A minimum of an associate degree in dental hygiene is generally required for practice in a private dental office. 研究通常需要学士或硕士学位, teaching, 或者在公共或学校健康幸运28计划中进行临床实践. 

牙齿保健师清除牙齿上的软硬沉积物, 教导病人如何保持良好的口腔卫生, 并提供其他预防性牙齿护理. 他们检查病人的牙齿和牙龈, recording the presence of diseases or abnormalities and provide periodontal scaling and root planning. Hygienists may prepare clinical and laboratory diagnostic tests for the dentist to interpret. Hygienists sometimes work chair side with the dentist during treatment. 

Where do they work?

Dental hygienists work in a variety of settings including private practices, group practices, and community clinics. 灵活的工作时间安排是这份工作的一大特点. Full-time, part-time, evening, and weekend schedules are widely available. 牙医经常雇用卫生员每周只工作2到3天, 所以卫生员可能在多个牙科诊所工作. More than half of all dental hygienists worked part-time – less than 35 hours a week. 

What is the job outlook?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it ranks among the fastest growing occupations. The demand for dental services will grow because of population growth, 老年人保留的牙齿越来越多, 人们越来越关注预防性牙齿保健. To meet this demand, 提供牙科护理的设施, particularly dentists’ offices, will increasingly employ dental hygienists to perform services that have been performed by dentists in the past.

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Dental hygienists must be licensed by the state in which they practice. Nearly all states require candidates to graduate from an accredited dental hygienist school and pass both a written and clinical examination. The American Dental Association’s Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations administers the written examination, 被所有州和哥伦比亚特区接受的. State or regional testing agencies administer the clinical examination. In addition, most states require an examination on the legal aspects of dental hygiene practice. Alabama is the only state that allows candidates to take its examinations if they have been trained through a state-regulated on-the-job program in a dental office.