How To Write A Dental Hygienist Job Description (With Examples)

A company is only as good as the employees who work there. This is especially true in the dental field, where success is typically only reachable through a combination of high-quality customer and patient service and meticulous, state-of-the-art dental care.

Finding the most qualified, personable, and experienced dental hygienist is essential to an appropriately functioning and profitable dental office. Since the field is growing rapidly, there’s no shortage of dental hygienists across the United States, but finding the best professional for your needs usually takes careful thinking.

Writing a clear, concise, and well-thought-out job description is the first step in finding, and eventually hiring, an experienced and professional dental hygienist at the top of their field.

By considering a dental hygienist’s duties and responsibilities, and well as the skills and qualifications needed to succeed in the role, and analyzing the job’s objective and salary, you’ll be well on your way to crafting an excellent dental hygienist job description and hiring an applicant with the skills necessary to provide patients with top-notch oral healthcare.

What Does a Dental Hygienist Do?

In many ways, dental hygienists are the backbone of the dental industry.

Dental hygienists are typically the first dental professionals a patient will encounter when seeking oral healthcare. Using various dental tools, dental hygienists clean their patients’ teeth, conduct examinations for signs of oral diseases, and provide preventive dental care.

In addition to cleaning and polishing teeth, dental hygienists are also a primary source of education for patients in their oral hygiene and dental routines. Their role is also essential in providing patient care that is both individualized and respectful.

Overall, dental hygienists are tasked with providing preventative dental care and working closely with established dentists to assess patients’ oral health and develop appropriate treatment plans.

Duties and Responsibilities of Successful Dental Hygienists

The large majority of dental patients have yearly or bi-yearly appointments with a dental hygienist where x-rays are taken, tartar, stains, and plaque is removed from teeth, fluorides and sealants are applied, and treatment plans are documented and updated.

In addition to their daily duties and responsibilities, dental hygienists are also expected to maintain the highest degree of patient confidentiality at all times, as per HIPPA law.

When writing an effective job description, it’s important to fully understand the duties and responsibilities expected of the dental hygienist to accurately list them in the job posting and attract the best, most qualified pool of applicants.

To help you craft the perfect dental hygienist job description, we’ve rounded up some of the principal duties and responsibilities expected of dental hygienists in the United States. Here are the top five duties and responsibilities of successful dental hygienists:

1. Clean and polish patients’ teeth. A dental hygienist’s primary job responsibility is to clean and polish their patients’ teeth. Hygienists are expected to use a wide array of hand, power, and ultrasonic tools to remove tartar, stains, and plaque from teeth.

2. Educate patients on oral hygiene. Since dental hygienists are experts on oral hygiene and specialize in dental care, part of their job duty includes educating patients on their dental hygiene and personal treatment plans.

   Many of the most successful dental hygienists help people maintain good oral health by advising them on how to brush and floss their teeth, informing them what toothbrushes yield the best results, and explaining how diet can affect teeth and oral health.

3. Assist dentists in providing patient care. When dental hygienists aren’t cleaning teeth or advising patients, they’re usually expected to assist dentists with various procedures. Successful dental hygienists are tasked with working closely with dentists and oral surgeons to deliver patients with the best possible oral healthcare.

   Dental hygienists at the top of their field should have the skills and experience necessary to help manage dental emergencies, assist during oral surgery, orthodontics, pediatrics, and general dentistry procedures, including basic restorative measures, surgeries, extractions, and crown preps, and help dentists administer local and topical anesthetics.

4. Update patient charts and treatment plans. Dental hygienists are generally responsible for updating patient charts after each visit to provide patients with the best possible care and allow dentists to develop a proper treatment plan.

   While dentists usually develop patient treatment plans, dental hygienists play a big part in assisting dentists when evaluating charts, records, and images and are also essential in educating patients on their oral healthcare treatment plans.

5. Perform oral exams and imaging. Since dental hygienists are typically the first dental professional a patient sees, another of their primary responsibilities is conducting initial oral examinations and raking and developing dental x-rays.

   Effectively performing oral exams and imaging procedures is essential, as this can identify signs of oral diseases and cancers.

Skills and Qualifications of Successful Dental Hygienists

When writing a dental hygienist job description and interviewing qualified applicants, it’s essential to highlight any relevant skills and qualifications — like critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills — needed to succeed in the role.

