Students & New Grads

You can see it. You can almost feel it. Your dream job in your dream location just posted online, just waiting for you to grab it. Unfortunately, landing your ideal hygiene position can be a competitive endeavor. If a job is worthy of your daydreams, chances are other talented hygienists think it is worthy of theirs too. As with just...

I remember finally graduating and passing my boards and thinking now what? I was both scared and excited. I thought I just had to write a resume and prepare for interviews! Had I only realized there was more I needed to do and think about to prepare my mind and body. I’ve come up with some practical advice, to...

Dental hygiene schools equip future clinicians with the knowledge to navigate through the daily trials of patient treatment. We are taught anatomical structures, clinical skills, radiographic interpretation, pro-fluoride arguments, and community health topics among many other lessons. Long clinic days and difficult patient cases mold us into more efficient and experienced hygienists. While hygiene school is the perfect cocoon where...

Congratulations! You have finally graduated from hygiene school (that you thought would never end), you have passed all of your boards, and have landed your first job in private practice. Before you begin to feel too overwhelmed, here are some things I wish I knew after hygiene school. Not All Patients Will Be Nice In hygiene school, patients knew that...

Being a new hygienist, I find myself facing many challenges beyond clinical work. Acclimating myself to a new set of patients and moving to a different office system have been challenges of their own. While some patients are very open and accepting to having a new hire or a different hygienist provide treatment, some often shy away or get...

I can still recall how I felt when I first graduated from hygiene school. I was pumped up and proud of myself for the new life I was creating. I wasn’t new to the dental field; I had been an assistant for four years, but my new role as a hygienist is what intrigued me. I interviewed in my hometown about 15...

New graduate? Looking to change your office? Whatever situation you’re in, it doesn’t matter, it all starts with a job interview. Eww, the dreaded interview! Before I talk about key points in interviews, we have to start with how to get an interview.  Nowadays there are many ways to find a job: networking, asking people you know, job search...

I have been working in a dental office now for less than a year and have landed my first real job as a licensed dental hygienist. I am learning new things each day and am beginning to feel more comfortable using my instruments and taking radiographs. However, being new comes with its own set of challenges; especially patients joking...

A feeling of dread settles within you, and tears are falling. The summer break is over, and it’s time to think about dental hygiene classes again. The upcoming return to the campus always comes too quickly. There’s never enough time for the pool, reading for leisure, or afternoon naps. Unfortunately, there are goals to be met, material to cram...

As I approach the first anniversary after completion of my dental hygiene degree, I find myself knowing quite a bit more compared to this time last year. While by no means do I consider myself to be an expert, there are numerous things that I wish I had known when I had first graduated and was looking for my...