Some hygienists develop and promote community dental health programs which may include teaching how to practice good oral hygiene. Dental hygienists use hand and rotary instruments to clean teeth, x-ray machines to take dental pictures, syringes with needles to administer local anesthetics, and models of teeth to explain oral hygiene. Dental hygienists sometimes administer local anesthetic. Working Conditions Flexible scheduling is a distinctive feature of this job. Dentists frequently hire hygienists to work only 2 or 3 days a week, so hygienists may hold jobs in more than one dental office.
Dental hygienists work in clean, well-lighted offices.
The occupation is one of several covered by the Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety Act of 1981, which encourages the States to adopt uniform standards for the training and certification of individuals who perform medical and dental radiological procedures. Employment Dental hygienists held about 108,000 jobs in 1992. Because multiple jobholding is common in this field, the number of jobs greatly exceeds the number of hygienists. About half of all dental hygienists usually worked part time less than 35 hours a week. Almost all dental hygienists work in private dental offices.