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Program Codes
10295
Employment Percentage
5.378077374
SOC ID
29-1292
SOC Title
Dental Hygienists
ONET ID
29-1292.00
ONET Concat ID
29129200
Median Salary
107338.52
EMSI Interest Area Term
Kinesiology, Health and Athletics
Ed Level High School
0
Ed Level Certificate
0
Ed Level Some College
0
Ed Level Associates
75.18
Ed Level Bachelors
12.08
Ed Level Masters
12.74
Ed Level Doctors
0
Typical Ed Level
an Associate degree
Career Description
Administer oral hygiene care to patients. Assess patient oral hygiene problems or needs and maintain health records. Advise patients on oral health maintenance and disease prevention. May provide advanced care such as providing fluoride treatment or administering topical anesthesia.
Core Tasks
  • Record and review patient medical histories.
  • Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.
  • Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
  • Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
  • Provide clinical services or health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients or the general public.
  • Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.
  • Expose and develop x-ray film.
  • Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments.
  • Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills.
  • Apply fluorides or other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay.
  • Maintain patient recall system.
  • Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer.
  • Administer local anesthetic agents.
  • Remove excess cement from coronal surfaces of teeth.
Start Annual Earnings
73803.11
Top Annual Earnings
151629.66
EMSI Career Title Slug
dental-hygienist