The Dental Hygienist Salary Demystified

By Sandra Palanchey


If you're one of those who think that dentistry jobs are low-paying jobs, think again. The dental hygienist salary is considerably high. The recent trend in the job market is that not only are oral hygienist jobs one of the most sought after positions, they are also highly-paid ones provided you have the correct training of the advanced level. A few decades ago, an oral hygienists position was a relatively new profession and did not receive the status and privilege which they are finding today.

Things have recently changed for the better and the oral health care profession has started gaining importance along with other various health care careers. In order to meet the demand for oral hygienists, training programs are constantly being developed and introduced every year. Reports say that in the United States, approximately 150,000 people work as oral hygienists. That's quite a big number for a profession that's been around for just a few decades.

However, the salary that hygienists earn is different from one state to the next. The nature of the job performed has a lot to do with the dental hygienist salary earned. Also, the salary also depends on whether they work on a part-time or full-time basis. The earnings of a full-time oral hygienist and a part-time oral hygienist differ from each other. Usually, the part-time oral hygienists who work at several places per day make more than full-time oral hygienists. There are hygienists who make money based on commission; their pay is based on the plans they sell or how many dental cleanings they've performed per day. Some dental clinics also pay bonuses to their oral hygienists depending on the money they make in a month. A portion of the money made in a particular month is given to hygienists as bonuses. These bonuses serve as incentives so hygienists will work more.

A hygienist's dental hygienist salary per hour is approximately $30, resulting in $60,000 annually. This salary is pretty high in comparison with other entry-level medical jobs. The last several years have seen a steady climb in the dental hygienist salary, resulting in the steep rise in the number of people who are deciding to become oral hygienists annually. Job market experts predicts that the salary of these professionals will continue to go up for several more years.

It wasn't too long ago when dentists were exclusively performing every dental-related tasks, from assessing patient dental profiles to removing sutures. Many of these dentists were not forthcoming to employ oral hygienists to assist them in their work. Dental hygiene has become a specialization, so much so that special training programs have been developed (and continue to be developed) for the purpose of training people as dental hygienists. Although an oral hygienist cannot perform all the procedures that a dentist is entitled to perform, they do enjoy leeway in today's medical scenarios and do more than holding a mouth mirror to the patient.

Apart from the regular dental hygienist salary, employees are also entitled to other emoluments like paid vacation, sick leave, reimbursement for those pursuing higher studies, health insurance (mostly for full-time professionals) and other incentives which are usually rewarded to medical professionals. The benefits offered to hygienists depend on the dentist's office that hire them. People who work in a single dentist's office might not receive extra benefits that those employed in larger dentist offices would.

The dental hygienist salary has been steadily increasing throughout the past decade and surveys show that it is one of those rare professions where pangs of recession are not deeply felt. Despite the tough economic times, it appears that oral hygienists with proper training are earning good money. This suggests that a career in the dental hygiene field is well worth pursuing as it's a reliable career.




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