Catharine Sherman
Eng. 101
L. Darrow
3-29-10
Dental Hygienist
The career that I’m going to be doing my research paper on is ‘Dental Hygienist.’ I’ve always wanted to be a dentist, but
the amount of school required turned me off. But dental hygienist don’t have nearly as much school and still get paid very
well, and get to be working right next to the dentists.
This is currently a career that I’m working towards, It’s not something that I’m just thinking about doing. After next year I’ll
be finishing my general education and I start applying to the dental hygienist schools that I’m interested in.
The job title of being a dental hygienist includes:
• 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.
• Provide clinical services and health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients and the general public.
• 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.
• Apply fluorides and other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay.
• Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer.
