Students & New Grads

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...

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...

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...

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...

Your calling can come at any point in your life. Whether you are 13 or 30 years old, there is no wrong time to do what you love. I am convinced that being a Registered Dental Hygienist is more than a career; it is a passion. Let’s be honest, who wakes up one morning and thinks, “I want my...

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...

It’s here: the time is approaching to move that tassel from right to left. Dental hygiene school has been filled with long days of clinic and long nights of studying, but now it is time to start looking for that first job. While the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cites a shortage of dental health care professionals, it can...

The real world can be a scary place. Whether you’re a newly-licensed hygienist or a “seasoned scaler,” there is always something new to discover and learn, whether it’s new technology or a dental hygiene technique.Yet wouldn’t it have been nice to have someone give you advice on how to brave the real world of dental hygiene? This is guidance...

Hygiene school felt like it would never end. Two years of learning skill after skill, preparing for an insane number of exams, learning more facts than seemed possible to fit into a single human brain, and having to apply it all to pass board exams have all culminated in one thing: a new wave of graduated dental hygienists. So, what...