Optometrist to dental hygienist
An optometrist already meets 59% of what the dental hygienist role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
53.4/ 100
1 How much of what a dental hygienist is expected to do is already part of an optometrist’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 19 of its required skills as things an optometrist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply organisational techniques
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- contribute to continuity of health care
What stands in the way is 13 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 21 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 optometrist background worth leading with.
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship 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 deal with emergency care situations assisting and caring
- already held use foreign languages in patient care communication, collaboration and creativity
All 21 carried skills, including the 19 the dental hygienist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 missing skills fall into 5 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 manage infection control in the facility 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 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
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 21 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held apply context specific clinical competences 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 deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held provide health education 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
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
2 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held keep records for dental prostheses optional
- optional, not held use technical equipment for sterilisation optional
39 held skills the dental hygienist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role administer medication for vision problems skill
- not needed by the target role advise customers on optical instruments maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role advise on contact lense maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- not needed by the target role advise patients on vision improvement conditions skill
- not needed by the target role apply numeracy skills skill
- not needed by the target role comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- not needed by the target role determine eye disease progression skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose problems of the visual system skill
- not needed by the target role educate on the prevention of illness skill
- not needed by the target role eye protection regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role fit contact lenses skill
- not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
- not needed by the target role implement marketing strategies skill
- not needed by the target role implement sales strategies skill
- not needed by the target role manage healthcare users' data skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role optical glass characteristics knowledge
- not needed by the target role optical instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role participate in medical inventory control skill
- not needed by the target role perform comprehensive eye examinations skill
- not needed by the target role perform ocular tonometry skill
- not needed by the target role perform vision rehabilitation skill
- not needed by the target role prescribe corrective lenses skill
- not needed by the target role preventive medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role process payments skill
- not needed by the target role promote ocular health skill
- not needed by the target role provide domiciliary eyecare skill
- not needed by the target role provide therapy of the visual system skill
- not needed by the target role provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health skill
- not needed by the target role quality standards of ophthalmic equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role record healthcare users' billing information skill
- not needed by the target role record healthcare users' progress related to treatment skill
- not needed by the target role refer healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role refraction of the eye knowledge
- not needed by the target role test visual acuity skill
- not needed by the target role use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- not needed by the target role use ophthalmic instruments skill
Common questions about this move
Can an optometrist become a dental hygienist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An optometrist already covers 59% of what a dental hygienist is expected to do: 21 skills carry over, 19 of which the dental hygienist role treats as required.
What skills does an optometrist need to become a dental hygienist?
13 required skills are missing, plus 2 optional ones. They fall into 5 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 optometrist to dental hygienist?
Its learning distance is 53.4 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.