From dental technician to dental hygienist
15 of the 32 essential skills of a dental hygienist are already essential for a dental technician — about 47% of the job, before you learn anything new.
These numbers compare two occupations, not you and a job. What you personally already cover depends on what you have actually done.
- 15
- skills carry over
- 17
- would be new
- 47%
- of the target job covered
- 32
- essential skills of a dental hygienist
What a dental hygienist does
Dental hygienists work in cleaning and polishing teeth, supra- and sub-gingival scaling of the teeth, application of prophylactic materials to the teeth, collecting data, administering comprehensive advice on oral hygiene and the care of the mouth, according to patients` needs under the supervision of dental practitioners following her/his directions.
What carries over
15 skillsEssential in both jobs. This is the part of the move you have already made.
- accept own accountability
- apply organisational techniques
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- contribute to continuity of health care
- ensure safety of healthcare users
- follow clinical guidelines
- follow dentists' instructions
- listen actively
- manage infection control in the facility
- promote inclusion
- respond to changing situations in health care
- use e-health and mobile health technologies
- work in a multicultural environment in health care
- work in multidisciplinary health teams
What would be new
17 skillsEssential for a dental hygienist and not for a dental technician. Note that the taxonomy describes activities rather than tools, so some of these may be things you already do under a different name.
- apply antibacterial substance to teeth
- apply context specific clinical competences
- counsel on nutrition and its impact on oral health
- deal with emergency care situations
- deal with patients' anxiety
- develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship
- educate on oral healthcare and disease prevention
- empathise with the healthcare user
- evaluate clinical outcomes of dental hygiene interventions
- interact with healthcare users
- perform dental charting
- perform dental hygiene interventions
- perform dental radiographs
- polish dental restorations
- promote health and safety policies in health services
- provide health education
- remove calculus, plaque and stains
Other moves from dental technician
2 roles- dental practitioner15 skills in common
- dental chairside assistant15 skills in common
No account needed to start
How far are you from being a dental hygienist?
MyNodes reads your CV once, maps it to this same taxonomy, and shows you which roles you are already closest to and the few skills that would open the most doors. The file is deleted as soon as it has been read.