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How hard is going to school to be a dental hygienist?

#dentist #dental-hygienist #dentistry

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Krystal’s Answer

The dental hygiene curriculum is very intense but also very doable. Time management is a big factor in whether you will succeed, being able to set time aside to study for both clinical and didactic courses while also giving yourself a healthy school/life balance is important. As the other professionals have mentioned, it takes quite a bit of effort, so before you pursue this as a career I would recommend shadowing your dental hygienist or going to a hygiene school for a tour to see if it is really what you want to do. If you do that and still want to join the field, your experience in school will go a little easier because you will be working towards a career you like. Also having helpful classmates and good faculty in school also helps to reduce stress.

Krystal recommends the following next steps:

One thing I did before and during hygiene school is go on YouTube and search "Day in the life of a dental hygienist" or "Day in a life of a dental hygiene student" to see different people talk about their experiences
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Katie’s Answer

Dental hygiene school requires a lot of studying and homework and some of the subjects are quite difficult. The school is quite intense no matter what, but if you choose to work and go to school it will be a bit more difficult. It is very rewarding and instructors are always there to help. You just have to know it will pretty much consume your life for the time you are in school. If you work hard it is totally doable, but if you tend to dislike school or struggle with doing assignments it will be an issue. Not trying to make it sound scary but it requires a great deal of effort for sure.
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Kim’s Answer

It depends on your experience managing multiple tasks. Dental hygienist students usually have to attend classroom lectures and study the presented subject matter while also learning how to apply the new education to treating actual patients. In addition, they have to document or keep records of all the treatments they provide on each patient. It can be a lot of fun and very rewarding since you actually see the results of applying your education but it requires the ability to study more than one subject at a time and accept feedback from instructors so that your skills improve with time.

Kim recommends the following next steps:

Make sure you observe a dental hygienist in practice before applying to school
Volunteer at a dental clinic to see how the dental team works together
Thank you comment icon Great insight Kim! Katie Montano
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