What Educational Requirements Do You Need To Become A Dental Hygienist?

Dentist Blog

You might be thinking of training to become a dental hygienist and are wondering what type of education do you need to earn your credentials? While it is not necessary to attend a four-year university, it can open up more avenues of employment in different fields than you might have thought of. Here is a good idea of the type of classes and seduction you will need if you want to train as a dental hygienist.

Type of School

There are actually several types of school you can attend in order to train for this career. You can choose from a community college which is typically a two-year program. You might opt for a technical college, which can span up to two-years but usually is an accelerated program lasting up to a year in some cases. You can also attend a dental school which primarily focuses only on careers in dental hygiene and of course, you can opt for a four-year university as well.

Once you complete your schooling requirements, you need to take a license examination in order to be able to work in this field.

Master's Degree

When you attend a four-year university, you can enroll in programs that offer either a master's degree or a baccalaureate which can be used for you to be able to enter the interesting field of research or to enter a public health program as a worker or for a clinical practice. It is a way for you to not only help patients by ensuring they have good dental hygiene, but it enables you to look for new ways to help prevent oral cancer or research new products or treatments.

High School Course to Take

In order to be accepted into a dental hygiene program at a college or university, you need to meet certain educational requirements at the high school level. For example, classes like health, psychology, biology, chemistry, and math are needed to be able to perform well at the college level. They provide a basic understanding of the physical makeup of the body and how to deal with patients who might be scared of the procedures. There are some dental hygiene courses that require you to complete at least one year of college before enrolling.

Other courses that might be helpful include humanities, sociology, basic science, marketing and even business administration. When you attend college, make sure you try to take anatomy, English, speech courses, and physiology to name a few. For more information, contact companies like Legacy Dental Arts.

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28 August 2017

Emergency Dental Care

The average dentist takes many client appointments each day and also deals with emergency situations on a regular basis. Dental emergencies are very common because people are likely to put off having tooth pain fixed until the pain becomes unbearable. Some people have anxiety about dental visits, and others are trying to avoid the expense of dental care. In either case, the end result is often a dental emergency. I have worked as a professional dental hygienist for many years and have seen all types of dental emergencies. I hope that this blog will help people identify potential emergencies before they become too serious and will allow people to know when to get help.