dental hygenist

That's true. I don't know of a nurse who is unemployed.

i'm sure there are some people who want to work 3-12 for whatever reason, but i assume these people represent a minority.

another big difference between DH and nursing is the way they interact with patients. hygienists develop a clientele. my patients make appointments to see me, and i see them regularly.

hygienists develop long-term relationships with their patients in which the hygienist almost always has a tangible positive impact on the patient's health. the only long-term patient relationship a hospital RN develops is with someone who gets very sick a lot. also, many nurses work around death on a daily/weekly basis. people rarely die at the dentist's.

another aspect of these careers that ALWAYS favors the hygienist is holidays. at worst, a hygienist is off on most major holidays. many hygienists (including myself) get holiday pay. nurses can work for decades and still go into a new year wondering which holidays they'll have to work.

ps) tonawanda is north of buffalo

sierra in North Tonawanda, New York said: oh yeah, another two words a hygienist will never hear: ON CALL

Unfortunately, your attiude sucks how sad such an individual as yourself is in hgyiene

STOP with your putting other professions down how unprofession you seem.

Sierra,
I agree, we never are on call. Our day off is our own time to do what we want. Also, nurses deal with death just about every day. I'm sure there is a great deal of depression due to the negative environment nurses work in. People are usually very sick to be in a hospital and are not happy about being there. I shouldn't complain about hygiene anymore.

DH, she is not putting any profession down, just looking at the positives and negatives of nursing and dental hygiene.

Her attitude does come across harsh. I am in dental and I love it however I do have lots of friends who are in nursing and love everything about the job.

She is still new she has no real experience anyways. She will learn with time.

Karen, honestly do you not think there are negative apsects to being a dental hygienist?

DH in Toronto, Ontario said:
Karen, honestly do you not think there are negative apsects to being a dental hygienist?

don't be silly. no one is trying to say that there are no negative aspects of dental hygiene. i am just making an honest comparison.

every career has negative aspects. you have to have a sense of proportion.

I am a pre-dental hygiene student. I'm most likely switching to nursing. This is a reality check for the woman who posted the pro's and cons for dental Hygiene. Did you ever consider the full medical Dental benefits factor? Research the career fields....Most Dentists only want to employ part time hygienists so that they can dodge paying full-time benefits. How many RNs or even LPNs have you met that don't have 100% paid medical and dental? I totally agree with all that you were saying. I've been a CDA for four years, and have always aspired to be a hygienist. The benefits, or lack there of, are driving me into the Nursing field. The job market in Florida is lousy for Hygienists now....

jacquelyn, part-time hygiene jobs are merely prevalent. NOT the rule. there ARE practices that employ hygienists full-time. i'd say a third of the girls i graduated with are working four days or more. about half of those have health benefits--so 1 out of every 6 offices overall. to put that in perspective, the city of binghamton, ny--population 50,000--has about 200 dental practices within a 30-minute commute. so there are as many as 33 practices in/near that small city that offer reasonable health benefits.

before you argue with my math--say i was was off--even if it was only one in 20 offices, that would still mean TEN in binghamton, ny. that is a SMALL city. in buffalo, a medium-sized city, there are thousands of practices or more within half an hour. if only one of out every 50 practices offered health benefits, there would still be 40 practices, probably 80 hygiene positions or more, that offer benefits. Even if those positions turned over only once every five years on average, that would still mean that a full-time hygiene position w/benefits is hired every 23 days in buffalo. IF ONLY 1 IN 50 DENTISTS OFFER BENEFITS.

however, the ratio, whether it's 1/6 or 1/50, is bad, and lots of hygienists end up frustrated, and they're the ones that flock to these feedback style forums, of course. end result is this ridiculous notion that there are NO hygiene positions with benefits. NOT TRUE.

if you are considering hygiene, you need to understand that the attitude you get from some of the people on these forums is OVERSTATED. you are gonna hear more from the people with chips on their shoulders than the ones that are content with their jobs.

