Dentists and dental hygienists are both licensed professionals. You'll note that many of the negative comments posted here are from people who graduated 10, 20 years ago or more. references. Hygienist to Dentist: Making the Transition By Anna Keefe on June 5, 2018 in Clinic and Provider Tips You’ve been taking care of your patient’s pearly whites, but you’re ready for the next step in your career—becoming a dentist. ... but the program can help speed along the process of transitioning from dental hygienists to dentist, since a bachelor's and doctorate can be completed in six years rather than eight. It’s tough to be a dental hygienist nowadays, and more and more of them are losing confidence in their own profession.. I got my dream dental hygiene job straight out of dental hygiene school. Dental hygiene is a young person's game. Licensure is a means of protecting the public from unqualified individuals and unsafe practice. The tips and techniques are efficient and well-tolerated by … You can absolutely drop out of hygiene school if you were accepted into a dental program. However, there is a big difference in the amount of schooling required for these roles. 727 Views. As the time to graduate drew nearer, my classmates and I keyed in on the type of work we wanted to do. Finding an office to call your forever dental home can be a challenge in itself. 15. ... and worked as a dental hygienist for several years before transitioning into education and research. Whether students seeking to advance their careers have come from somewhere outside of the United States or have spent years working in another profession, dental hygiene is attractive field for non-traditional students to enter thanks to high starting salaries. If a dental school interviews and accepts you then it means they would not care. To obtain your license you must be a graduate of an accredited U.S. dental hygiene program, take the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination and pass a state or regional clinical licensure exam. Dental hygiene is an all-encompassing profession practiced across the globe. I doubt that a dental school would think that much about it. From the nerve-wracking working interviews to become accustomed to a new office, and everything in between. Many hygienists find new career directions built on the foundation of their solid health-care education and experience in the field. By knowing what you want and finding a mentor to guide you, you'll be better prepared for the transition from dental hygiene school to your new workplace. Bottom line: if you've been at it for that long and you still haven't gotten yourself situated with a position you're happy with, you're screwed. Dental hygiene career paths can lead to employment in a number of diverse settings, such as government education, research, sales and marketing, or public health. The transition from hygiene school to practicing hygienist can be tough too. I found my why and curated my dream career! The decisions you make when you begin your dental hygiene career can affect you for years to come. • Hygienists scraping, scraping, scraping with hand instruments.. The paradigm changed in the early 1990s to support the ultrasonic as the instrument of choice for ALL dental hygiene procedures - recall and perio - for children and adults. The purpose. While the amount of people majoring in courses preparing people for a job as a dental hygienist isn’t necessarily dropping, fewer and fewer people are applying to become dental hygienists in the first place and the workforce itself is looking grim.