Description of the profession of dental hygienist - where to study, salary, pros and cons

Author: ProfGid

A dental hygienist is a specialist who is highly knowledgeable about how to care for your mouth. He not only talks about hygiene, but also removes tartar, helps prevent caries, stomatitis, pulpitis and other dangerous conditions. By the way, in 2022, the ProfGid career guidance center developed an accurate career guidance test. He himself will tell you which professions are suitable for you, and give an opinion about your personality type and intelligence.

Short description

It is simply impossible to maintain healthy teeth without constant monitoring of oral hygiene. A variety of infections, untimely removal of plaque, and failure to follow simple recommendations regarding hygiene procedures lead to teeth hurting sooner or later. Regular visits to a dental hygienist are a means of preventing early caries, the development of periodontal diseases, and enamel destruction.

Such specialists have a medical education and most often work together with dental technicians and dentists, taking part in the complex treatment of patients. Their areas of interest include the following states:

• prevention and diagnosis of caries;
• all types of periodontal diseases;
• conditions caused by improper or irregular oral care;
• prevention, treatment or removal of tartar and plaque;
• returning teeth to a snow-white shade.

The main group of dental hygienist patients are children and adolescents, who most often suffer from the above conditions. These specialists can take part in social projects, working on a volunteer basis with vulnerable segments of the population. Their work is of great social importance, helping to reduce the risk of developing various diseases characteristic of the teeth and oral cavity by 65%!

Dental hygienist: what he does and what he treats

The oral cavity is an exceptional ecosystem for the vital activity of microflora, which can cause diseases of the teeth and surrounding tissues. One of the main reasons influencing the composition of microflora is the hygienic condition of the oral cavity. Mineral deposits and soft plaque are an excellent breeding ground for bacteria. There are many medical specialties in dentistry, but only a specialist hygienist can clean your teeth perfectly and restore your smile’s attractiveness.

Features of the profession

Oral care and maintaining dental health are now not only necessary, but also fashionable procedures. Therefore, hygienists are highly sought-after specialists, needed by every private and public dental clinic. Their responsibilities include the following:

• carrying out examination and diagnosis of periodontal diseases;
• assessment of the patient's oral health;
• development of a treatment plan aimed at the patient’s speedy recovery;
• choosing individual hygiene products for care, performing therapeutic and preventive procedures, such as control teeth cleaning, fissure sealing, fluoride varnish coating and others;
• disease prevention, interaction with the population;
• consultations for representatives of educational, medical, industrial and other institutions;
• teaching patients how to care for orthodontic structures;
• cooperation with dentists, dental technicians and other specialists;
• work with accounting, reporting and other types of documentation.

A specialist who makes a choice in favor of dental hygiene must necessarily receive a medical education. He is responsible for the dental health of the population and must be able to find a common language with people of any age. Reports to the chief physician and dentist.

The profession will not lose its relevance in the next 50 years. This kind of work pays well; a specialist will be able to find a decent vacancy, both in a large and in a small city. Dental hygienists do not perform complex medical procedures; men and women can realize themselves in the profession.

Stages of hygienic teeth cleaning

Using innovative technologies, the dental hygienist achieves maximum results without causing pain to the patient. The procedure is carried out in several stages:

• Anesthesia with local anesthetics. Used for increased tooth sensitivity or at the request of the patient.
• Examination of the oral cavity, drawing up a teeth cleaning program.
• Removing hard plaque using an ultrasonic unit. High-frequency sound waves create vibrations that reach the border of the stone and the enamel. The impact breaks the deposit into small fragments. The natural tissues of the tooth are not harmed.
• Cleaning remaining plaque with a jet of water containing fine powder, supplied under high pressure from the nozzle of the sandblaster nozzle. The procedure not only removes plaque, but also polishes the surface of the segments in a row and returns them to their natural color.
• Polishing with special pastes. Teeth polished with an abrasive preparation are less susceptible to the formation of deposits, which prevents the development of caries.
• At the end of the procedure, the dental hygienist performs remineralization with a special drug that reduces the sensitivity of the cervical area of ​​the units to irritants.

Pros and cons of the profession

pros

1. A prepared student will be able to study for free.
2. An opportunity to get an interesting profession for people who already work in the medical field: dental assistants, nurses and others.
3. There are many vacancies, specialists are in demand in every corner of the country.
4. Dental hygienists use a solid array of clinical procedures but do not perform complex surgeries.
5. The profession is suitable for people who want to work in the medical field, but do not want to experience stressful situations every day.
6. The specialty is respected, it has recently appeared in the CIS countries, which determines its popularity.
7. A good dental hygienist will have patients actively make appointments with him, which will help his salary increase.
8. Peaceful work in a modern dental office.

