Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

dental hygienisttodental technician

A dental hygienist already meets 62% of what the dental technician role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

From dental hygienist
62%
Overlap1
To dental technician
16 Skills carried over
8 Required, not held
45.8 Difficulty2
adjacent 0–30
moderate 30–55
substantial 55–75
career change 75–100
this move, 45.8

This move: 45.8 of 100 · moderate

1 Share of the dental technician role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the dental hygienist profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A dental technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a dental hygienist background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held follow dentists' instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held manage infection control in the facility assisting and caring
  • already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held use e-health and mobile health technologies working with computers
  • already held respond to changing situations in health care management skills
  • already held contribute to continuity of health care assisting and caring

All 16 carried skills, including the 15 the dental technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 12 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 handling and moving 5 required
  • required, not held manufacture dental prostheses required
  • required, not held polish dental prostheses required
  • required, not held repair denture prostheses required
  • required, not held select materials for orthodontic appliances required
  • required, not held manipulate dental material required
02 information skills 2 required
  • required, not held examine dental models and impressions required
  • required, not held test dental appliances for compliance required
03 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required
  • required, not held maintain laboratory dental tools required
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held train dental technician staff optional
  • optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers optional
05 management skills 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held supervise dental technician staff optional
  • optional, not held handle payments in dentistry optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a dental technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 16 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held accept own accountability skill
  • already held apply organisational techniques skill
  • already held communicate in healthcare skill
  • already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
  • already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
  • already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
  • already held follow clinical guidelines skill
  • already held follow dentists' instructions skill
  • already held listen actively skill
  • already held manage infection control in the facility skill
  • already held promote inclusion skill
  • already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
  • already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
  • already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
  • already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
  • already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held supervise dental technician staff optional
  • optional, not held train dental technician staff optional
  • optional, not held handle payments in dentistry optional
  • optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers optional
20 held skills the dental technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role apply antibacterial substance to teeth skill
  • not needed by the target role apply context specific clinical competences skill
  • not needed by the target role counsel on nutrition and its impact on oral health skill
  • not needed by the target role deal with emergency care situations skill
  • not needed by the target role deal with patients' anxiety skill
  • not needed by the target role develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
  • not needed by the target role educate on oral healthcare and disease prevention skill
  • not needed by the target role empathise with the healthcare user skill
  • not needed by the target role evaluate clinical outcomes of dental hygiene interventions skill
  • not needed by the target role interact with healthcare users skill
  • not needed by the target role keep records for dental prostheses skill
  • not needed by the target role perform dental charting skill
  • not needed by the target role perform dental hygiene interventions skill
  • not needed by the target role perform dental radiographs skill
  • not needed by the target role polish dental restorations skill
  • not needed by the target role promote health and safety policies in health services skill
  • not needed by the target role provide health education skill
  • not needed by the target role remove calculus, plaque and stains skill
  • not needed by the target role use foreign languages in patient care skill
  • not needed by the target role use technical equipment for sterilisation skill
Index
Note

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.