Dental Hygienist

My knowledge begins with shadowing two dental hygienists. A brief description on what a dental hygienist do is they specializes in providing clinical, educational and therapeutic services to enhance oral and overall health. They serve many functions in a dental office such as carefully exam teeth, mouth, and gums. They look for any signs of decay, periodontal disease, oral cancer, or other oral problems. They also take x rays so the doctor can view them and quickly diagnose any problems that may exist. As far as preventive function of the job, hygienist use specialize instruments to thoroughly clean all surface of the teeth. Comfortably removing plaque, tartar and stains from above and below the gum line. They’re also involved in specialized …show more content…
Especially when it comes to assessments with the patients. Your assessing your patient’s need for dental treatments as well as risk for dental disease and any contra indication for that treatment. I learned that you’re not just assessing your patients but assessing your own ways of how you treat your patients. One dental hygienist I observed started off the exam with a patient by checking the lymph nodes all along the lower jaw, behind the ears, and on the sides of the neck to see if there are any lymph nodes that are swollen. Swollen lymph nodes are signs of inflammation in the mouth. After done that, the dental hygienist will start the cleaning process. The cleaning process involves many steps in removing any deposits by going over all the teeth and in betweens pockets. The cleaning process would not be successful without being detailed and thorough.
One of the most important skills a dental hygienist specializes is educating their patients with good oral hygiene. Dental hygienist needs to be able to not only perform their skills well but also be able to transfer the knowledge and important information to their patients such as preventative care. Patients are instructed the correct way to brush their teeth, the most affected toothbrush, flossing, and other ways to improve and maintain good oral health. Most importantly, making the patient feel comfortable enough to enjoy keeping their oral and …show more content…
I saw the three qualities in the dental hygienists I was shadowing and it seemed to be the most rewarding. Shadowing dental hygienists gave me more reasons to want to pursue this profession. I really like to focus on one thing. I really like that one on one interaction, focusing on one mouth at a time and to interact with one patient at a time. Not to mention, it is a highly flexible field and low stress level of a job. It will allow me to have family in the future and becoming a dental hygienist will enable me to do to