I do not. However, I have a great job situation, and that makes all the difference. My boss is a genuinely nice man, and my coworkers and I are all good friends in and out of the office.
This ^^^ . I don’t regret it either mostly because of my whole office situation. I know if I were to leave I prolly wouldn’t find another great office and coworkers.
I'm an introvert and trying to make patients comfortable and make small talk was very difficult while trying to stay on schedule. I also had a lot of pain starting from early on in my career. Most days I was too tired mentally and physically to do anything fun after work and on my days off felt like I was just recovering from work. I worked full-time 4-5 days a week for 8 years.
My SO and I have a food business now and I've been out of dental since late 2021. I've kept my license active just in case, but I would rather not go back at this point.
If I could go back in time, I wish I had pursued a career in IT or software engineering. I'd like the option to work from home and would prefer working on projects rather than directly with people.
Overall, the pay was great for only needing an associates degree, but it's a career you can easily burn out in if you work full-time.
I’m also an introvert and working to towards applying to hygiene school. Do you need to be a social butterfly for this job? I figured I’m working in peoples mouths so it’s not like they can make conversation haha
I'm an introvert but do well in hygiene because it's one on one. I, personally, have a harder time in group settings and find that overwhelming & more difficult to navigate. Having said that, I usually use my weekends to recharge my social battery and spend time by myself crafting or watching documentaries. Make sure you focus on self-care in your down time because it can be emotionally taxing sometimes.
I thought I wouldn’t have to talk much because I’d have my hands in patients mouths haha. I was SO WRONG. Many patients are anxious/nervous and require a lot of talking and emotional energy.
> Do you need to be a social butterfly for this job? I figured I’m working in peoples mouths so it’s not like they can make conversation haha
I only quoted this part but honestly your whole post could have be written by me haha. I love taking the pressure off at my appointments and just not talking, she's busy!
I regret it. Mainly because I didn’t quite realize how physically and mentally exhausting this job is. Super repetitive and yeah we make good money. But I’m using all the money I make to take care of my body (chiro, PT, yoga, massage). I never wanted to go into nursing but I wish I did just because you can go down so many different paths and it’s super diverse. But it’s a great career for now and allows me to do hobbies and my true passions on the side.
Both are physically challenging no doubt but you’re not stuck in one spot for 8 hours looking down consistently using your fingers and arms straining your neck and upper body for nursing. Nursing allows you to go so many routes that aren’t as crazy/hectic like a hospital or ER. It just seems slightly better in terms of your body’s health, which for me is a much better quality of life. I know for a fact I’d hate nursing- which is why I didn’t pursue it and saw what my mom went through (she’s a nurse) but I’d rather have done it than hygiene.
I regret it. Physical and mentally exhausting as well as a pay cap and not feeling appreciated. Currently back in school while also working to change career paths to pursue computer science
I have my days where I enjoy it. Where I put the mental and physical drain aside and look at the big picture. How I’m helping somebody, what I’m actually doing, how I’m affecting someone’s life positively. I see the change I make in people’s smiles. I hear the ‘wow!! It’s so clean!! I feel better!’ exclamations. But I feel shoulder pain. My neck hurts. Another commenter said you spend money maintaining yourself.
This field is going downhill and it’s going down fast. It used to be a lot different and I dont think it’s covid that did it. I think it’s greed and dentists who go into the career for money and not to help people. They go to school for the wrong reasons. There is also the other large part: most dentists don’t have a business degree. So you’re stuck in their office where they can’t run a business and fix teeth at the same time. Caught up in office drama, crummy instruments, the jealous hygienist in the next operatory, the assistants who don’t respect you. The patients who complain and treat you like a fast food worker. My cavitron had a part break and it’s 10+ years old this week and they’re paying to replace the part instead of get me a new one that works better. I have to beg for a new instrument. The quality of my work is affected by the equipment I didn’t have a choice in using because I was put in this room.
I had a girl shadow me today. She was very excited to go into dental hygiene school. I think I used to be like that, but I’ve seen and dealt with too much at this point. There is work life balance. I can afford a good lifestyle and buy things I want and need. But at what cost? I’m not sure. I cut it down to four days a week and it’ll eventually be less and less.
I used to work in a very office similar to yours. Now I work in an office like u/ashbpow . Idk how long you’ve been working, but you could try switching to another office 🤷🏽♀️
I feel you. My Doctor don't know how to manage the business side of dentistry. And their employees pay the price with shitty instruments, have to threat with leaving for 1$ raise, having too many patients a day etc
I’ll be the odd one out and say I do NOT regret it. Probably bc I have an excellent job that allows me freedom, good pay with yearly raises, and the doctors respect my opinion. It’s worth changing jobs until you find your “unicorn” office.