There are always going to pros and cons with any career, including nursing and DH. I do have to point out that nursing doesn't always mean working nights, weekends, holiday, etc.. I am a nurse and I love my job and work a regular Monday-Friday 8:00-4:30 shift. I enjoy having the holidays off with my family and make a nice living doing it. There are so many different areas of nursing and your hours really depend on what you do. I have friends that I went to school with that do botox, laser hair removal, etc. in a spa setting. Others that work in the OR working monday thru Friday, day shifts. Some who work nights because they choose too. Nursing really is a flexible job if you branch out and try other options besides hospital nursing. I don't want to sound like a broken record but I hope people aren't turned off by nursing because they think they'll have to always work crazy hours or with "people who are dying". You can work in an office, a clinic, a hospital, psych, med-surg, pediatrics, research, home health, and the list goes on...........
Just something to think about.

The Dental hygiene industry tanked here. there are no jobs for the hundreds of new grads that keep pouring out each year. there are no jobs in the newspaper, there are no new jobs onthe internet. And the jobs that are listed are 30+ days old andjust stay on the internet. that is the research you should be doing. real jobs are listed in the paper cause you have to pay for the post. the internet jobs stay up even after they are filled cause the site is not maintained by the employer and once the job is filled, the posting stays cause the employer doesn't care. ANd jobs are multiple listed by agencies, which have not jobs to offer.
I work part time, there are no jobs. VERY FEW, Like one maybe, here and there. ANd most of the neg comments are true. espically for the repeat dental listings, cause a good RDH will quit from a really bad job.
I work for 45 an hour. I work once a week and do temp which is very seldom. If I was a single mom, I could not even affort a car, cable tv, or rent on my own.
cynd

"another big difference between DH and nursing is the way they interact with patients. hygienists develop a clientele. my patients make appointments to see me, and i see them regularly."

Sierra-I am an RN and I see the same clients on a weekly basis. I love that I have been able to foster a therapeutic relationship with them and feel like I have also been able to influence their lives in a positive way. And not one of them is dying.

I'm sorry that I keep stating the same facts over and over again, but nursing comes in a variety of different jobs. Not all nurses work on a hospital floor from 7 p.m-7 a.m taking needed care of sick or dying patients. I have so much respect for the individuals who choose to do that type of nursing, but it's not for me so I don't.

Oh ya, I forgot to mention that I've never heard the words "on-call" either.

It sounds like you enjoy DH and I know I enjoy nursing. I am just trying to educate individuals who are trying to make the choice for themselves that nursing does of options as I'm sure DH does as well.

good job nurse! I wanted to be a nurse but the DH school came in first.
You are right, the diversity of nursing if Fantastic!!!!!! and very rewarding.
and the moving up in the career is wonderful. Pediatric nurse, nurse practioner, anesthesiaologist (sp?), dr office nurse, variety of specialities of OR nurses .....wow.
I love DH, but if nursing came in first, I would have done that first.
this is my 2nd career....and all fields tank for a while.

thank you for the explaination, nurses are wonderful
cynd rdh

Samantha RN in Salt Lake City, Utah said: "another big difference between DH and nursing is the way they interact with patients. hygienists develop a clientele. my patients make appointments to see me, and i see them regularly."

Sierra-I am an RN and I see the same clients on a weekly basis. I love that I have been able to foster a therapeutic relationship with them and feel like I have also been able to influence their lives in a positive way. And not one of them is dying.

I'm sorry that I keep stating the same facts over and over again, but nursing comes in a variety of different jobs. Not all nurses work on a hospital floor from 7 p.m-7 a.m taking needed care of sick or dying patients. I have so much respect for the individuals who choose to do that type of nursing, but it's not for me so I don't.

Oh ya, I forgot to mention that I've never heard the words "on-call" either.

It sounds like you enjoy DH and I know I enjoy nursing. I am just trying to educate individuals who are trying to make the choice for themselves that nursing does of options as I'm sure DH does as well.

