There is a shortage of dental hygienists and assistants as dental practices are facing trouble hiring, creating high demand.
Here, two dental hygienists answered the question: What piece of advice would you give to individuals looking to enter the professions?
Note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Samantha Garavelli. Syracuse (N.Y.) Community Health Center: If you have the passion for it, go for it and don't give up — even if you first get rejected from a program or fail the board exam. It happens all the time. Going back to hygiene school at age 30 wasn't easy for me, and some professors even told me I might not make it, but fast-forward seven years into my career [and] I still experience such joy in my day-to-day work. And my patients would staunchly disagree that I couldn't make it in hygiene school. Conversely, if you don't get excited about teeth and just think "well, people will always need a dentist, so I'll always be able to get a job," don't go for it. Dentistry is a demanding field and you have to enjoy it because I believe the standard benefits package of most offices for dental hygienists are lacking compared to other '"you'll always have a job" careers.
Yana Krishtal-Venette. Tripler Army Medical Center (Honolulu): One advice I would give is get ready to work hard. Dental assistants as support staff who multitask and juggle between multiple things around the office, be it setting up for upcoming procedures, collaborating with front office, assisting dentists, sterilizing instruments, communicating with patients, ordering supplies, working in the lab and taking X-rays. Communication is of the utmost importance. Advice to dental hygienists, take care of your instrument, aka your body. Dental hygienists work not only with people but on people, with repetitive motions and in tiny confined spaces accommodating every patient's need while at it. Dental hygienists play an important role in keeping patients informed by educating them about mouth-body relationships, oral hygiene and introduction to products that each patient would benefit from. Dental hygienists are an imperative link for patients in keeping their teeth for life.