Typically, job applicants should have an academic background in dental assisting and dental hygiene and hold a certified dental technician certificate to qualify for a professional dental hygienist role. Moreover, job seekers must also have a very refined skill set to succeed as a hygienist.

To help you craft the perfect dental hygienist job description, we’ve rounded up some of the top skills and qualifications of dental hygienists in the United States. Here are the top five skills of successful dental hygienists:

1. Patient care. Providing and coordinating high-quality patient care is essential in dentistry. Dental hygienists are most successful when they are highly skilled in patient care and can establish professional relationships with patients. This has been shown to help put dental patients at ease and gain confidence in their treatment plans.

2. CPR. In case of an emergency, nearly all dental hygienists must have a valid and current CPR certification. Although rare, CPR is sometimes a necessary life-saving procedure that is used during dental emergencies.

3. Dental procedures. Since dental hygienists are experts in dental care and oral hygiene, they are expected to be highly skilled in performing various dental procedures. Such procedures include preventive, cosmetic, and emergency dental practices.

4. Dentistry. Having a comprehensive understanding of dentistry is essential to finding success as a dental hygienist. The most qualified dental hygienists are highly skilled in all areas of dental medicine, including the care, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions involving the teeth and mouth.

5. Oral hygiene. Since dental hygienists are tasked with cleaning and polishing patients’ teeth, they should understandably be experts in oral hygiene. The best dental hygienists are skilled in overseeing initial patient screening procedures, cleaning teeth, providing preventive oral care, and educating patients on their oral hygiene.

Salary Expectations of Successful Dental Hygienists

Salary is an important aspect of any job description. Understanding what dental hygienists in the United States earn annually and offering a competitive salary are great ways to appeal to potential employees and provide accurate salary estimates on a job description or job posting.

Across the country, dental hygienists earn an average salary of $78,399 per year or about $37.69 per hour. Dental hygienists on the lower end of the spectrum, including those working in entry-level positions, make roughly $53,000 annually. In comparison, professionals in the top 10 percent make an impressive six-figure salary of about $114,000 per year.

Although exact salaries do not need to be included in a job description, they can be a powerful way of appealing to potential applicants. Whether you include a salary range in the job description or not, it’s still important to understand the salary expectations for dental hygienists to ensure a smooth interviewing and hiring process.

Dental Hygienist Education Requirements

When writing a perfect dental hygienist job description, it’s important to clearly state the education requirements necessary to be considered for the role. In dentistry, education is extremely important, so clearly outlining the education requirements for the dental hygienist role will ensure you appeal to the most qualified candidates for the job.

Typically, dental hygienists must have at least an associate’s degree in dental hygiene from an accredited dental hygiene program at a community college, technical school, or university. Such programs usually include laboratory, clinical, and classroom instruction.

On top of completing a three-year academic program, dental hygienists are also required by law to be licensed in the state they work, a process which usually includes a written and clinical exam. After receiving certification, dental hygienists must maintain their licensure by completing continuing education requirements.

Dental Hygienist Experience Requirements

Many dental hygienist openings require applicants to have previous professional experience in addition to their formal academic degrees and certifications. Listing experience requirements is a great way to enhance your dental hygienist job description and receive applications from only the most qualified dental hygiene professionals.

For mid-level dental hygienist positions, you may want to require that applicants have prior professional dentistry experience. Some of the top careers professionals hold before becoming a dental hygienist include dental assistant and dental receptionist.

While entry-level dental hygienist positions typically only require appropriate education and certifications, listing internship experience as a requirement in your job description can help you find the best candidate for your dental office’s needs.

Furthermore, requiring previous professional experience in a position that required customer service skills, in addition to other basic dental hygienist qualifications, can also be a great way to find qualified applicants.

Example Dental Hygienist Job Description

If you’re a dentist or hiring manager looking to hire a skilled and qualified dental hygienist, writing an effective job description is the first step in finding the perfect hygienist for your dental practice. To help make the onboarding process that much easier, we’ve crafted a clear and concise dental hygienist job description that can be used as a template and guide.

Here’s a great example of a dental hygienist job description.

Author

Elsie Boskamp

Elsie is an experienced writer, reporter, and content creator. As a leader in her field, Elsie is best known for her work as a Reporter for The Southampton Press, but she can also be credited with contributions to Long Island Pulse Magazine and Hamptons Online. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Stony Brook University and currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee.