Dental Hygienist
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.
Top activities and tasks for this job:
- Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.
- Record and review patient medical histories.
- Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
- Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
- Expose and develop x-ray film.
- Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.
- Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments.
- Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer.
About the test (Full Version)
The HR Avatar Dental Hygienist Pre-Employment Assessment was designed to help you hire staff in this role. The test provides a whole-person evaluation by measuring job-relevant cognitive ability, personality, knowledge, skills, and relevant behavioral history.
Each component provides important data for hiring decisions. Cognitive ability has been linked to overall job performance in most jobs and correlates with a candidate's
ability to learn new skills and to solve complex problems. Personality characteristics determine how well the candidate will fit-in with a corporate culture. Knowledge and skills indicate how much training will be needed before a new employee becomes productive. Finally, relevant behavioral history detects counter-productive behaviors that can impact job performance.
The Dental Hygienist test includes an animated work simulation in which candidates meet customers, colleagues and supervisors in a job-related context. Post-test surveys indicate the majority of candidates react favorably to these simulations.
The specific attributes measured include:
Cognitive Ability
- Memory / Attention to Detail / Logic & Reasoning
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Behavioral History
- History Survey - Performance
- History Survey - Tenure
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Personality
- Adaptability / Flexibility
- Conscientiousness
- Empathy & Emotional Self-Control
- Reliability
- Service Orientation
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Following completion, the test produces a Candidate Selection Report that includes an overall score and detailed scores for each attribute. The overall score weighs each of the factors based on research and analysis from the U.S. Government's Occupational Information Network (O*Net). O*Net represents over a decade of dedicated research evaluating the relative importance of various factors that lead to success in almost 1,000 different job roles.
The Candidate Selection Report also provides expert interview questions that help you probe critical or low-scoring areas, along with a guide for noting your evaluation of the candidate's responses. Consistent use of an interview guide is an important part of gaining better candidate insights and making better hiring decisions.
More information about this Job
Annual US Wages (2020) |
Bottom 10%: | | $54,200 or less |
Bottom 25%: | | $65,440 or less |
Median: | | $77,090 (Average) |
Top 25%: | | $91,620 or more |
Top 10%: | | $104,420 or more |
Hourly US Wages (2020) |
Bottom 10%: | | $26.06 or less |
Bottom 25%: | | $31.46 or less |
Median: | | $37.06 (Average) |
Top 25%: | | $44.05 or more |
Top 10%: | | $50.20 or more |
US Employment Statistics |
2020: | | 206,100 |
2030 (projected): | | 229,200 |
Annual U.S. Job Openings: | 15,600 |
Top Knowledge Requirements
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Psychology
- Biology
- Education and Training
- Sales and Marketing
- Computers and Electronics
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Top Skills
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Service Orientation
- Monitoring
- Writing
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Top Abilities
- Near Vision
- Problem Sensitivity
- Oral Comprehension
- Oral Expression
- Finger Dexterity
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Speech Clarity
- Speech Recognition
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Education Requirements |
Associate's Degree (2 yr): | | 79% |
Bachelor's Degree: | | 21% |
This graphic shows the percentage of people in this role who have their highest education in each category. |
Related Work Experience Requirements |
None: | | 51% |
Less than 1 Month: | | 2% |
3 - 6 Months: | | 7% |
6 Months - 1 Year: | | 4% |
1 - 2 Years: | | 34% |
This graphic shows the percentage of people in this role whose related work experience before they entered this position falls into each category. |
Alternate Titles for this Role: Dental Hygienist, Dental Hygienist, Mobile Coordinator, Dental Nurse, Hygienist, Oral Hygienist, Pediatric Dental Hygienist, Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH), Registered Dental Hygienist, Part Time Clinical Faculty
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