Dental Hygienist Role

In private-practice, the dental office must work together in order for the office to prosper. Each member plays a significant role, but it is usually the dental hygienist’s role that stands out the most. The hygiene department has a tremendous impact in the dental office. The dental hygienist more or less takes care of the patient’s oral hygiene needs and provides individualized therapy to meet those needs. Re-care systems are built with patients to keep them coming to the office year after year; thus making the dental hygienist an important asset for the dental office’s profit. Dental hygiene profit centers are the dental hygiene department’s profit being contributed to the dental offices overall profit. According to Esther Andrews’ textbook

Debra Seidel-Bittke, a registered dental hygienist, states in her article Six steps to making the dental hygiene department a profit center, “The 21st century is a new era for dentistry, and particularly dental hygiene; today’s dental teams must talk to their patients about preventative treatment” (2013). This emphasizes the significance of the dental hygienist’s role in the dental office. The duty of the dental hygienist is to educate the patient of the importance of visiting the dental office for routinely cleanings and other types of preventative treatments the dental hygienist may recommend to the patient. If the dental hygienist creates a genuine relationship with the patients, the dental office will benefit from the established patients that will continuously show for their routinely prophylaxis. Also, if the dental office allows for the dental hygienist to perform more services to fulfill the individual needs of the patients, then the likely hood of the patient wanting to continue coming would be high compared to other dental offices that do not provide the same various

The lengths of the appointments have to correspond with the type of appointment the patient is scheduled for. For instance, the appointment time length cannot be too short for a Re-evaluation appointment because there will not be enough time for the dental hygienist to chart for periodontal probing, efficiently remove all of the remaining deposits, and deliver additional adjunction that the patient may seriously need like gingival irrigation and or Arestin. The patient will be appreciative for the time that is being given to provide the attention and services they need to improve their oral health, thus, the patient will continue coming to the office. Another factor that I would suggest to incorporate into office is to be able to provide various services for the patients of the dental office. The dental hygiene services should not reduce to just only prophylaxis and scaling and root planings. Fluoride treatment should be provided to every patient (if wanted), and the amount and type should be adjusted to the patient’s needs to prevent caries, as well as sealants for patients with teeth that need them. Also, whitening trays should be available for patients who choose to bleach. It would bring great profit to the dental office because many patients want to have a perfect whiter and brighter smile. If the dental office offers various services, patients will be attracted to the