Hygienist - who is he and why do children and adults need him?

A dental hygienist is a specialist who is highly knowledgeable about how to care for your mouth. He not only talks about hygiene, but also removes tartar, helps prevent caries, stomatitis, pulpitis and other dangerous conditions. By the way, in 2022, the ProfGid career guidance center developed an accurate career guidance test. He himself will tell you which professions are suitable for you, and give an opinion about your personality type and intelligence.

Short description

It is simply impossible to maintain healthy teeth without constant monitoring of oral hygiene. A variety of infections, untimely removal of plaque, and failure to follow simple recommendations regarding hygiene procedures lead to teeth hurting sooner or later. Regular visits to a dental hygienist are a means of preventing early caries, the development of periodontal diseases, and enamel destruction.

Such specialists have a medical education and most often work together with dental technicians and dentists, taking part in the complex treatment of patients. Their areas of interest include the following states:

• prevention and diagnosis of caries;
• all types of periodontal diseases;
• conditions caused by improper or irregular oral care;
• prevention, treatment or removal of tartar and plaque;
• returning teeth to a snow-white shade.

The main group of dental hygienist patients are children and adolescents, who most often suffer from the above conditions. These specialists can take part in social projects, working on a volunteer basis with vulnerable segments of the population. Their work is of great social importance, helping to reduce the risk of developing various diseases characteristic of the teeth and oral cavity by 65%!

Dental hygienist: what he does and what he treats

The oral cavity is an exceptional ecosystem for the vital activity of microflora, which can cause diseases of the teeth and surrounding tissues. One of the main reasons influencing the composition of microflora is the hygienic condition of the oral cavity. Mineral deposits and soft plaque are an excellent breeding ground for bacteria. There are many medical specialties in dentistry, but only a specialist hygienist can clean your teeth perfectly and restore your smile’s attractiveness.

Features of the profession

Oral care and maintaining dental health are now not only necessary, but also fashionable procedures. Therefore, hygienists are highly sought-after specialists, needed by every private and public dental clinic. Their responsibilities include the following:

• carrying out examination and diagnosis of periodontal diseases;
• assessment of the patient's oral health;
• development of a treatment plan aimed at the patient’s speedy recovery;
• choosing individual hygiene products for care, performing therapeutic and preventive procedures, such as control teeth cleaning, fissure sealing, fluoride varnish coating and others;
• disease prevention, interaction with the population;
• consultations for representatives of educational, medical, industrial and other institutions;
• teaching patients how to care for orthodontic structures;
• cooperation with dentists, dental technicians and other specialists;
• work with accounting, reporting and other types of documentation.

A specialist who makes a choice in favor of dental hygiene must necessarily receive a medical education. He is responsible for the dental health of the population and must be able to find a common language with people of any age. Reports to the chief physician and dentist.

The profession will not lose its relevance in the next 50 years. This kind of work pays well; a specialist will be able to find a decent vacancy, both in a large and in a small city. Dental hygienists do not perform complex medical procedures; men and women can realize themselves in the profession.

Benefits of visiting a dental hygienist

Professional dental hygiene identifies and eliminates:

• putrid odor from the mouth;
• foci of inflammation in the periodontium;
• identify hidden, initial caries, pulpitis, periodontitis;
• improve the condition of the gums;
• eliminate enamel demineralization;
• remove pigmented plaque;
• eliminate rocky, soft layers;
• reduce bleeding gums and tooth sensitivity to external irritants.

You can carry out high-quality professional oral hygiene in dentistry on Otradnoye. We employ highly qualified dental hygienists who perform the full range of services within the competence of this profession. We work on original imported equipment, with certified products that have passed quality tests. Make an appointment with the clinic by calling 8 (499) 202 1000, or fill out the form on the website, we will call you back.

Pros and cons of the profession

pros

1. A prepared student will be able to study for free.
2. An opportunity to get an interesting profession for people who already work in the medical field: dental assistants, nurses and others.
3. There are many vacancies, specialists are in demand in every corner of the country.
4. Dental hygienists use a solid array of clinical procedures but do not perform complex surgeries.
5. The profession is suitable for people who want to work in the medical field, but do not want to experience stressful situations every day.
6. The specialty is respected, it has recently appeared in the CIS countries, which determines its popularity.
7. A good dental hygienist will have patients actively make appointments with him, which will help his salary increase.
8. Peaceful work in a modern dental office.

Minuses

1. Very high competition in universities.
2. The work does not involve physical labor, but the specialist spends a lot of time on his feet, which is fraught with varicose veins and other occupational diseases.
3. There is a very high risk of contracting any disease, because dental hygienists interact with different groups of the population.
4. Serious moral stress, because patients most often do not carefully follow doctors’ recommendations.

