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Becoming a dental hygienist requires formal education. The most common requirement for a dental hygiene degree consists of a two-year degree after science and general education prerequisites. Courses include anatomy, oral anatomy, materials science, pharmacology, periodontology, nutrition, and clinical skills. There are also four-year and six-year degrees in dental hygiene. In addition, the American Dental Hygienists' Association has defined a more advanced level of dental hygiene, the Advanced Dental Hygiene Practitioner.

Salaries for Dental Hygienists vary depending on experience and geographic location. The average hourly wage for hygienists in 2002 in the US was $26 per hour.


PROCESS OF CARE

The dental hygiene process of care has five steps:
  • Assessment: Gathering data.

  • Dental Hygiene Diagnosis: Interpreting the data into a coherent description of a client's condition in terms that can be addressed by a dental hygienist.

  • Planning: Determining the techniques that will solve the problems indicated in the dental hygiene diagnosis and the order in which those techniques will be applied.

  • Implementation: Carrying out the plan.

  • Evaluation: Determining the effectiveness of the work that was performed.

    • Mueller-Joseph and Petersen describe the dental hygiene process of care as a cycle in which the dental hygienist might pass through each of these steps several times during a course of treatment. Over a period of months or years a dental hygienist may have evaluated his or her work several times, altering the diagnosis and plan numerous times as the client's condition changes.


In many states, licensed dental hygienists have a political desire to free themselves from the constraints of working under the supervision of a dentist.

Just as registered nurses go into homes as a private duty nurse, many hygienists would like legally to be allowed to provide care in their own office, treat those that are unable to get to a dentist office, or those unable to proceed with the recommended care by the dentist due to financial constraints. There are many patients who cannot afford the recommended dental care by their dentist, but on the other hand, would like to be able to keep up with the cleaning of their teeth. This is not allowed by many state dental boards for the hygienist to practice independently in this way.
If dental hygienists were allowed by their respective state licensing dental board, dental cleanings could be provided to those patients unable to afford complex dental treatment, as well as those in nursing homes and other such facilities. This access to better dental health would benefit all and result in better total health that the population deserves. Cavities and complex dental problems would still need the assistance of a licensed dentist, but the dental hygienist would not be able, or liable, for this type of dental care.


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