r/DentalHygiene

I am just coming up on five years of being a dental hygienist. I have worked at the same office consecutively during this time. I have temped a few times a year at various locations as well. Im not sure if this is normal but I do try very hard at work and it seems like I just can’t do hygiene right. I’ll complete srp take a post op- still calc (less but still some or burnished) I have recare patients and some of them I’ll see calc on the xray on. My coworkers have been hygienist for 25+ years and they swear I’m not as bad as I’m making my self out to be but, it just feels bad. Is this normal at a five year mark still? Does it seem like this just may not be a good fit or am I just being so dramatic and hard on myself. It feels like I am drowning. I have a new dentist at my practice and she’s on me and expects everyone to be almost 100% calc free- and I’m just thinking yeah me too …..

Hi guys! My goal is to become a dental hygienist and I was just wondering if you are able to have a full set on for this career? It wouldn’t stop me from continuing on this path but I am just curious what your experience is since this is a very hands on field. Thank you 🥰💅

Hello! I’m a new grad hygienist and I need advice about malpractice insurance. I was told by my professors that the office/dentist malpractice insurance does not always cover us. That even if it did, they recommend for us to carry our own malpractice insurance. Especially if we plan on temping. Which I do want to on the weekends. Can anyone help recommend some good malpractice insurance. Thank you!

Ive noticed that everytime i use my toothpaste my lips start itching and feel weird im guessing i could be allergic to it. Ive also noticed that recently my gums have been quite irritated and red think its gingivitis , even tho i floss with interdental brushes and use electric toothbrush. could allergies to a toothpaste cause that and irritate them?

Do most offices round down with measuring?

Hello all.

I've been thinking about going down the hygienist route. I previously have a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field that paid too low and was too stressful. I've been working low-paying jobs since then just to keep the bills paid.

I feel like I've changed a lot since I went to university. I didn't know what I wanted to do nor did I really understand life and the challenges it would present (especially financially). I took an interest in dentistry after getting hired at a dentist office and have worked here for almost 2 years. Being exposed to everything dentistry made me interested in the work around me and over time found hygiene appealing.

Upon researching hygiene school, the overall consensus is that it's stupid difficult and stressful. Understandably so. I guess I'm mostly curious how current hygienists feel about their job and if the schooling was worth it in the end. I see a lot of negativity about the physical toll and typical job stressors, but do you actually regret becoming a hygienist? I'd rather feel exhausted and have money in my bank account than exhausted with no money. I also feel like there's more fulfillment in helping the public and also a sense of accomplishment going through hygiene school. As I get closer to 30, I'm just feeling stuck and wish I did more at my age.

I've been using sonicare for years, on my 3rd replacement now because they eventually die and are not repairable, it seems. This latest one seems to brush way softer than the previous. It was a bit cheaper model because I read online that the differences are negligible so why spend way more. I'm not sure if it's because it was a bit cheaper or if the sonicare has actually gone downhill. I don't feel my teeth are getting brushed enough, now, because it's a much softer brush, even tried using the same brush from the previous that died.

Does anyone have advice or tips for srps specifically I feel like the majority of my srps have the tightest gums ever I can only seem to fit an explorer and few hand instruments in and it’s almost impossible to get a cavitron tip in there without lacerating some of the gum and it’s not like it even hurts them for the majority but I’m just wondering if this is normal or if everyone is doing something different bc we were “taught” to prevent this also Advice on what cavitron tips to use for Srp but also thickness bc I had my office get a left tip to try bc everyone advice says right and left tips for srps but it’s a slimline which I thought would be fine and it does help for some but rly doesn’t help get very deep bc it’s too thick for the very tight gums of these srps I recently experimented with this right tip that was in my draw bc it’s a thinsert and honestly has helped way more but my other hygienist had said nvr to use the thin ones or even the reg green slimlines for srps bc the tip could break for the thin and bc the greens will break down fast but like I can’t hand scale the whole damn thing I would nvr finish she had said using those metal one with the water outside I forget what they’re called and she got the office to buy a blue thick on for me in the beginning but it doesn’t help at all it’s way too thick to get anywhere helpful in the pocket if anything it’s good for debridements at best SORRY FOR THE LONG ASS EXPLANATION BUT I JUST NEED TO KNOW WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS USING TO GET RID OF CALC IN TIGHT GUMED PTS WHO NEED SRPS OR IF IM DOING SOMETHING WRONG W THE TIPS

I'm a new grad in Canada and currently looking into different brands. One thing I'm concerned about is repairs and servicing, especially since brands like Orascoptic often need to be sent to the U.S.