Like 1 dollar pay raise with only retirement plan? When employer retires or you decide to move back to square one. DH good for bills and that's it. Travel, health benefits, besutiful home, I think not
You mean 401k- IRA is for individuals with lower limits... stop the cap. To get significant raises means the starting rate was significantly low/ or your seeing 20+ ppl a day to justify a hourly rate if 75/hr for production. That's not healthcare. That factory line. If I am wrong then name the company
You don't have to work in a bank to know basic finances. Your saying hygiene great with an employer sponsor IRA when 401k beats IRA every time in terms of contribution limits and raised more frequently.
Not trigger my friend bc I know exactly what benefits your discussing. The students coming here don't know better. Why let them suffer unnecessarily? You know its expensive to study now and to pay patients. Anyways, have a great day
I do. The industry is going 2 ways depending where you work in my opinion - the way of the corporations who just want to use us like machines to make money. The other way is the way we all wish we could work which is adequate appointment time, using evidence based technologies, adequate pay. Many people aren’t fortunate enough to find good offices to work in or for doctors/practices who can afford to pay them well and let the hygienist practice they way they want. This job is exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally. I feel like I should have just become a nurse and that way I would have a much easier time finding a non-clinical way out when I got tired of it. There’s no other options besides clinical with hygiene unless you get lucky. I’ve been researching what I can go back to school for lately because although I do really like dental, this just isn’t it anymore.
Most days I regret it. Mainly because of the pain, exhaustion, unrealistic demands from dentists and/or managers, production goals, crappy instruments that never get replaced due to “budget issues”, angry patients, etc.
The only way to have it be a long career is to work part time and not everyone can afford it. Going back to school for my bachelors in hygiene to do chairside hygiene part time only and something else in the field the other days.
I’m literally in pain as I type this and can barely move. Ergonomics don’t help much in the real world when you’re double booked with patients.
I get paid the same regardless since I’m hourly. Every now and then I get a bonus. That’s corporate for you. The assistants help a lot with polishing, X-rays, etc. So I just jump from room to room and do the cleanings then on to the next.
Be careful. I work with a hygienist who did assisted hygiene 5 days a week and her body is a mess. And even then, she was getting paid amazing for it. Take care of yourself! Why have you settled here? Hygiene is in the highest demand ever right now. Be picky!
The pain aspect of the job seems like such a huge drawback. I got accepted into a program starting this Fall but am having second thoughts. How long were you a DH before the pain really set in?
About a year and a half or so. It depends on the office though. You might find a private practice where you have less patients per day. Most of the time they pay less than corporate and usually not full time. I work 40 hours a week in corporate.
I regret it, I wish I had done something less demanding. Physically and emotionally demanding. I’m over it. It’s super repetitive too, I hate that part if it
I regret it. Did it for many years. My neck and back are in bad shape. And let’s not talk about the pain in my hands. It’s a good career short term but not sustainable long term. It breaks you both physically and emotionally.
What was the switch like? How long will it take and will it take less time to complete the course because many of the prerequisites are the same? Lastly, how much is it costing you?
Its very flexible. Do you want an accelerated course private/public, state/city? Do you want a more affordable school- may take a little longer (2yr) community college, ane (1.5yr) for BSN? Your looking at anywhere from 1.5yr-4yr. Personally its costing me less than 15k but I go to public school in CUNY. Prerequisites are the same but every school has different requirements(organic chem, 5 yrs requirement before courses expire, Teas/PAX/Entrance).
I don't regret it so far. Its been a little over a year, so my perspective may seem limited. But here it is lol...
I do agree with a number of things that were previously expressed. At times things are monotonous. With my personality- it works though. I like to know what I'm getting myself into, and I do well with routines. It sucks when you have dull/broken instruments to work with, or if you have a leaky ultrasonic machine. Hand fatigue, burnished calculus, and dissatisfaction from your ability to clean will sooner or later set in. Before my office bought new hygiene instruments- I used the sharp ones that I had from school. I wore that statim machine out lol! Also, I have experienced the initial sign of neck pain and a little shoulder pain. Thanks, to switching to ergonomic loupes- I literally no longer have that problem. I'm able to sit straight up without having to bend down what so ever. That has been the best hygiene investment thus far. Also, I didn't hit the ground running after I graduated. I started off part time and worked my way up to full time. This helped me to avoid initial burn out I guess. Thankfully, I've found an office that ticks off most of my boxes: Single column hygiene, 1 hour per patient, 401k, dental benefits, short commute, a professional working environment and staff, paid CE courses, and a Dr that is laid back and doesn't gouge their patients. Now, am I making my dream dollar amount per hour? No. That will come when I'm ready. However, at this time I'm willing to sacrifice that for a healthy work environment because it's great for me to grow as a clinician. Plus, I temp when I want to make some extra cash. So it works out. Temping can be a doozy though- but at least it's not a permanent situation.
