Students & New Grads

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...

Hygiene students learn so much from the hygiene program. However, there’s so much more to learn once we have graduated, passed boards, become licensed, and enter the working world. As a new grad, there are many “first time experiences.” One such experience I encountered as a new grad was treating an autistic patient for the first time. Yes, we...

In 2009, when the economy was taking a nosedive, I was working for a small dental practice in a wealthy suburb of Chicago, Illinois. I was under the false impression that, as long as there were still patients on my schedule, that I had “job security.” Needless to say, I was stunned when the dentist took me aside one...

Upon graduation, I moved to a new area and had only been in the area for a short time, so I felt the best way to get to know the area and the offices available was to temp as a hygienist. In the year and a half that I worked as a temporary hygienist, I was able to see...

Dental hygiene school. Three little words that bring with them so many emotions. For many, the days of dental hygiene school are but a distant memory which has long since passed. For me, dental hygiene school is very much present. I eat, sleep, and breathe dental hygiene. After waiting two years to finally receive that little white acceptance letter,...

Are you getting burnt out from your 9-5 job? Are you a newly graduated hygienist looking to get some experience under your belt? Have you ever wanted a more flexible schedule in your career? What if you could make your own schedule and choose which days you worked? If this interests or describes you, then becoming a temp hygienist...

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...

Diving into my first job as a newly registered dental hygienist, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The dentist suggested it would be best for me to learn some dental assisting before jumping into treating hygiene patients on my own. I didn’t have any problem with starting my new job this way, and I thought it would be neat...

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...

As hygienists, we’ve all been there; newly graduated and new to the “real world.” While the hygiene program prepares us to be excellent clinicians, it cannot completely prepare us for everything we will face in the working world. Only experience can do that. Here are quotes from newly-licensed dental hygienists who are making it through the learning curve of...