Data & Research
 
* ELMI Occupation Profile - Dental Hygienists *
 
Dental Hygienists
(O*NET 29-1292.00, SOC 29-1292)
What they do
Administer oral hygiene care to patients. Assess patient oral hygiene problems or needs and maintain health records. Advise patients on oral health maintenance and disease prevention. May provide advanced care such as providing fluoride treatment or administering topical anesthesia.
 
Also called:
Dental Hygienist, Hygienist, Licensed Dental Hygienist, Pediatric Dental Hygienist, Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH)
 
 
Wages
Vermont - 2023
Percentile1HourlyYearly
10% $ 39.64   $82,440  
25% $ 43.18   $89,820  
Median $ 45.61   $94,880  
75% $ 46.10   $95,890  
90% $ 47.24   $98,260  
 
Average $ 44.38   $92,310  
1 What are Percentile Wages?
More at CareerOneStop
 
Industries of Employment
United States - 2020
IndustryPercent of total
  • Ambulatory healthcare services
96%
  • Administrative and support services
2%
  • Federal government, excluding postal service
1%
  • Educational services; state, local, and private
0%
  • Hospitals; state, local, and private
0%
More at BLS
 
Knowledge
People in this career often know a lot about:
  • Medicine and Dentistry
    Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  • Customer and Personal Service
    Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
More at O*NET
 
Skills
People in this career often have these skills:
  • Active Listening
    Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Critical Thinking
    Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Speaking
    Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Monitoring
    Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Service Orientation
    Actively looking for ways to help people.
More at O*NET
 
Interests
People in this career often prefer these work environments:
  • Social
    Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.
  • Realistic
    Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
  • Conventional
    Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
What are your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler
 
Work Styles
People in this career will do well at jobs that need:
  • Concern for Others
    Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
  • Integrity
    Job requires being honest and ethical.
  • Dependability
    Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  • Cooperation
    Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
  • Self-Control
    Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
More at O*NET
 
Tasks
On the job, you would:
  • Record and review patient medical histories.
  • Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
  • Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
  • Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.
  • Provide clinical services or health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients or the general public.
More at O*NET
 
Related Occupations
More at O*NET
 
 
Career Video
Watch at CareerOneStop with transcript or at YouTube.
 
Projected Employment
 Vermont
2020 employment 542
2030 employment 592
Annual percent change
(compounded)
0.9%
Annual projected job openings
(due to change and separations)
39
More at Occupational Projections
 
Education and Experience:
  • Typical education needed for entry
    Associate's degree
  • Work experience in a related occupation
    None
  • Typical on-the-job training needed to attain competency
    None
Based on BLS Education and Training Classifications
 
Physical Work Activity
Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
 
  • Physical activity is Important
  • Level of activity is Moderate
Importance
Low   High
Level
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Job Zone
Medium Preparation Needed
  • Specific Vocational Preparation Range
    (6.0 to < 7.0) - A typical worker will require over 1 year up to and including 2 years of training to achieve average performance in this occupation.
Based on O*Net Job Zones and SVP
 
Education Level
How much education do most people in this career have?
Education level Percent of
U.S. Workers
Doctoral or professional degree
or post-MA certificate
  13%
Master's degree or
post-BA certificate
  9%
Bachelor's degree   3%
Associate's degree   75%
Certificate or some college,
no degree
  0%
High school diploma
or equivalent
  0%
Less than high school diploma   0%
More at O*NET
 
Licensing
Vermont may require an occupational license:
Select a license for details
 
Abilities
People in this career often have talent in:
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness
    The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Finger Dexterity
    The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Near Vision
    The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Problem Sensitivity
    The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Oral Comprehension
    The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
More at O*NET
 
Work Activities
In general, what you might do:
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Assisting and Caring for Others
    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
    Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
  • Documenting/Recording Information
    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
More at O*NET
 
Detailed Work Activities
What you might do in a day:
  • Record patient medical histories.
  • Examine mouth, teeth, gums, or related facial structures.
  • Treat dental problems or diseases.
  • Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
  • Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers.
More at O*NET
 
Other Resources
  • CareerOneStop
    resource for job seekers, students, businessess and career professionals
  • O*NET Online
    nation's primary source of occupational information
 
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This page includes information from the O*NET 28.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

BLS

This page includes information produced in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics and State Occupational Projections programs.

 
 
 
 
Vermont.gov State of Vermont Department of Labor