Thank you Samantha, I truly respect all nurses, sometimes I wish I was one too.

Some people have the wrong attitude and unfortunately write misleading facts without really knowing all there is to know.

DH in Toronto, Ontario said:

Some people have the wrong attitude and unfortunately write misleading facts without really knowing all there is to know.

what i said is true for most nurses. 60% of RNs work in a hospital.

sierra in North Tonawanda, New York said: what i said is true for most nurses. 60% of RNs work in a hospital.

Please STOP with acting as if you know everything about nuring. People who are actual RN know more then you.

I would have to say you act as if you know everything the truth is you don't.

Your attitude sucks.

sierra in North Tonawanda, New York said: what i said is true for most nurses. 60% of RNs work in a hospital.

So then it is true more nurses are able to find employment in a wide variety of settings.

While unfortunately the same does not apply to dental (I do love my job) but I have no right to put other jobs down something you will have to learn with time.

DH in Toronto, Ontario said: Please STOP with acting as if you know everything about nuring. People who are actual RN know more then you.

so, RNs just intrinsically know how many nurses work in hospitals? and somehow i can't figure it out for myself, because i am not an RN? that is absurd. anyone can look that up.

www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm#emply

scroll down to the "employment" section. what does it say? "Hospitals employed the majority of RNs, with 59 percent of jobs." there you go! and, guess what--i didn't need to become an RN and work as one for ten years to learn that!

DH in Toronto, Ontario said: So then it is true more nurses are able to find employment in a wide variety of settings.

NO ONE SAID THEY WEREN'T.

honestly, your comments only tangentially adhere to the framework of this conversation. you're addressing straw men. it's a shame this forum can't hold up to an honest dialogue regarding the DH field. some of the hygienists here are SO impressed with their own narrow experience in the field that they think they've developed this kind of unerring wisdom that can't be questioned by someone who hasn't navigated the same bland assortment of peaks and valleys. pure nonsense.

around here you only have the right to weigh in if you've been in your position long enough to cultivate resentment towards it.

what you get your information from your mother-in-law, for your information another straw is started for pros and cons between RN and dental hygiene maybe you should post all your knowledge on that one.

This one is speicifically for dh.

sierra in North Tonawanda, New York said: so, RNs just intrinsically know how many nurses work in hospitals? and somehow i can't figure it out for myself, because i am not an RN? that is absurd. anyone can look that up.

www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm#emply

scroll down to the "employment" section. what does it say? "Hospitals employed the majority of RNs, with 59 percent of jobs." there you go! and, guess what--i didn't need to become an RN and work as one for ten years to learn that!

NO ONE SAID THEY WEREN'T.

honestly, your comments only tangentially adhere to the framework of this conversation. you're addressing straw men. it's a shame this forum can't hold up to an honest dialogue regarding the DH field. some of the hygienists here are SO impressed with their own narrow experience in the field that they think they've developed this kind of unerring wisdom that can't be questioned by someone who hasn't navigated the same bland assortment of peaks and valleys. pure nonsense.

around here you only have the right to weigh in if you've been in your position long enough to cultivate resentment towards it.

Why not apply all your knowledge on that straw
www.indeed.com/forum/job/dental-hygienist/Dental-Hygiene-Nursing/t60117

DH in Toronto, Ontario said: what you get your information from your mother-in-law, for your information another straw is started for pros and cons between RN and dental hygiene maybe you should post all your knowledge on that one.

This one is speicifically for dh.

what language are you speaking?

Sierra-

I respect what you are saying about the "majority" of nurses working in hospitals. I did not look up the data because honestly I don't need to because I EASILY found a job outside of a hospital. Regardless of where the majority of nurses work there is still a shortage around the country and it's not hard to find a position that suits your lifestyle and personality. I worked on a hospital for a short time and decided I didn't like it so I switched to another area of nursing that better suits me and my lifestyle. I have a husband and a child and like spending evenings, weekends and holidays with them so I do.

