Dental Hygiene (2151)
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At a Glance
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Limited Access
This degree program prepares students for a career as a dental hygienist. As part of a dental team the dental hygienist provides a variety of preventive services to patients in dental health care settings. A significant amount of manual dexterity is required in this profession because dental hygienists manipulate instruments within a patient’s mouth. |
Employment Opportunities |
Upon completion of this program and passing the licensing examination, you may seek employment as a Registered Dental Hygienist. Other employment opportunities might include Public Health, Dental Hygiene Educator, and Oral Health Product Sales. Flexible scheduling is a distinctive feature of this job. Full-time, part-time, evening, and weekend schedules are widely available. Dentists frequently hire hygienists to work only 2 or 3 days a week, so hygienists may hold jobs in more than one dental office. More than half of all dental hygienists worked part time—less than 35 hours a week.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
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Job Outlook |
Outlook: Increasing
Annual average growth rate of 4.6 percent, faster than the 2.5 percent growth rate for all occupations in Palm Beach County
employflorida
-Under “Resources”, select Labor Market Information; Occupational Profile; click on A County, click on Palm Beach n the map; type dental hygiene.
employflorida
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Salary Information |
The mean hourly wage for dental hygienists in Palm Beach County in 2008 was $25.73. The mean annual wage or salary was $53,506.04. In Florida in 2008 as a whole, the mean hourly wage for dental hygienists was $28.09. The mean annual wage or salary was $58,413.94.
Salaries vary depending upon location, skills, experience, position, education, and organization.
employflorida
-Under “Resources”, select Labor Market Information; Occupational Profile; click on A County, click on Palm Beach n the map; type dental hygiene.
employflorida
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| Special Skills or Qualifications Needed |
Dental hygienists should work well with others because they work closely with dentists and dental assistants as well as dealing directly with patients. Hygienists also need good manual dexterity, because they use dental instruments within a patient’s mouth, with little room for error. |
| Career Path Notes |
Graduates of this accredited program are eligible to take national and state or regional board examinations to become licensed dental hygienists.
Courses may be transferred from PBCC’s Dental Assisting Certification program (or another ADA Commission on Dental Accreditation Dental Assisting program) and a possibility of up to 19 credit hours may be accepted toward the A.S. degree in dental hygiene. |
Career Planning Suggestions for Success |
Thoroughly research the occupation and talk with a Dental Hygienist in the field. The PBCC Career Consultants Network may have the name of a person you can contact. Refer to the Career Center information listed below.
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| Sources of Additional Information |
Ferguson Career Guidance Center (user name & password is pbcc)
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