Natascha Poll

Period 2 Mr. Haslam

11-25-2014
Career Research Paper: Dental Hygiene

Outline
A. Introduction
B. History and background
1. Dr. Fones
a. 1913 Dental Hygiene School
b. 1916 School Closed
c. 1949 reopening
2. ADHA
a. Goal
b. Mission today
C. Requirements to obtain the job career
1. Type of Education
2. License
a. Utah requirements
3. Colleges in Utah
4. Skills and abilities
D. Job position description
1. Job tasks
2. Work environment
3. Benefits of work environment
4. Position above and below
a. Dentist
b. Dental assistant

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Dental Hygiene
E. Job refection and outlook
1. Challenges
2. Perks and benefits
3. Outlook
F. Why did Dental Hygiene catch my eye
G. Conclusion

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Dental Hygiene
Dental Hygiene was the most important development of the dental art in 1911-1922
The Encyclopedia of Britannic. Almost everyone today is familiar of the role a dental hygienists
plays, but many are not familiar with the history of dental hygiene or why it is such an important
part of society. This paper will explain exactly that along with why dental hygiene is becoming
an interest of mine.
A man by the name of Dr. Alfred Civilion Fones was treating some patients when he
became very concerned. Many of his patients were beginning to lose a great amount of their
teeth. Dr. Fones believed the loss of teeth could be prevented if he were to start removing the
sugar and plaque from the teeth. In 1906 Dr. Fones began to train Irene Newman on how to clean
teeth. The results were very successful and Irene became known as the first Dental Hygienist.
Fones was so excited about his discovery that he opened up Fones School of Dental Hygiene in
Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1913. Many began attending and learning the art of dental hygiene.
The school was successful but Fones was eager to share what he had learned so in 1916 the
school was closed to allow Fones to travel to New England to spend his days lecturing about his
theory. Thirty-three years later in 1949 Fones School of Dental Hygiene was reopened.
In 1923, the American Dental Hygiene Association (ADHA) was founded. The goal of
ADHA was to find a way for dental hygienists to communicate and cooperate with one another.
The mission of ADHA now is to ensure access to quality oral health, increase awareness of
dental hygiene, and represent and promote dental hygiene. There are over 185,000 registered
Dental Hygienists in the American Dental Hygiene Association today.
To become a Dental Hygienist you must complete the dental hygiene major program with
passing grades and receive an Associates of Applied Science (AAS) degree. You must also be

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Dental Hygiene
licensed in the state which you plan to obtain a job in. Each state has its own requirements. The
state of Utah requires that you complete an accredited dental hygiene program, pass the national
and regional exams, and that you have a current CPR certification card. There are four college
options in Utah for the dental hygiene program: Weber State University, Utah Valley University,
Dixie State, and the Salt Lake Community College. All four colleges have a two year dental
hygiene program. Weber State also offers and option four year program to receive a bachelors in
Dental Hygiene. With all this schooling a Dental Hygienist is paid an average of $70,210 per
year working just part time.
The most important skill that you must have in order to become a Dental Hygienist is the
ablity to work well with others. You must be constantly aware of others and their needs while
working with them. You must be able to listen to them and able to teach them using several
different methods. Other useful skills are time management, persuasion, and problem solving.
A Dental Hygienist has many tasks that he or she must perform each and every day.
These tasks include: Patient screening procedures and checking for oral health conditions, taking
and developing dental radiographs (X-rays), Removing calculus, sugar, plaque, and any other
substance from the teeth, applying preventative materials to teeth, teaching patients about oral
hygiene, counseling about good nutrition, making impressions of teeth, and performing
documentation and office management activities. Each of these activities requires full awareness
and attention and must be done correctly each time.
The work environment for a Dental Hygienist is inside a dentist office. Some offices are
lager with multiple dentist working and some are small with just one dentist owning the office.
Where you choose to work is completely up to you. Each office is very clean, sterol, and well lit.

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Dental Hygiene
Benefits of the environment and the work you perform are: personal satisfaction from working
with people, prestige and respect from those around you, a freedom to have creativity in
teaching, flexibility, and security. A dental hygienist is always needed within every dentist office.
Dental Hygienist work very closely with Dentists and Orthodontists. They are the big
guys in the place. They perform surgeries, fix braces, and perform many other procedures on
patients. A dentists counts on his hygienist and his or her opinion very much. Without the Dental
Hygienist the Dentists would have a lot more work on his hands. Another person who works in
the dental field is a Dental Assistant. He or she sits and hands tools to the Dentists and the
Hygienists and assists in any other activity needed by the ones above him or her. The Dental
Assistant is the one responsible for keeping the patient as comfortable as possible.
Many challenges can and will be faces in a Dental Hygienist career. The Dental Hygienist
is expected to know and do more than the assistants, because of this he or she is expected to
perform more treating patient and patient usually completely independently without any
assistance. This is usually done with no break. This can put a lot of pressure on the shoulders of a
Dental Hygienist. A Dental Hygienist is also responsible for keeping up with new knowledge and
technology. He or she never stops learning. A Dental Hygienist must be ready to work fully
everyday without letting exhaustion slow him or her down.
There may be many challenges but there are also many perks to being a Dental Hygienist.
These include: paid holiday, paid vacation, paid sick leave, uniforms provided, health and dental
insurance, tuition aid for continuing schooling, and you only work part time. Who doesnt love
being paid not to be at work? With that and only needed to work part time a Dental Hygienist
and tons of room for flexibility. Dental Hygiene is also a very secure career. It is ranked among

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Dental Hygiene
the fastest growing occupations because of population growth and is expected to grow 33%
through 2022. There will always be a need for dental hygienists in the job community.
Dental Hygiene caught my eye while I was having my teeth treated with braces. I was
always impressed by the kindness of the Dental Hygienist and I wanted to be just like her.
Dental Hygiene is the perfect job for me. I love working with people and getting to know them
which is something I will be able to do as a Dental Hygienist. I am also fascinated by teeth and
how they work. What better way to learn more about teeth than to be working with them? I am
also a very independent person. Working without any assistance is something I am very capable
of doing and doing well. I am good at handling pressure and keeping up with the new technology
of the world. Caring for others and their needs is something I am good at and becoming a Dental
Hygienist is my way of making sure I always get the opportunity to do just that.
A Dental Hygienist is very important to the world today. He or she is the reason that
everyone isnt losing all of their teeth by the time they are thirty years old. They spend their days
educating, treating, and caring for the people around them. They always put others before
themselves. Without Dental Hygienists in the world we wouldnt have the glowing, white smiles
that everyone enjoys. I look forward to working hard to join The American Dental Hygienists
Association and making a difference in the world.

Works Cited

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Dental Hygiene
history of Dental Hygiene. Road Island Dental Hygienists Association. N.P., n.d. Web.13
Nov. 2014 http://www.ridha.org/history-of-Dental-Hygiene.html.

Raposo, Doris. History of Dental Hygiene. Connecticut Dental Hygienists Association, Inc.
Marie Paulis, RDH, MSDH, 11, Jan. 2014, Web. 13 Nov. 2014. http://www.cdhardh.com/home/historyofdentalhygiene.html.

Mission and History. About ADHA. American Dental Hygienists Association, 2011. Web. 13
Nov. 2014. http://www.adha.org/mission-history.

Dental Hygienists. U.s. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 8. Jan. 2014. Web. 13 Nov.2014.
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dentalhygienists.html.

Dental Hygiene Program. Pima Medical Institute. N.P., n.d. Web. 21. Nov. 2014.
http://pmi.edu/Programs/Associate/Denatl-Hygiene.