Where a dental hygienist can go next
5 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a dental hygienist already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.
Dental hygienists work in cleaning and polishing teeth, supra- and sub-gingival scaling of the teeth, application of prophylactic materials to the teeth, collecting data, administering comprehensive advice on oral hygiene and the care of the mouth, according to patients` needs under the supervision of dental practitioners following her/his directions.
Also known as trainee dental hygienist, oral health specialist, oral health practitioner, dental therapist, registered dental hygienist, oral health therapist, orthodontic therapist, qualified dental hygienist.
Professionals 36 skills on file 5 career moves 2 above 60% overlap Closest: dental chairside assistant, 70%
- 70% and above · short step
- 50 to 70% · real move
- Below 50% · substantial retraining
Table 2 · A bigger jump
Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.
Table 3 · What the job itself asks for
A dental hygienist needs 32 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.
- apply antibacterial substance to teeth assisting and caring
- polish dental restorations handling and moving
- remove calculus, plaque and stains assisting and caring
- counsel on nutrition and its impact on oral health communication, collaboration and creativity
- educate on oral healthcare and disease prevention communication, collaboration and creativity
- evaluate clinical outcomes of dental hygiene interventions information skills
- perform dental hygiene interventions assisting and caring
- perform dental radiographs working with machinery and specialised equipment
- follow dentists' instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
- perform dental charting information skills
Table 4 · Jobs that lead here
The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a dental hygienist does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.
- dental chairside assistant 81% covered · difficulty 31.5
- dental practitioner 72% covered · difficulty 41.1
- advanced physiotherapist 62% covered · difficulty 50.7
- biomedical scientist 62% covered · difficulty 51
- physiotherapist 62% covered · difficulty 50.7
- audiologist 59% covered · difficulty 53.4
- music therapist 59% covered · difficulty 53.4
- nurse responsible for general care 59% covered · difficulty 53.4
- optometrist 59% covered · difficulty 53.4
- orthoptist 59% covered · difficulty 53.4
Look up another occupation
Dental hygienist is filed under Professionals, ISCO major group 2. The full index lists all ten groups.
How these figures were compiled
Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a dental hygienist’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.