Dental Hygienists

Also Called:

Dental Hygienist,

Hygienist,

Licensed Dental Hygienist,

Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH)

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.

Healthcare & Human Services icon

Healthcare & Human Services

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Record and review patient medical histories.
  • Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
  • Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

Empathy

Social Orientation

Cooperation

Cautiousness

Integrity

Attention to Detail

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

See Related Jobs

Social

See Related Jobs

Realistic

See Related Jobs

Investigative

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Hand and Finger Use

  • Keep your arm or hand steady

  • Put together small parts with your fingers

Verbal

  • Communicate by speaking

  • Listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

  • Make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information

Attention

  • Do two or more things at the same time

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

  • Talking to others

Social

  • Looking for ways to help people

  • Understanding people's reactions

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Dental Hygienists jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop