this question is aimed at practicing dentists primarily, but answers from anyone who knows would be appreciated. does/should the degree (ie. associates vs. bachelors) that a hygienist has make a difference in terms of both the initial hiring process and in the actual technical ability of the hygienist once they are working? also, is there any difference in compensation based on degree (in terms of a clinical hygienist, the person i would hire. im not concerned with teaching/research).
question about hiring hygienists
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I have found that it makes no difference at all. They will all be undertrained at all the things you really need them to do. They will both want more money than they are worth and either of them will not want to work too hard.
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I think this is a huge stereotype degrading hygenists. When I was in undergrad, the office I worked for was hiring 2 new additional hygenists for their new office. THe current hygenists were amazing and did work hard. We ended up hiring two hygienists right out of school and the 8 months i was still working there before dental school, they were a bit undertrained but both were eager to learn, always showed up work early and stayed late to learn from the dentists. I think it is more hiring a personality that fits in your office rather than the degree. As a new dentists, I am sure I am going to be WAY undertrained compared to 10-20+ years experience but I hope my employers dont make such gross generalizations about me.
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Degrading? Please. I am stating a fact. Hygienists are not trained in the ways of real world dental practice. They are trained to clean teeth and educate on hygiene. I've had AS and BS hygienists work for me both right out of school and I have not seen a difference in clinical skills. What I see is a lack of basic skills, i.e.. taking adequate xrays, taking impressions, understanding restorative dentistry to any degree, being able to recognize problem areas in teeth, etc.. The last RDH I had right out of school admitted to me that her instructors told her that dentists knew nothing about hygiene and they constantly told them how much money they should expect out of school ($35-$40/hr)
I hygienist is worth as much as she helps you in your practice. I don't care about degree or experience. I care about attitude and work ethic and desire to learn.
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Please dont state your personal observations as "fact" when they are, in fact, not facts. It seems like you should have a more rigorous interviewing process to match people who fit into your practice's work ethic and attitude. New Dental Hygienists need to be trained in how ANY practice works because training programs are not private practices. I am sure it takes a very patient and education oriented dentists to get them from a 'working' level to a 'trained' level. Of course I understand these things I say are my opinion. I dont now how you can expect a 2 year program can train hygenists do everything you listed. This, sir, is an unfair expectation.
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Oh my. There are so many things I could say about this thread so far.
OP, it makes no difference clinically whether the RDH has an AAS or a BS. The hygiene classes are the same. A bachelors degree just involves more "core" classes such as humanities or math which is just like completing a bachelors in anything else. In my opinion, hygienists with more education (dental or not) have stronger critical thinking skills but it really depends on the individual.
Usually there is no difference in pay when it comes to an associates vs. a bachelors. There is, however, a difference in pay depending on experience. Just as newly graduated dental students are slow, newly graduated hygienists have a hard time staying on schedule.
One thing to keep in mind when you interview hygienists is that some were previously dental assistants and some were not. The training is different and if hygienists in your state do not perform restorative they likely will not be as familiar with restorative dentistry as an assistant. The same goes with impressions. In my hygiene program I maybe took 4 impressions in 2 years.
Remember this: there are A students and there are C students but they all become hygienists in the end (same goes for dental students). Ask your interviewee what their grades were like and get at least one recommendation from their hygiene faculty.
OP, it makes no difference clinically whether the RDH has an AAS or a BS. The hygiene classes are the same. A bachelors degree just involves more "core" classes such as humanities or math which is just like completing a bachelors in anything else. In my opinion, hygienists with more education (dental or not) have stronger critical thinking skills but it really depends on the individual.
Usually there is no difference in pay when it comes to an associates vs. a bachelors. There is, however, a difference in pay depending on experience. Just as newly graduated dental students are slow, newly graduated hygienists have a hard time staying on schedule.
One thing to keep in mind when you interview hygienists is that some were previously dental assistants and some were not. The training is different and if hygienists in your state do not perform restorative they likely will not be as familiar with restorative dentistry as an assistant. The same goes with impressions. In my hygiene program I maybe took 4 impressions in 2 years.
Remember this: there are A students and there are C students but they all become hygienists in the end (same goes for dental students). Ask your interviewee what their grades were like and get at least one recommendation from their hygiene faculty.
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K2, maybe the reason you cannot keep quality hygienists who work hard and earn their money is because of your attitude towards them. I have several hygienists who not only earn their money, but makes lots more for me. True, some will not work as hard as others, but many of them will, and those are the ones that I have retained in my offices.