For those practicing in Canada, what brand did you go with, and how has your experience been with customer service, repairs, warranty, and turnaround time? Would you buy the same brand again?

I'd love to hear your recommendations and any pros/cons you've experienced. Thanks!

Been in hygiene for a few years now and the scope of what gets piled on varies wildly depending on the office. Started noticing it more recently when I was asked to help with front desk coverage during lunch because the receptionist called out. I get it, team player and all that, but it got me thinking about how common this actually is.

Some offices have hygienists doing sterilization, prepping trays, taking payments, chasing down insurance stuff, even answering phones between patients. Others keep things pretty clean and you just focus on your patients.

I don't have a huge problem helping out occasionally, but there's a real difference between pitching in and being taken advantage of because the office is understaffed and management won't hire enough people.

Curious what other hygienists are dealing with out there. What tasks get thrown at you that feel way outside what you signed up for? Do you push back or just absorb it to keep the peace? Also wondering if this is more of a private practice thing or if people in corporate offices deal with it differently. Would love to hear how others handle the conversation when it comes up because I'm still figuring out where my line is.

When did you start disliking your job? Was it weeks, months, or years in?

Some advice please

i know i haven't been to the dentist in like 3 years. i know my gums aren't perfect. i know i don't floss every single day. i'm a human being with depression and a busy life.

went for a cleaning yesterday and the hygienist was so judgmental i almost walked out. she kept sighing and making comments under her breath. you really need to floss more. this is a lot of buildup. you should come every 3 months not 6.

i felt like a child being scolded. i already feel bad about my teeth. that's literally why i avoided going for so long.

the dentist was nicer but still handed me a treatment plan for a deep cleaning and 3 fillings. i don't even know if i actually need all that or if they're just punishing me for not coming sooner.

my friend said she switched to a place she found through Smile Partners USA and they were way more compassionate. said they actually listened and didn't guilt trip her.

anyone else feel like hygienists forget that patients are actual people with actual lives? how do you find a dental office that doesn't make you feel like garbage

Well guys, I’m feeling defeated and I’m going to be transparent here… I’m almost six years into this career and I’m coming to terms with the fact that I’m not good at my job. I have an army of patients that request me for my personality, but a good personality isn’t everything in this field. It’s becoming too often that I’ll take bitewings and there’s a giant chunk I missed from before. The other hygienist often has my patients request her for the future when they end up on her schedule because they tell her she “gets in there more”.

I try my hardest and keep my instruments sharp, but I often feel incompetent when these things happen. Am I alone here? Does it get better, or should I look for a new career?

So, I am a new grad dental hygienist that graduated a couple months ago and took all my state and boards exams during school and passed on the first try. I decided to take around a little over a month off from finding a job due to school being stressful and physically and emotionally exhausted. I graduated not feeling confident at allll, not due to my knowledge but from the physical clinical aspect. I feel like I was doing good in the beginning of school with scaling then as we moved forward I felt like I was not keeping up with my classmates or progressing at the rate I was supposed to but still passed. With my patients I started to get mixed reviews. In the beginning none of my patients complained about ANYTHING. As I moved forward to harder patients it got to the point where some said I was gentle and some would say I was hurting them. Most of the time my teachers would blame it on me even though in the patients chart former students would use topical or local anesthetic. So I left school just feeling like I sucked and I feel like I chose the wrong profession and I don’t really know what to do now. What helped you guys out or have any of you had a similar story?

I went in for a deep cleaning yesterday, and I was surprised when the clinic told me they could finish my entire mouth in just one session. The dentist did the procedure by herself, and instead of using injectable anesthesia, they just applied a topical numbing gel to my gums. The entire process, from the moment I sat down to when I left, only took about 40 minutes.

I found the whole thing very strange, so after I got home, I emailed them to request my records. I told them I just wanted to keep them for my own files. This morning, the dentist called me personally to ask why I wanted the records, claiming they needed to know the reason so they could better prepare the documents.

About three or four hours after that call, the clinic sent over my X-rays and the billing statement. The statement shows that I received two deep cleanings on two different days, which is bizarre because I clearly only went in once.

I have another appointment in a couple of days to get a filling. My main concern right now is that they might try to upsell me on that too. Does it sound like I'm being scammed? What should I do now?

I do floss every day, but I sometimes wonder if it’s okay to skip a day or two since I get my teeth cleaned every six months.

Does daily flossing still make a big difference between cleanings?