Students & New Grads

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...

So you’re a dental hygienist, huh? Yes, yes I am. I am more than that though. Personally, I have goals outside the clinical setting. (And that’s ok if you have no desire to leave the clinic setting too). I hope to one day be an educator or work for a dental company, or possibly be a midlevel dental therapist,...

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...

What kind of office are you in? There is the kind where it is a utopian bliss, and the team truly is a team of well-intentioned, happy people working cohesively to create the ultimate patient experience. Then there is the office that targets the hygienist because of the income disparity and requires a patient be seen every 40 minutes,...

For some dental hygiene students, their last semester is fast approaching which means preparing for board exams and applying for your dental hygienist state licensure. One of the many board exams a dental hygiene student must take is the national dental hygiene board exam (NBDHE). The NBDHE definitely can be very intimidating. It's one of the many steps and requirements...

Working interviews: Are they good? Or bad? Not all types of career options have the opportunity to have a working interview. In the dental world, this type of interviewing does exist, and looking at working interviews from all sides is important to get the most out of them. A working interview is an opportunity for an applicant to prove their...

Planning has always been pivotal to becoming an effective dental hygienist. Prior, proper, planning is another beast. I’m borrowing this mantra from a trusted colleague/mentor because I have reflected, and recognized this coined phrase has been following me since I began my journey as a dental hygiene student. This mantra is still expected from dental hygiene students, which is...

Dental hygiene students begin preparing for board exams starting from the beginning of the program up until the day of the exam. Whether it be honing in on instrumentation skills or hitting the books, students have a lot to master before they are deemed competent in the practice of dental hygiene. As a student, some of the most daunting...

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, I walked into my first day at my brand-new hygiene job. I had all the knowledge from completing hygiene school floating around in my head. I was confident in my ability to connect with patients, educate on oral health, and eradicate disease. Full of good intention, I was ready to tackle my career. Little...

It is the exam you’ve studied your entire dental hygiene education for. The upperclassmen have groaned to your class about it, your faculty has alluded to it, and you’ve already asked for board review books for Christmas. You’ve walked through the steps of grief, beginning with denial, “Maybe if I do well in school, they will let me skip my...