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Dental hygienists help dentists when they are examining a patient. They will perform various duties in the dental office, including cleaning teeth, removing plaque, taking x-rays and developing the results, and most importantly simply education the patient on all the procedures that will be taken and how to best take care of their teeth between dentist appointments. All of this may seem fairly simple, but dental hygienists must go through several years of schooling in an accredited course, and after graduation they must pass two licensure examinations before being allowed to practice. The reason that this course has become so popular recently is because the average salary for a dental hygienist is very respectable.
Dental hygienist salaries depend on several different factors, notably degree, location, experience, and employer.
Degree
One of the biggest factors in dental hygiene wages is the type of degree that you get. There are basically three types of courses available for anyone who wants to become a dental hygienist. First of all there is a two year certification course that most colleges and universities offer. It will teach the basic material necessary to pass the board examinations and practice successfully. Normally, the coursework includes dental hygiene, radiology, dental anatomy, pharmacology, anesthesiology, and other related courses. Graduates are awarded with a certificate of completion and are eligible to take the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination.
Graduate's of an associate's degree program typically enjoy a higher dental hygienist salary. The course is more fine tuned and will cover more information than the certification course. A bachelor's degree in dental hygiene is the highest degree available, and requires four years of study. A graduate from a bachelor's program can usually expect a salary closer to $80,000 a year, rather than the average dental hygienist salary of approximately $56,000.
Location
Another factor in dental hygienist salaries is the location of the practice. Just as each state has their own licensure exam, so do they have their own requirements for what procedures a dental hygienist is able to perform either with or without the supervision of a dentist. For example, some states allow dental hygienists to administer anesthesia to a patient. These dental hygienists are more specialized and can typically expect to earn several thousand more per year. This is highly dependent on the state in which the practice is located.
Experience and Employer
Just as with any occupation, experience is a large determining factor in the salary of a dental hygienist, as is the individual employer. Dental hygienists who have been practicing for at least ten years will typically make roughly $5,000 more than anyone who is just starting out.
When all of these factors are combined together, the median annual wage for a dental hygienist $67,860, and the median hourly wage is $32.63. The top 90 percentile of dental hygienists makes over $92,000 per year with combined experience, education, and location all playing roles in the total income. It is not difficult to become a dental hygienist, and the salary is well worth the effort.
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