Minuses

1. Very high competition in universities.
2. The work does not involve physical labor, but the specialist spends a lot of time on his feet, which is fraught with varicose veins and other occupational diseases.
3. There is a very high risk of contracting any disease, because dental hygienists interact with different groups of the population.
4. Serious moral stress, because patients most often do not carefully follow doctors’ recommendations.

When to see a dental hygienist

The World Dental Organization recommends professional hygiene with a hygienist twice a year. This preventive measure makes it possible to prevent inflammation of hard tissues at the stage of stain formation.

You need to make an appointment with a hygienist in the following cases:

• An independently made decision for the purpose of prevention.
• When calcareous deposits and bacterial plaque are detected on the teeth.
• If you smoke a lot, drink coffee, tea: to remove pigment from the enamel and give it a natural color.
• Before prosthetics, in order to adequately select the shade of the crowns.
• If you have braces in your mouth (in this case, you should visit the dental hygienist every 3 months).
• By referral from a dentist before treatment of caries and its complications.
• Before implantation of artificial roots, in order to reduce the risk of infection.
• Before any invasive interventions in the oral cavity.

Important personal qualities

A dental hygienist is a specialist who comes into contact with people on a daily basis, so the following important traits must be present in his character:

• competence,
• friendliness,
• perseverance,
• goodwill,
• altruism,
• responsibility,
• politeness,
• activity,
• determination,
• pedantry,
• accuracy.

A dental hygienist must be a very honest, tactful and passionate person who is ready to help his patients at any time.

Benefits of visiting a dental hygienist

Professional dental hygiene identifies and eliminates:

• putrid odor from the mouth;
• foci of inflammation in the periodontium;
• identify hidden, initial caries, pulpitis, periodontitis;
• improve the condition of the gums;
• eliminate enamel demineralization;
• remove pigmented plaque;
• eliminate rocky, soft layers;
• reduce bleeding gums and tooth sensitivity to external irritants.

You can carry out high-quality professional oral hygiene in dentistry on Otradnoye. We employ highly qualified dental hygienists who perform the full range of services within the competence of this profession. We work on original imported equipment, with certified products that have passed quality tests. Make an appointment with the clinic by calling 8 (499) 202 1000, or fill out the form on the website, we will call you back.

Dental Hygienist Salary for December 2021

Information on salaries is provided by the portal hh.ru.
Russia 25000—50000₽

Moscow 40000—250000₽

The range of salaries is simply huge. Of course, the salary amount primarily depends on the professional experience of the dental hygienist; the region, place of work, and qualifications are also important. Wages in large cities are significantly higher, which is associated with a large flow of paying clients. The minimum salary threshold is 8 thousand rubles, the maximum is 90 thousand rubles.

What is dental professional hygiene

C
This is a set of measures aimed at preventing caries and treating inflammatory diseases of the periodontal soft tissues. It is not always possible to completely remove layers on your own at home. They are present not only on the visible surface of the segments, but also form in the subgingival part of the crown and between the teeth. Therefore, it is impossible to remove them from hard-to-reach areas with a simple brush.

When performing work, a dental hygienist uses special dental instruments (mirrors, hooks, brushes, tweezers) and modern technologies. The most popular methods are the crushing of mineral deposits with an ultrasonic scanner and the air-abrasive method of removing soft, hard deposits using sandblasting equipment.

Career prospects

Now that we have found out who a dental hygienist is and what he treats, we can talk about the prospects for the profession. After completing his studies and receiving a diploma, the young specialist has the opportunity to choose in what format to conduct his activities. A preventive dentist can conduct his own practice in a separate office, or work in conjunction with a specialized doctor, helping and assisting him.

A good doctor quickly acquires a regular clientele. Satisfied patients recommend it to their relatives, friends and acquaintances. Such a specialist will never be left without work. The wider the client base, the more the employer values ​​you, which means there is every chance of achieving increased wages and the best possible working conditions.

In the future, having fully studied all the nuances of the profession, you can open your own office to work for yourself. At the initial stage, this will require significant investments of finance, effort and time, but with well-organized work it promises a good income in the future.

In addition, having acquired a knowledge base and practice in the field of preventive medicine, you can enter a university to obtain a narrower and highly paid specialization. In this case, the time spent on training to become a dental hygienist will not be wasted. When entering a higher education institution, the diploma you already have is taken into account - studies will be carried out according to an accelerated program.

