Nursing vs Dental Hygiene
I’m looking for honest input from local Charlotte nurses and hygienists. Several hygienists in this have told me to consider nursing instead due to changes in the hygiene field.
My original plan was dental hygiene because of the shorter schooling path, strong pay, and better quality of life. In my area, hygiene seems to start around the upper $40s to $50/hr, while nursing seems more like the mid $30s starting out(Charlotte NC) . I also like that hygiene seems cleaner day-to-day compared to nursing.
My main concern is hearing that more offices may be using expanded-function assistants or “scaling assistants” to take on more hygiene-related duties for lower pay. I worry that could eventually lower demand, lower wages, or push hygienists into more corporate/mill-type settings.
Nursing seems to offer more job options, benefits, and long-term flexibility, but the day-to-day work seems harder, and I’d likely need to get my BSN later.
For those practicing now, are the concerns about assistants taking over more hygiene duties realistic, or overstated? If you were starting over today, would you still choose hygiene or go into nursing?