to really want this and then be tenacious and stay with it, do your very best at all times.
Our profession is not just about "scraping junk off teeth". We are concerned about the entire patient, not just the mouth. In college, you will be taught to take a patients vital statistics (temp., blood pressure, etc) and also to do a thorough intra and extra oral exam, feeling for swollen lymph nodes in the neck and jawline on the outside of the mouth (extra) and looking for signs of illness on the inside of the mouth (intra). I have, in my many years of experience, actually been the first person to alert a patient to suspicious skin cancerous lesions on the face/ears/neck, etc and also I have found many areas of cancer in the mouth too. You will learn how to diagnose many health conditions in the mouth as well as learn how the patients medical history affects how you will form his treatment Is he on blood thinners? You'll take pharmacology to learn about different medication the patients may be on and how that affect your treatment. Does he have a history of heart attacks? You will need to be prepared with your knowledge of CPR in case it's necessary and understand that the stress of a long dental appt. could pose a risk for such a patient) You will examine the patients mouth and determine their dental health, if there are areas of dental decay, you will chart these for the dentist to examine later. You will note gum problems and chart them also. You also will take 2 years of radiology in college to prepare you for the serious skill of exposing a patient to radiation when taking xrays. That's not something to be taken lightly and you must be very skilled at it so that you can get the xray right the first time. You don't want to expose a patient to any more radiation than is necessary. You will learn all about he various shapes of the teeth, the basic anatomy of the tooth structures so that you will be able to follow the shapes as you slip a very sharp metal instrument below the gumline and work where you can't see, only going by feel. Now do you see why I say it's not just about "scraping junk off teeth"? A huge part of your daily job is being a teacher, that's where the ability to communicate well comes in. You have to be personable enough to earn your patients trust as many patients are quite fearful of dental offices. You will have to explain what you are doing and why, which builds trust, and also teach them how to properly care for their own teeth with brushing and flossing. I believe that an educated patient is the best thing for both them and for me, so I do tell my patients everything I can and show them their xrays too.
The basic rundown on how I see a patient goes something like this: I first review their chart and bring myself up to speed on their ongoing dental health situations (have gum disease or fillings that haven't been filled yet, etc). I call my patient back to my room and go over their medical history with them to be sure nothing has changed since I saw them last. I ask if they are having any dental problems. If they are, we delve into that, asking their symptoms and many other specific questions. I take any necessary xrays and while they are developing, I lay the patient back and begin my intra-oral exam. I look over all the teeth and gums, all the tissues in the mouth also (for cancer or other diseases) and note in the chart any problems. I check the xrays for decay and calculus (tarter on the teeth). Sometimes I will stop and show the patient the xrays at this point to back up any treatment we need to do, otherwise I will wait til the end of the appt. Then I scale the teeth (cleaning with the sharp instrument) to remove any hard deposits on the teeth as well as plaque below the gumline. I then polish the teeth to remove stain and other surface plaque. I answer any questions the patient has, go over proper brushing and flossing, then the dentist comes and checks my charting to look over any problems I have noted.
I usually have either 30 or 45 min. per patient and that time include my setting up the room before and cleaning it afterwards.
Sometimes I also do sealants on children and have expanded duties that include anything the assistant can do and more (too many to list here) This is just general rundown of an average patient.

I love my job. It's a very fulfilling career for me to be able to get a "before" and "after" with each patient, getting to see how I've improved things for them in only a short time. It can be "gross" I suppose, you will deal with blood, spit, food debri, pus and bad odors too, so you have to be able to handle these things (I was in the medical field before changing careers). Hygienists get paid decent, not as much as folks think though. :) I don't feel guilty about earning my salary. I went to college for 5 years for my two degrees and I've paid my dues already. I also have to pay for my continuing education fees, license renewal fees and liability insurance. If you are really interested in this profession, I would recommend that you ask a hygienist if you could "shadow" her for a day at her job to see if it's the thing for you. If you like it, welcome aboard!! Hope this helps and good luck in whatever field you chose!

Answer 2

It's not that hard to do the job, but it's not for everyone. There are
good days and bad days, just like any other jobs.
The classes aren't too bad, especially if you're good in science.
You just have to be organized and have good study habits.
Some patients are hard to work on and some are a walk in the
park. I wouldn't want to work full-time any more, it can be hard
on the back and the hands. I was getting symptoms of carpel-tunnel syndrome so I cut back to part time. I've worked for the
same guy for over 10 years,so I know most of my patients and
look forward to seeing them.

Also, you need to be licensed in each state you work in, so it's
probably not a good career for you if you're going to be moving
around a lot, like if your husband gets transferred all the time.
Most states only give the licensing exams 1 or 2 times a year, so
if you miss it, you wouldn't be able to take it again for a while,
and you wouldn't be able to work legally during that time.

Answer 3

ONS,
A VERY GOOD RESPONSE IS GIVEN BY BEACHGIRL. DOING THE ACTUAL WORK IS NOT DIFFICULT. YOU MUST LIKE TO LEARN, AND LIKE SCIENCES AS WELL. YOU MUST LIKE WORKING WITH PEOPLE.