I am not trying to make this a battle between RN's and DH's because I think both are needed and I respect both professions. I just don't like it when people state facts about nursing that are not true. Like the fact that we're "on call", or work terrible hours. Yes it's true that some do, but not all of us, and not all nurses think night shifts or on call work is bad. If there is a nurse out there that hates their job and hours then they really should explore other options because it doesn't have to be that way.

Sorry, I know this forum is about DH which is the reason I started to read it. I have a friend that is trying to decide between the two professions which is how we found this site. I just couldn't help but comment on nursing.

Sierra- I wouldn't presume to know what it must be like for a DH so maybe you shouldn't try to comment on nursing when you are not one. I honestly say that with respect. I would just hate for someone who is trying to make the choice between the two professions be mislead by anyone.

Sierra I don't know what gave you the impression I am not happy with the jobs that I have or my career. I've been with the same 3 offices for the last 6 years, I work 30 hours a week, I get raises every year and I work for three very good dentists, but that does not mean I going to lie and say that in Florida there are jobs for hygienist; you live in New York so I could not make any comments of whats going on in your state. Just in Miami they have more than 250 hygienist graduating every year that includes foreign dentist (talking about math). The lies they told me in hygiene school were that we would not have any problem finding jobs because hygienist were in demand, and they forgot to mention that any dentist from a foreign country can get their hygiene license in three months which is fine with me every body has the right. I just want to make it clear I am not frustrated about my career or anything is just simple facts that in Florida is almost impossible to find a job for new graduates

to No Benefits in Fla., I have to agree with you, although I am from New York. When I graduated 16 years ago from DH school and we were picking our states that we wanted recopricity in, they said don't even bother to pick Fla., which of course everybody wanted to pick, because it is the natural migration of New Yorkers to migrate down to Fla. when the temp. hits a bone chilling 10 below with the wind factor. We knew back then that Fla. would be impossible to get a job, although Long Island now is just as impossible... I went on a job interview last week in Manhattan, and the azzhole Dentist that I didn't like from the start, told
me that I was the first person he was interviewing, and then he had the nerve to tell me that he was also interviewing DDS's
for the job as well. As if to say, that I was not GOOD enough for a Hygienist position, although I am a Hygienist. So, guys NY is no walk in the park either.

Samantha RN in Salt Lake City, Utah said: I just don't like it when people state facts about nursing that are not true. Like the fact that we're "on call", or work terrible hours. Yes it's true that some do, but not all of us, and not all nurses think night shifts or on call work is bad.

i haven't said anything that isn't true. 6 out of 10 nurses work in a hospital. and i'm only talking about nurses because someone else brought the comparison up. and, yes, one thing about nursing that sucks compared to dental hygiene are the shifts and on-call status. that is true whether some nurses don't experience it or not.

Hi there,
the industry here is saturated!!!! Schools are saturating the field.there are so many dentists that do their own hygiene, and so many hygienists out of a job or not making enough to support themselves. it is hard to get a job. It would be even harder for you. Just read the posts from the last 10 months to now.
cynd

Hello,
stop slaming each other. RDH or RN are choices and callings. both have problems. However what I do like are the descriptions and passion for the professions. I do like the pros and cons. I don't like the insults, and childish comments. I do appreciate those who can respond in a mature fashion, and thank you for that.

AS a RDH, I feel like a dental RN, whic I think I am. I wish I could be an RN, but I would still do DH. PT and RN PT. the professions are so similar in that we have to look at the whole system to see what is effecting the mouth. that is the similarity, and that is all we can do with in our dental hygiene diagnosis. the rest is knowledge, precaution, and referral so we can provide the best oral care for our patients.

Please, be respectful, mature, and just question for knowledge. Maybe we as RDH can move into a more meaningful medical aspect, rather than just an advanced degree in DH, which does not get us any more MONEY! I want more responsibility and movability in the field, like nurses.