Specialties, universities and Unified State Exam subjects

Medical colleges and universities prepare dental hygienists:

• colleges - specialty 02/31/06 “Preventive Dentistry”;
• universities - specialty 05/31/03 “Dentistry”.

Education at the college is conducted only on the basis of 11 classes. Preparation period – 1 year 10 months. Admission is based on a certificate competition.

To become a university student, you will need Unified State Examination results in the Russian language, mathematics, biology and chemistry or physics. Studying at the university will take 5 years, another two years will be spent on residency.

You can only get an education in colleges and universities on a full-time basis.

There are faculties of dentistry in all multidisciplinary medical universities and in specialized Russian universities that train medical workers. For example, in Moscow it is:

1. Moscow State Medical and Dental University named after. A.I. Evdokimov.
2. First Moscow State Medical University named after. THEM. Sechenov.
3. Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.
4. Russian National Research Medical University named after N.I. Pirogov and many others.

When deciding where it is better to get an education as a dental hygienist, you should take into account the indisputable fact: graduates of higher educational institutions are more willingly hired for well-paid vacancies in private medical centers and clinics.

Important personal qualities

A dental hygienist is a specialist who comes into contact with people on a daily basis, so the following important traits must be present in his character:

• competence,
• friendliness,
• perseverance,
• goodwill,
• altruism,
• responsibility,
• politeness,
• activity,
• determination,
• pedantry,
• accuracy.

A dental hygienist must be a very honest, tactful and passionate person who is ready to help his patients at any time.

Where to study by specialty

To become a dental hygienist, you need a degree in dental hygiene. Dentistry is a field where you cannot work without education, license, and skills. Anyone who completes the training and fulfills all the requirements will be able to get a job. Generally, a bachelor's or master's degree is required for research, teaching, and clinical practice in government or school health programs.

You will have to study for 2-3 years. Training programs include laboratory, clinical, and classroom training. Areas of study include physiology, nutrition, radiography, pathology, medical ethics, anatomy, patient management, disease, and periodontal pathologies. High school students must take courses in biology, chemistry, and mathematics. Many dental hygiene programs require applicants to complete prerequisites, which often include college-level courses.

In the junior years, students of medical universities study theoretical disciplines; starting from the fourth year, they begin to study clinical disciplines. They study theoretical and clinical disciplines, including therapeutic and orthopedic dentistry.

Dental Hygienist Salary for December 2021

Information on salaries is provided by the portal hh.ru.
Russia 25000—50000₽

Moscow 40000—250000₽

The range of salaries is simply huge. Of course, the salary amount primarily depends on the professional experience of the dental hygienist; the region, place of work, and qualifications are also important. Wages in large cities are significantly higher, which is associated with a large flow of paying clients. The minimum salary threshold is 8 thousand rubles, the maximum is 90 thousand rubles.

When to see a dental hygienist

The World Dental Organization recommends professional hygiene with a hygienist twice a year. This preventive measure makes it possible to prevent inflammation of hard tissues at the stage of stain formation.

You need to make an appointment with a hygienist in the following cases:

• An independently made decision for the purpose of prevention.
• When calcareous deposits and bacterial plaque are detected on the teeth.
• If you smoke a lot, drink coffee, tea: to remove pigment from the enamel and give it a natural color.
• Before prosthetics, in order to adequately select the shade of the crowns.
• If you have braces in your mouth (in this case, you should visit the dental hygienist every 3 months).
• By referral from a dentist before treatment of caries and its complications.
• Before implantation of artificial roots, in order to reduce the risk of infection.
• Before any invasive interventions in the oral cavity.

Main responsibilities

So, what is a dental hygienist? What does this doctor do and what should you contact him for? As we have already indicated above, this is the first instance when visiting a dental clinic. Its first and main task is to prevent dental diseases among the population of all age groups. That is, this specialist must examine the oral cavity, tell the person about existing problems and treatment methods.

Where to get training

In addition to higher education, there are a number of short-term training on the market, usually lasting from a week to a year.
The Medical University of Innovation and Development invites you to take distance courses for retraining or advanced training in the field of “Hygienist” to receive a diploma or state certificate. Training lasts from 16 to 2700 hours, depending on the program and your level of training.

The Interregional Academy of Additional Professional Education (MADPO) provides training in the specialization “Hygiene and Sanitation” and issues diplomas and certificates.

The Institute of Professional Education "IPO" invites you to take distance courses in the direction of "Food Hygiene" (there are options 256, 512 and 1024 academic hours) to receive a diploma or state-issued certificate. We have trained more than 8,000 graduates from almost 200 cities. You can undergo external training and receive interest-free installments.