r/DentalHygiene

Hi! I’ve been an RDH for 2 years now, clinically been working for about 1.5 years. I love the office I’m at but the MAIN thing. It’s an hour for patients regardless if it’s a new patient, SRP, periomaintenance, routine 6 mo prophy with no DH assistant. The other hygienists at this office have been here for 18-20 years and seem to always be on time. But I always feel like I’m a chicken with my head cut off.

I do fine on time with 6 mo routine prophy’s but when I have a periomaintenance where I have to do X-rays, periocharting AND a cleaning, I run behind. For new patients when you have to do a comprehensive appt with everything, I run behind. And then my day is just a domino effect of being late.😭

I guess my question is… is it normal to only have an hour for these PM’s, SRP’s, and new patient appointments? I feel crazy. I try so hard to be on time with them but am never able to do it all in just an hours time feels like I’ve done a good job. Idk how the other hygienists do it. It’s a constant battle of comparing myself to people who have done this for years. My boss talked to my about it kindly today, and I told him idk how to do it all efficiently in an hour and feel like I did a good job. Is that bad? Idk.

Every other office I’ve subbed at you at least get 1.5 hours for perio or new patients. Idk.. help.🥲 how do I become faster, or how do I address needing more time? I always told myself I will never be that hygienist that cuts corners and I still stand by that, but with that, I’m struggling with being on time.

I have been reading a lot of negative feedback on getting into hygiene and it’s been psyching me out really bad. I forget how negative Reddit can be sometimes. I am finishing up pre-reqs to apply next fall and I don’t have a 4.0 and probably won’t but in gonna just give it my best to try to get damn close. I have 4 years of RDA experience and won’t give up! If you’re feeling anxious too I’m rooting for you or if you also didn’t have a 4.0 and got in, I’d love to hear from you. Anyways, hope everyone is having a great day.

Aight, I wrote my boards earlier today and I’ve no idea what to think. I remembered lots of the topics and researched the ones I was stuck on when I got home. I correctly guessed most of them which is good. Part 1 was a mess but I paced myself better in Part 2 by tackling the case studies first. My peers had mixed reviews. Some said it was really good and others found it tough. Only time will tell now, guys🤞😭

I’ve heard that dental insurance tries hard to get out of paying for an SRP, & are super picky when reviewing our notes. i just want to cover what i can on my end for the patient & to protect myself during audits🤷🏼‍♀️ I make sure to notate the length of the appt, any vertical/horizontal boneloss, stage & grade, anesthetic used, up to date probing, gingiva description. Is there anything im missing that you make sure to add?

Both of my parents ended up passing away in fall 2018 when I was 19, and after that I stepped away from school entirely.
Since then, I’ve been working at a restaurant and currently work as a shift lead. I’m grateful to have steady work, but I don’t really see much long-term growth there, and I’ve realized I want an actual career for myself — not just another job.
Over the past few months, I’ve been researching careers that realistically take around 3–4 years of schooling and seem stable, practical, and achievable for someone in my situation. I’ve recently become really interested in dental hygiene. I live in a really big city, and from what I’ve researched, it seems like the field offers pretty solid pay, tolerable hours, strong job demand, and decent work-life balance. It also seems less burnout-heavy than careers like nursing or teaching, and I like that it feels relatively safe from AI replacing it.
Academically, I’ve always excelled in science classes, but I’ve also struggled with procrastination and consistency in school. My local community college offers a dental hygiene program, and honestly this feels like the most realistic path I can see myself successfully completing right now.
I’d really appreciate hearing from people already in the field.
How difficult was your dental hygiene program overall?
What classes or requirements were the hardest?
How competitive was admission into your program?
Did you work while in school, or was the workload too intense?
What is the day-to-day job actually like?
How physically demanding is the job long term?
Do you feel the pay is worth the schooling and stress?
How is your work-life balance now?
If you could go back, would you still choose dental hygiene?
Has anyone regretted going into the field? If so, why?
Are there any downsides to the career that people don’t talk about enough?
I’m trying to make a realistic decision about my future, so I’d appreciate any honest advice or experiences.

I’m struggling with opening my molar bwx. Usually premolars I can get just fine, but my maxillary molars never seem to open regardless of the angles I try. Any tips and/or advice?!?

