Animal assisted therapist to dental hygienist
An animal assisted therapist already meets 25% of what the dental hygienist role asks for. The move turns on 24 required skills not yet in the profile.
79.9/ 100
1 How much of what a dental hygienist is expected to do is already part of an animal assisted therapist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the dental hygienist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A dental hygienist role treats 8 of its required skills as things an animal assisted therapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply organisational techniques
- contribute to continuity of health care
- deal with emergency care situations
- develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship
- interact with healthcare users
- listen actively
What stands in the way is 24 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A dental hygienist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an animal assisted therapist background worth leading with.
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held respond to changing situations in health care management skills
- already held deal with emergency care situations assisting and caring
- already held use foreign languages in patient care communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held contribute to continuity of health care assisting and caring
- already held interact with healthcare users communication, collaboration and creativity
All 9 carried skills, including the 8 the dental hygienist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 27 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn apply antibacterial substance to teeth required
- still to learn perform dental hygiene interventions required
- still to learn remove calculus, plaque and stains required
- still to learn deal with patients' anxiety required
- still to learn ensure safety of healthcare users required
- still to learn comply with legislation related to health care required
- still to learn empathise with the healthcare user required
- still to learn follow clinical guidelines required
- still to learn manage infection control in the facility required
- still to learn promote inclusion required
- still to learn accept own accountability required
- still to learn apply context specific clinical competences required
- still to learn counsel on nutrition and its impact on oral health required
- still to learn educate on oral healthcare and disease prevention required
- still to learn follow dentists' instructions required
- still to learn promote health and safety policies in health services required
- still to learn work in multidisciplinary health teams required
- still to learn communicate in healthcare required
- still to learn work in a multicultural environment in health care required
- optional, not held inform policy makers on health-related challenges optional
- still to learn evaluate clinical outcomes of dental hygiene interventions required
- still to learn perform dental charting required
- optional, not held keep records for dental prostheses optional
- still to learn perform dental radiographs required
- optional, not held use technical equipment for sterilisation optional
- still to learn polish dental restorations required
- still to learn use e-health and mobile health technologies required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a dental hygienist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply antibacterial substance to teeth practise this
- 02 evaluate clinical outcomes of dental hygiene interventions practise this
- 03 perform dental hygiene interventions practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 9 skills that carry over
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
3 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held keep records for dental prostheses optional
- optional, not held inform policy makers on health-related challenges optional
- optional, not held use technical equipment for sterilisation optional
21 held skills the dental hygienist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role animal behaviour knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role assess the patient's therapeutic needs skill
- not needed by the target role assistive instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role behavioural therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role control animal movement skill
- not needed by the target role evaluation of psychological performance knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle patient trauma skill
- not needed by the target role human psychological development knowledge
- not needed by the target role instruct animals for therapy purposes skill
- not needed by the target role maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role palliative care knowledge
- not needed by the target role performance diagnosis knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote animal welfare skill
- not needed by the target role recruit animal handlers skill
- not needed by the target role refer healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role select therapy animals skill
- not needed by the target role sociology knowledge
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- not needed by the target role work with healthcare users' social network skill
Common questions about this move
Can an animal assisted therapist become a dental hygienist?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An animal assisted therapist already covers 25% of what a dental hygienist is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 8 of which the dental hygienist role treats as required.
What skills does an animal assisted therapist need to become a dental hygienist?
24 required skills are missing, plus 3 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is apply antibacterial substance to teeth.
How hard is the move from animal assisted therapist to dental hygienist?
Its learning distance is 79.9 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.