Going to the dentist is always a challenging job – more scary than difficult – to be honest! Apart from a range of other duties that dental hygienists perform, they walk patients through dental procedures to ease their fears.
Dental Hygienist Job Description
There are a lot of responsibilities that an individual has to perform as a dental hygienist. They assist the dentist with a wide variety of dental tasks and promote oral hygiene and perform cleanings along with taking dental x-rays. Additionally, they assess a patient’s oral health condition, dental charting, and even record blood pressure readings before a procedure.
On a more detailed note, they remove calculus and plaque from the surfaces of a patient’s teeth and teach patients with appropriate hygiene strategies to help them lead a good dental life.
Dental Hygienists also perform screening procedures to determine a patient’s oral health in terms of dangerous diseases like mouth or gum cancer. Additionally, they perform preventive maintenance like scaling so that dental problems do not occur and apply antibacterial materials, fissure sealants, and topical fluorides to help prevent teeth and gum issues.
Performing dental procedures is not the only job of a hygienist. He or she may be expected to manage a dentist’s office regarding administrative and front desk duties. That said, they greet patients, take phone calls, manage schedules, handle appointments, and supervise the office in terms of cleanliness and structure.
Job Duties for Dental Hygienist Resume
- Performed initial dental assessment
- Consulted with dentists on patient care
- Took dental impressions
- Removed tartar, stains, and plaque from teeth
- Cleaned and stimulated the gums to put a stop to gum disease
- Removed stains and deposits from teeth to stop tooth and root decay
- Instructed and taught patients regarding oral hygiene procedures
- Applied fluoride treatment
- Took and developed X-rays
- Performed restorative and orthodontic procedures
- Kept the record of patient care and treatment plans
- Taught patients how to brush and floss correctly
- Directed dental assistants in routine tasks