Dental Hygenist Requirements
If you want to pursue a career that allows you to work with your hands and help people overcome disease, you might consider becoming a dental hygienist. It is a terrific career opportunity and it is one that is not subject to the vagaries of the economy. Furthermore, as a dental hygienist, you can use your interpersonal skills to teach patients how to maintain their on-going dental health. If you have an interest in making a good living while caring for people, becoming a dental hygienist may be the most important decision you'll ever make.
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Requirements Vary
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You can apply for a dental hygienist program at a college or university, a technical school, or a community college but the requirements are different wherever you apply. Many of the program require that you complete at least one year of college before becoming eligible to their program. You can either get an Associate's degree or a Bachelor's degree in hygiene.
You will find it beneficial to take courses in high school that are health-related like biology, physiology and chemistry. There are almost 250 dental hygienist program in the United States and each has its own criteria for admission.
Program Structure
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You can expect your school to provide you with hands-on clinical training by actually working with patients. In addition, you will be required to take several liberal arts courses such as English and history, and science courses like anatomy, microbiology and pathology, in addition to clinical sciences such as dental materials and radiology.
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State Licensing
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Nearly all states require that you pass an examination before receiving your license as a dental hygienist. In addition, most states also require that you pass the long, written examination administered by the National Board of the American Dental Association. Many candidates fear these tests so they take a brief refresher course to be sure they have not forgotten anything that may by on the exams.
Getting A Job
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Once you have completed your classwork and have received your state's blessing to pursue a career in dental hygiene, you should pursue the resources of the college where you obtained your degree. Most of them pride themselves in finding employment for a high percentage of graduates. In fact, some of them even use that as an inducement for incoming students. Then, besides the typical classified advertisements carried by newspapers, and general purpose websites, there is a website that is devoted only to placing dental hygienists (see "Resources").
Continuing Education
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After a period of time to hone your skills as a dental hygienist, you may decide to get additional training in things like marketing, business, education and public health so that you'll be qualified to move up in your career. Many colleges and universities offer night courses to those wishing to pursue advanced degrees so that you will not have to interrupt your career. Also, many people now pursue courses that are web-based, which people can take at their own pace.
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