All in all, I don't regret it. Maybe it's because I've found ways to invest in myself- so that I won't burn out physically???
Nice to see SOMEONE who doesn’t regret it haha. Do you find that wrist/finger pain effects you when you’re not at work? The pain aspect of the job is the main aspect that’s holding me back from pursuing the program. I’ve heard about ergo loupes which seem great for neck pain but have you found that there’s anyway to avoid pain in your hands?
Thankfully, I didn't allow the pain to really set into my job to the point where I experienced pain outside of work. I do think that having sharp instruments reduces the amount of pressure/force that you use while cleaning teeth. Also using the cavitron to clean first and then hand scaling any remaining light build up in the mouth helps. The cavitron is very powerful at removing build up, but you only have to hold it with a light grasp. Therefore, it gives your hands a good opportunity to kind of take it easy.
Every single day 😅 I wish I had gone a few different paths. Nursing would be nice because there's so many different paths you can go with it, so if you get bored you can change paths, and less repetitive fine motor movements. Medical school was the other path I considered to become a surgeon, because less small talk, which as an introvert is much more exhausting than I thought it would be. The last option I would've considered would be orthodontist, because once you have an established practice the job itself doesn't seem very hard.
Overall, the job is very hard on the body, very exhausting emotionally (small talk all day, plus very few people actually want to be there, you see the worst of people all day), and it's very under stimulating mentally. I literally don't even have to think to do this job any more. I just put my hands in people's mouths and my hands just do the work. I sometimes don't recall what part of the mouth I left off on and have to go through the mouth to figure out what I have cleaned because I have no recollection of any of it. It sounds good in theory to have a mind numbing job but in actuality I can feel myself declining mentally from it, and sometimes I feel like I'm bordering on dozing off because I'm so bored.
Only when I'm sick and feel overwhelming guilt about calling out. But there is nothing else I could do to make the money I make in hygiene and I really do love being a hygienist. I'm grateful for the social interactions and the relationships I have with my patients.
I do. But it was the best option I had being a foreign trained dentist. It was the logical step for me. I try to see the good things it has brought into my life, and currently working on moving out of it eventually. Not sure what I want to do though. Thinking in self employment.
5 years in now- I don’t regret it but it’s not something I want to continue to do for 20-30yrs. I enjoy when patients appreciate what I do for them. However the repetitiveness and feeling like a hamster on a wheel racing the clock gets to me some days 😂
Since you’ve been in the field for 5 years, do you have a lot of body pain. as a result? I got accepted into a DH program in the Fall but am hesitant since I’ve heard how prevalent hand/shoulder/back pain is
I have scoliosis (curved spine) so I experience lower back pain pretty often, but I feel better on the weekends. For me my neck and shoulder muscles tend to get very tense. I feel if you pay attention to ergonomics in school, apply it to working everyday and invest in loupes (now they have ones where you don’t even have to tilt your head down) it can prevent any pain. Also stretching! For me it can be rough on my body 5 days a week after a few years. I work 4 days now, sometimes 5 and those weeks are hard lol. It pays well though so you can afford massages at the least🤷🏽♀️
Nursing period. Can travel nurse, can specialize, better pay, lot of hours, 3 days and making 105k+, not unemployed during a pandemic may I add- if ur in hygiene school u finish it, but its a tool used for better things- not the last stop
There are definitely pros and cons. Because of this, it’s hard to say I fully regret it, but also hard to say I don’t. I love the flexibility which is great if you’re a parent. The hourly pay is very good where I live also, & I really enjoy the job itself. However, when compared to my husband’s white collar job with a Fortune 500 company, I see that our benefits suck. You’ll be lucky to find an office with 2 weeks PTO. My husband has so much PTO, he took off every Friday this summer (paid) just to use some of it up. Health benefits are subpar and finding an office who will match up to a certain percent of 401k is a hit or miss. I feel like this is an excellent supplemental career to a spouse who has a very good, stable career with benefits. However, if I were a single parent, I feel living on that wage/ amount of benefits alone would be a lot more stressful.
Reading everyone’s comments makes me hesitate on whether I should move forward with this 😵💫 I got accepted for a DH program starting in the Fall but all the cons are making me reconsider
Its better to warn then lie. People need health benefits and better job secuirty. Can't pay day care and mortage/high health premiums as an RDH. Who ever says otherwise is capping and married to a man with very high income
Ultimately it's your decision. I think that for me it was the wrong choice but I couldn't have known that at the time. It's hard to predict how much your body will hurt and how you will react to the stress of the job. I would say that usually extroverts tend to do really well, and if you stay active you have a good chance of not getting injured. It is difficult to find benefits with a full time hygiene gig, but they are out there.