Context: When I leave my water flosser completely open to air dry after use(as per general recommendation), it doesn't fully dry out before my next night's usage. Isn't that how mold starts to form?

Sure, I could just use mouthwash or vinegar to deep cleanse it every now and then, but wouldn't it be better(and lazier 😄) to leave my waterpik's water tank fully submerged with water and close up all the holes, then dump it all out and replace with new water on my next usage, to prevent mold growth?

Took this idea from a ELI5 reddit post:

"A water bottle left with just a few drops of moisture inside will develop mold faster than a bottle filled to the brim. The drops mix with ambient air and human saliva, providing both the oxygen and minimal nutrients needed to kickstart growth. Fully submerged environments often lack the oxygen required for rapid mold growth."

Please correct me if i'm wrong, thank you in advance!

I took my exam last week and I’m stressed. Trying to ease my mind but I want to know how the curve works and how the grading system works and also how many tests versions there are.

Was flossing and when i pulled the floss i felt something come off the side of my tooth, i stupidly threw it away before checking if it could of been part of my tooth. Now on that area of my tooth it feels like something is missing, could it have been hardened tartar or my tooth?

Hi guys, I’m currently taking the hygiene program and starting to take on patients. I’m not from Toronto and I don’t know anyone here, so I’m having a hard time finding clients. As well as if I do find people willing to help me out, they have to come for a few appointments to complete the treatment and we only have clinics during the week days, so most can’t come even if they wanted to because it’s during working hours. I’m really struggling and worried I won’t be able to find the required amount and be held back or something. Can anyone give me tips and tricks to finding reliable clients?😓

Hi guys! I'm from arizona i was looking if anyone could give me advice? I was thinking of starting as a dental assistant and climbing up to a hygienist because people told me there are offices that offer bridge programs. However, some people told me I should just commit myself to dental hygiene instead. I don't know what to do; help!

I’m a hygienist almost 1 year in and I’m honestly still confused about how hygienists confidently label a patient as “gingivitis” vs “perio.”
I hear people say it so casually like: “This patient has gingivitis” or This patient has perio”
But when I’m in clinic or especially if I’m temping/at a new office, it gets confusing. For example, if I walk in and see: generalized bleeding, inflammation, some 4mm pockets (maybe even a few 5mm), lots of plaque/calculus

How do you know if it’s just gingivitis with pseudopockets vs actual periodontal disease? What exactly are you looking for when you decide: gingivitis vs perio? stable perio vs active perio? to classify as Stage I/II etc?

Is it mainly based on attachment loss + bone loss? And if so, how do you confirm it quickly in a normal appointment setting?
I’d really appreciate if anyone could break down how they assess this in real practice, because I feel like I overthink it every time.

Thank you!!

So, my mom hasn't taken me to the dentist since 2023 because she says that we don't have enough money, and I definitely don't have enough to pay for it myself. My teeth are yellow and have a ton of white spots around the edges, as well and a couple pretty big cavities on my front teeth. I brush and floss my teeth everyday, but nothing seems to work. I'm about to graduate soon and I'm really insecure about my teeth and idk what to do about it.

Not writing this to guilt anyone. Just get asked about it enough (I'm a DH) that an honest answer felt more useful than the standard 'you should go every six months' line.

We can usually tell pretty quickly how long it's been. Calculus buildup, staining patterns, gum tissue response...it's pretty readable.

What actually changes:

1. Calculus hardens over time and can only come off clinically. The longer it sits against gum tissue the more it's doing. A patient who comes in consistently is almost always an easier appointment than someone who went two or three years.
2. Bone loss from untreated gum disease doesn't come back. It's slow and usually painless until it's more advanced, which is why people don't catch it. By the time something hurts there's usually been a process going on for a while.
3. If it's been a long time, one appointment might not cover everything. Quadrant scaling means more visits and more cost than if things had been maintained.

What I tell patients who come back after a long gap: the gap is done, what matters now is staying consistent. Most people who do that see their gum health stabilize within a couple cycles. The tissue responds well when you give it a chance.

Home care between visits matters more than people realize. Patients who actually brush and floss consistently are measurably easier to work on. It's not just something we say.