Dental Hygienists

Clean teeth and examine oral areas, head, and neck for signs of oral disease. May educate patients on oral hygiene, take and develop X-rays, or apply fluoride or sealants.

Job Task

• Administer local anesthetic agents.
• Conduct dental health clinics for community groups to augment services of dentist.
• Remove sutures and dressings.
• Place and remove rubber dams, matrices, and temporary restorations.
• Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.
• Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
• Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.
• Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer.
• Apply fluorides and other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay.
• Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
• Expose and develop x-ray film.
• Provide clinical services and health education to improve and maintain oral health of school children.
• Remove excess cement from coronal surfaces of teeth.
• Make impressions for study casts.
• Place, carve, and finish amalgam restorations.

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