Responsibilities of specialists

Every day, a dental hygienist performs many different procedures. Because of this, his list of responsibilities included 9 different actions.

Professional responsibilities:

• carrying out preventive measures;
• provision of any type of medical care;
• instructing patients on oral hygiene rules;
• performing diagnostic and treatment work;
• drawing up individual care programs for each specific patient;
• answers to questions about methods and rules for brushing teeth;
• carrying out “decorative” work (removing tartar, grinding fillings and much more);
• treatment of oral diseases (for example, periodontal disease);
• adjusting your daily diet to improve dental health.

The hygienist is just the first step

Some are quite satisfied with his level, and he works as a “dental hygienist” throughout his adult life. We will now tell you in more detail what this specialist does. But not everyone remains on this step. As a hygienist, you can come to dentistry and gain starting experience. After this, you can go on to further education and master dentistry, become an orthodontist or a surgeon. Dental school is quite expensive, so delaying it a little and giving yourself the opportunity to accumulate not only experience, but also money, will be very useful.

Where to go to work after studying

This is exactly the area in which, having received a diploma, a young specialist is guaranteed not to be left without work. It has become fashionable to take care of your teeth; it is becoming a habit among people. After all, a beautiful smile is a sign of health and prosperity. In addition, it is much easier and cheaper to avoid a disease than to later treat its consequences and suffer from toothache. The demand for the services of qualified dental hygienists is growing rapidly.

The choice of place for future work is quite wide. Graduates of educational institutions are welcome both in public medical institutions and in private clinics. Dental offices are increasingly opening in schools and holiday camps, nursing homes and health resorts.

Story

It is generally accepted that the profession of a hygienist appeared in Russia quite recently - in the early 2000s. In America, where much attention is paid to disease prevention (after all, it is this approach that ultimately turns out to be economically beneficial for clients), the work of a dental hygienist began to become a separate profession already in the middle of the 19th century. It was then that doctors began to entrust their assistants with the care of keeping patients’ teeth clean and protecting them from caries. This made it possible to reduce the number of infectious diseases of the oral cavity by 60–65%.

By the way, about salary

After getting acquainted in general terms with what a dental hygienist does, it becomes clear that his salary level is always above the national average. And given the need for specialists of this kind, it is safe to say that their wages will only increase in the near future.

Currently, the average salary for a dental hygienist varies depending on the region of the country. In Moscow, it can range from 50 to 200 thousand rubles; in some cases, the upper limit may not be limited. In other cities, the standard of living is lower; here the salary range is from 15 to 90 thousand rubles.

What are the disadvantages

There is always another side to the coin. Negative aspects exist in any profession. It is also useful to take them into account when choosing a future specialty. There may be disadvantages for each, we will highlight only the common ones:

1. Career growth is limited.
2. Lack of variety in work.
3. Patients do not always take the doctor’s recommendations responsibly – this complicates the work.

But if you love your profession, all its shortcomings can easily be avoided. Career growth can be achieved in the future by additionally completing an accelerated program to become a doctor of a narrow specialization. The lack of diversity is compensated by good salaries and useful contacts. You can find an individual approach to any patient who is nervous and careless about recommendations.

Specialty training

You can study to become a dental hygienist in many large cities of Russia. To do this, you need to graduate from high school and successfully pass the Unified State Exam (Russian language, biology, chemistry, mathematics).

Enrolled students will have to study a lot for a long time, since the hygienist course is designed for 5 years. After this, you will need to spend 2 years on residency and receive a certificate authorizing medical practice.

Best educational institutions:

• Moscow State Medical and Dental University named after. A. I. Evdokimova (Moscow);
• Russian National Research Medical University named after. N. I. Pirogova (Moscow);
• Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (Moscow);
• Kazan Federal University (Kazan);
• First Moscow State Medical University named after. I. M. Sechenova (Moscow).

Dental hygienist is one of the most lucrative medical professions. Its representatives help people take care of their oral cavity and prevent the development of various diseases. For this they receive a good monetary reward, gratitude from clients and respect from colleagues.

The situation in dental clinics

Today, almost all clinics (with the exception of private practitioners) have these specialists on their staff. A dental hygienist is often mistaken for an assistant. The fact is that clinics hire them as dental assistants, and additionally load them with administrative duties. As part of our article, we will somewhat reveal the functions that a dental hygienist should perform, so that you know exactly what to expect from this specialist.