Your Dental Hygienist DOES have a degree!

If you caught the programing on ABC’s “The View” on Friday you were largely misinformed. ABC aired a segment about jobs in our nation that don’t require an education beyond high school. Dental Hygiene was one of them. This is false. Across the nation every state requires a two-year degree from an accredited university with a number of continuing education credits to obtain licensure. 

Here’s a link to a great chart explaining the difference between a dental assistant and dental hygienist: http://www.allalliedhealthschools.com/health-careers/career-comparison/dental-assistant-vs-dental-hygienist

Here’s a list of college courses taken by most dental hygienist’s (warning it’s a little long):

• Concepts of Community Dental Health
• Head/Neck and Dental Anatomy
• Clinical Dental Hygiene/Radiology
• Dental Hygiene I
• Radiology
• Oral Pathology
• Periodontology
• Clinical Dental Hygiene II
• Dental Hygiene II
• Dental Materials
• Dental Medicine I  
• Professional Ethics
• Community Dental Health Service Learning Lab 
• Dental Medicine II
• Clinical Dental Hygiene III
• Dental Hygiene III
• Clinical Dental Hygiene IVDental Hygiene IV
• Oral Health Research & Statistics Individual Research
• Interdisciplinary Health Care Teams
• Dental Hygiene Clinical Teaching Practice
• Dental Hygiene Needs of the Geriatric Client
• Principles and Application of Evidence-based Dental Hygiene Practice

Here at Legacy Dental our three hygienist’s have associate degrees or higher and are qualified and specialize in the treatment of periodontal disease. This disease has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, pre-term birth rate.  We do more than just “clean” teeth.  Now you’re in the know. The next time some tries to clean your teeth, make sure they have a degree.