Lets do something within our Associations, make them respond to our needs as DH.
Happy holidays to all. and thank you for sharing comments. cynd

i am not "slamming" anyone. i'm just being honest.

April honey I have not so good news for you if you are been invaded by foreign DDS in your city as we been in Miami they work for 10 dollars less an hour to get the job. I have seen them in Miami working for 23 dollars an hour and I mean no offense I am an immigrant myself (Cuban), but they should respect all of us who have work hard and earned our degree in two years instead of three months and ask for a decent salary. The worse part is at the end what most dentist care for is saving money, but they get what they pay for. Good luck, don't discourage yourself if he doesn't hire u is his lost you'll get a better offer from someone who appreciates your experience

WARNING! WARNING! FUTURE STUDENTS CONSIDER YOURSELF WARN.

CAVITRON in Miami, Florida said: WARNING! WARNING! FUTURE STUDENTS CONSIDER YOURSELF WARN.

"future students consider yourself warn"--LOL

here's another tip, kids--you may as well take advice from your goldfish, right?

really, now, is anyone surprised that "cavitron" hasn't found success in the DH field? maybe he/she should apply at burger king.

agreed!!!!
take a good look at those job postings. they are old, very old or filled or have 30 plus responses and the pay is low!!!!!
you are not treated very nice if you can not keep up with the appointments, or you are treated nice, but to your last pay check!!!

Cavitron in Fl got it right. NO jobs. search the job sites for US and Canada. it is poor for DH jobs; and look carefully. the jobs are old and already filled, but they never come off the job site. Temp agencies will tell you the same thing, "slow and no jobs";
for every opening in DH there are 30 resumes. hourly wages are plunging!!! Schools are flooding the field with promises of good careers!!! not true!! Read all the posts and look at the newspapers. there the jobs are listed if the need is there!! NO DH jobs, don't look to the web for a job if they are not listed in the sunday want ads. too many DH and too many DDS doing their own hygiene, or they get their assistants to polish and the DDS scales!
do the research for yourself.
cyn

Sierra-You keep referring to the statistic of how many RN's work in hospitals. It may be a true # but this still doesn't mean that they are working on a med-surg floor, on-call, taking care of people who are going to die, night shifts etc...

I AM EMPLOYED BY A HOSPITAL and still work a Mon-Fri 8-4:30 job with weekends, holidays, blah blah. I could change my schedule at anytime to 4-10's or 9's with every other friday off. My point is that I am included in that statistic. I am living proof that working in a hospital doesn't mean shift work and on call work. I also work with a lot of nurses in the same field who do the same type of work as me with the same schedules and also know a lot of nurses who work in various settings throughout the hospital that DO NOT do shift work. Not that there is anything wrong with shift work, but my point is please STOP trying to educate people on nursing when you know nothing about it.

Does this statistic include LPN's, RN's, APRN's, NP's?

I guess I don't really understand the point you are trying to make by stating the statistic of how many nurses are employed by hospitals. What is it that you are trying to prove?

Sierra- I was just able to respond to your comment because I have been off since Christmas day with my family, PAID!

I apologize to everyone else because I really don't like to be immature.

I have a question for anyone out there that can give me honest answers. I really came to this forum in search of insight as to the market for DH's in Salt Lake City. Does anyone know what the need is and if it is hard to find a job once finished with school? My friend is debating what she would like to do and this will obviously influence her decision so any help would be appreciated.

