New Graduate Guide
Finally a Registered Dental Hygienist!
As a new grad, you may have thought about working full-time versus part-time. Whichever you decide to choose you will survive. It is an amazing time to be a dental hygienist it is a very high-demand job, with flexible hours and a good-paying career. You earned it! There is a big transition from SDH to RDH and we are all here for you. Everyone starts as a beginner and with experience, you have the value to share a story with others. I was once in your shoes reading anything about dental hygiene/dentistry related to preparing myself. Let’s dive into it.
Note that there are many offices that have different values, beliefs, and ideologies in dental care make sure it aligns with what you believe in and are comfortable with. It is a good way to start by first doing a work interview in different offices OR shadowing a hygienist to see their flow which may be beneficial- notice how they communicate with their patients, turns over the op, and how long it takes, most likely they will have tips and tricks to make life easier for you. It is important to get a feel for the office and familiarize yourself with coworkers and the dental software. I highly recommend having offices to choose from.
You want to establish a good rapport with every office. Keep in mind if you decided to do full-time at an office it is a good idea to have another office you’re interested in working. If the dentist goes on vacation or something unexpected happens and if you want to pick up some hours somewhere else it is a good thing to have another office available at your convenience; again be mindful and respectful and give a notice when you would be available. Vice versa if you're working part-time and if you want to pick up another day of the week whether it is the same office or a different one. You will be amazed how many offices would love to have you even work one day a week.
Example: Let’s say you’re working part-time (3 days) at an office and you would like to have another day (4 days) you can ask the office if they are willing to do every other Friday (really any day of the week) or one Friday a month OR you can find another office to work another day. Trust me this is common where an office will hire a dental hygienist for one day a week or is willing to work around your schedule.
As a new graduate, it is important to verbalize your wants and needs don’t be afraid to speak up. You want to ask if they are willing to give you extra time for cleanings maybe 70-80 minutes versus jumping in and doing 1-hour appointments. It can be stressful as a new dental hygienist, a lot of dentists and receptions will be more than happy to accommodate your work schedule. This will slowly change and when you feel comfortable enough you can ask when you are ready to do 1-hour appointments or they will also ask how you feel about transitioning to 1-hour appointments-communication is key.
ASK QUESTIONS. Ask your dental hygienist coworker questions about anything whether it’s treatment options or product recommendations, or how they handle a scenario (Yes, we all get our fair share of, “those patients”) whatever that may mean to you. I think you may already have an idea. Your team will be happy to help and they will not know until you ask for help so do not shy away which sometimes can be intimidating but you always want to learn new techniques and retouch your skills. Your receptionist will also be someone you ask questions about insurance, codes, cleanings, radiographs, walking-out treatment, scheduling, vacations, etc. It will take you time to familiarize yourself with where supplies are and dental assistants will be your best friends they know where everything is and are willing to help. You are a team.
Lastly, something that is not commonly talked about is YOUR dental hygiene instruments. If you would like to continue to use them let your dentist know you would like to use your instruments and you would like to be compensated for them. They can buy your instruments from you so you can use your very own sacred instruments that started it all on typodonts. I can not emphasize this enough but always ASK questions and be open to making suggestions. I know it can be intimidating at first but this will be the beginning of starting to get comfortable with getting uncomfortable with your dental hygiene career. You have made it this far.
The new graduate guide can be a novel long but those have been a list that I found to be valuable and share my experience. Do your research prior to the interview be prepared and check out their dental website and make a list of questions you may have.
List of question examples:
What is the schedule like? Hours? Days? Full or part-time? (Know what YOU want many dentists are willing to work with YOUR schedule)
What kind of benefits do they offer?
How would you describe the office?
What is the hourly wage and how are you being paid?