Providing preventive oral health services is what majors in dental hygiene learn. The chief responsibility of dental hygienists is to assist patients in accomplishing and maintaining oral health. Mastering a wide range of skills pertaining to oral and dental health and patient education is the requirement.
What do Dental Hygienists Do?
From state to state, specific training varies. Students are usually instructed to perform the following: patient assessment, where in they get a patient's medical history, blood pressure, examination of head, neck, and mouth, and oral cancer screening; exposing dental x-rays, oral prophylaxis; applying decay-preventing agents like fluoride and fissure sealants;
Prerequisites For Dental Hygiene
A lot of institutions require 1 to 2 years of general studies before students enter in the dental hygiene program, which needs two years to complete. A dental hygiene program could be set in a community college or in a four-year institution. Other programs are affiliated with a dental school.
Study of basic sciences are what the students learn first like human anatomy, physiology, and pathology to better understand the function of the human body, the process of disease, and the biological and physiological basis of health. Programs in dental hygiene sciences offer the foundation for dental hygiene care and clinical practice. Learning happens in the classroom, in laboratories, and in clinical experiences. Practicing on models and direct patient care is where the students acquire skills the most, which starts in the first year. Providing dental hygiene services to a big and diverse group of patients inside a clinical setting is stressed.
A good deal of a dental hygienists' time is spent interacting with patients one-on-one. Students therefore must
Experiences outside the clinical setting might include visitation to patients in public health clinics, hospitals, child care centers, nursing homes, and correctional facilities. Students may also take part in health fairs, health education presentations, and grade school activities. Some dental hygiene programs send out students to the community dental offices for hands on experience.
Dental Hygiene Career
Dental hygiene is a certified health care profession. Graduation from an accredited dental hygiene program and a successful completion of a national written examination and a state's own written and clinical exam are the requirements for licensure. The bulk of dental hygiene graduates find work as dental hygienists in private dental offices. Though, there is an increasing number of work in public health agencies, school systems, hospitals, long-term care facilities, universities, and health care organizations. The major may lead to careers in clinical dental hygiene, office management, teaching, public health, or sales of dental products. By having a suited graduate degree, it can allow one to work as a program administrator, researcher, or dentist.
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© Athena Goodlight (repost from 2012)