I thank everyone in advance for their help!

sierra in North Tonawanda, New York said: oh yeah, another two words a hygienist will never hear: ON CALL

do the research yourself. look on line for posts regarding dental hygiene work. they are listed all over the country and internet if you google dental hygiene jobs. you will notice the posts are old, that means they are filled. Ask the temp agencies if they have jobs. Ask the agencies who work for perm placement of DH if they have jobs. Look in the sunday job lists for any city (which you can google on line also). you will see very little posted for dh jobs. VS 5 years ago when there were half pages of job openings.
The other problem is that some practices are sooooo agressive that the pressure for the dh to sell and boost production is great. The practices sell products and procedures, which the Hygienist is responsible for maintaining; some practices offer % to hygienist for their production. Hygiene is not a race, it is a health care practice. I don't work for practices that treat health care like a race. You will find those practices lose staff and patients often.Just look to see how often they advertise for staff! the staff that stays are good at selling anything. And yes, those Hygienists do make alot of money.
YOU DO THE RESEARCH. Don't bother to argue with negative individuals. Google your own results.

who should a dentist be report to if he-she is being intentionally negligence?

I would think it would be ADA, OSHA or better yet and the correct answer is the board that licenses the DDS. the state licensing board is the correct answer. they will investigate and decide on the appropriate action to take against the offending DDS. When you are licensed, you are obligated to abide by the state health rules and ethical behavior. that includes not braking the law through fraud ie insurance "no no's"
hope that helps.

got it, thanks.

can anyone tell me if hygienist are allowed to wear skirts in practice.are you just allowed to wear scrubs.is this field good to enter.I am in the caribbean, Hygiene is just shipping off here and i am thinking of doing the program what do you think.email gailsaman@yahoo.co.uk .should be in command as it is new here please send your opin.

Is there anyone here who is a dental hygienist that works in an ortho office that loves it or hates it...if so why...I would love to work there..just trying to see all sides. Reading a lot of posts that seem to be only out of standard dental offices.

Ortholove in Fairfax, Virginia said: Is there anyone here who is a dental hygienist that works in an ortho office that loves it or hates it...if so why...I would love to work there..just trying to see all sides. Reading a lot of posts that seem to be only out of standard dental offices.

dont' know any hygienists that work in ortho office. all the assistants are trained to do all phases of ortho to assist the doc, even clean. hygienists cost more to hire vs the 18 bucks an hour assistants get to clean teeth (rarely, or just to take off cement/enamel!)of those under 18! I see lots of ortho pts for hygiene in a regular dds office, not an ortho office.

stroppywig in Kingston, Jamaica said: can anyone tell me if hygienist are allowed to wear skirts in practice.are you just allowed to wear scrubs.is this field good to enter.I am in the caribbean, Hygiene is just shipping off here and i am thinking of doing the program what do you think.email gailsaman@yahoo.co.uk .should be in command as it is new here please send your opin.

you cover your self as much as possible due to the splatter from hygiene. No one wants germs on legs or arms. we cover ourselves. Something every hygienist learns in school. No one wants to get sick.

Should I be using a cavitron on an HIV positive patient? I don't use it on pt who has Hep B and C.

thanks

no

HEy have you graduated yet? I'm just about to enter a dental hygientists program and i want to know how hard it is to find jobs? I keep seeing stuff on the internet that has me a little.... discouraged.

william w in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said: Hello right now i'm in school to be a dental hygienists in philadelphia, im 19 years old and i have a year left before i graduate,I'm starting to wonder; is it hard to find jobs as a dental hygienists stright out college or soon after you graduate (with no work experiance at all)? and i know that It's hard to find full time jobs as a dental hygienist with bennifts, and that a person with 20 years experiance makes around the same amount as a person with 2 years experiance, so i want to go back to school right after i graduate (PART TIME) to be a Genneral Dentist, while working (FULL TIME) as a dental hygienist. DO ANY ONE THINK THAT IS A DUMB IDEA? IF SO WHY?

Thanks alot guys. There will always be a need for Dh

you should always strive for more. just like me, i have been a dental hygienist since 2003 ( great experience) but i always wanted to do more so i always continued with my education. i was working fulltime and school partime fullfilling the requirements to go to dental school, now finally i am ready to apply to dental school. the only thing that bothers me a little is that dentist for the first two years of their profession make about the same money that a hygienist but it pays off later on when you start making double, triplet, millions. so good luck, best wishes to you