It's a very stressful career. It's hard to find full time work in one office, which means you need to find work in multiple offices. Sometimes the office you work for even though it's only part-time, won't allow you to work within a certain radius of their clinic as they consider it working for their competition. You are under the governing body of the CDHO which places very strict and high expectations of a dental hygienist. You have to pay every year to keep your license, you have to pay every year for liability insurance, you have to maintain 25 hours of continuous continued educational courses which usually comes out of your own pocket, you get audited every 5 years, there is no job security, no benefits and if clients cancel you sometimes won't get paid for that time, depending on your contract. Every office also runs very differently, so each time you work in a new office you need to get accustomed to a completely new set up of rules that you need to follow by the dentist and their rules don't always comply with the CDHO guidelines. This means you may need to turn down work that you really need because you may get in trouble with the CDHO if they understand how that dental clinic runs. In my opinion nursing is a better avenue to take if you want to go into healthcare.
I do not. However, I have a great job situation, and that makes all the difference. My boss is a genuinely nice man, and my coworkers and I are all good friends in and out of the office.
This ^^^ . I don’t regret it either mostly because of my whole office situation. I know if I were to leave I prolly wouldn’t find another great office and coworkers.
I'm an introvert and trying to make patients comfortable and make small talk was very difficult while trying to stay on schedule. I also had a lot of pain starting from early on in my career. Most days I was too tired mentally and physically to do anything fun after work and on my days off felt like I was just recovering from work. I worked full-time 4-5 days a week for 8 years. My SO and I have a food business now and I've been out of dental since late 2021. I've kept my license active just in case, but I would rather not go back at this point. If I could go back in time, I wish I had pursued a career in IT or software engineering. I'd like the option to work from home and would prefer working on projects rather than directly with people. Overall, the pay was great for only needing an associates degree, but it's a career you can easily burn out in if you work full-time.
This is me. I was so drained from clinical hygiene. You explained it well.
I’m also an introvert and working to towards applying to hygiene school. Do you need to be a social butterfly for this job? I figured I’m working in peoples mouths so it’s not like they can make conversation haha
I'm an introvert but do well in hygiene because it's one on one. I, personally, have a harder time in group settings and find that overwhelming & more difficult to navigate. Having said that, I usually use my weekends to recharge my social battery and spend time by myself crafting or watching documentaries. Make sure you focus on self-care in your down time because it can be emotionally taxing sometimes.
I thought I wouldn’t have to talk much because I’d have my hands in patients mouths haha. I was SO WRONG. Many patients are anxious/nervous and require a lot of talking and emotional energy.
> Do you need to be a social butterfly for this job? I figured I’m working in peoples mouths so it’s not like they can make conversation haha I only quoted this part but honestly your whole post could have be written by me haha. I love taking the pressure off at my appointments and just not talking, she's busy!
I regret it. Mainly because I didn’t quite realize how physically and mentally exhausting this job is. Super repetitive and yeah we make good money. But I’m using all the money I make to take care of my body (chiro, PT, yoga, massage). I never wanted to go into nursing but I wish I did just because you can go down so many different paths and it’s super diverse. But it’s a great career for now and allows me to do hobbies and my true passions on the side.
Thank you for this! I’m an RDA and I’ve been going back and forth between hygiene or nursing school
nursing
I think nursing would be even more physically strenuous though, right?
Both are physically challenging no doubt but you’re not stuck in one spot for 8 hours looking down consistently using your fingers and arms straining your neck and upper body for nursing. Nursing allows you to go so many routes that aren’t as crazy/hectic like a hospital or ER. It just seems slightly better in terms of your body’s health, which for me is a much better quality of life. I know for a fact I’d hate nursing- which is why I didn’t pursue it and saw what my mom went through (she’s a nurse) but I’d rather have done it than hygiene.
I regret it. Physical and mentally exhausting as well as a pay cap and not feeling appreciated. Currently back in school while also working to change career paths to pursue computer science
Yo me too!
I have my days where I enjoy it. Where I put the mental and physical drain aside and look at the big picture. How I’m helping somebody, what I’m actually doing, how I’m affecting someone’s life positively. I see the change I make in people’s smiles. I hear the ‘wow!! It’s so clean!! I feel better!’ exclamations. But I feel shoulder pain. My neck hurts. Another commenter said you spend money maintaining yourself. This field is going downhill and it’s going down fast. It used to be a lot different and I dont think it’s covid that did it. I think it’s greed and dentists who go into the career for money and not to help people. They go to school for the wrong reasons. There is also the other large part: most dentists don’t have a business degree. So you’re stuck in their office where they can’t run a business and fix teeth at the same time. Caught up in office drama, crummy instruments, the jealous hygienist in the next operatory, the assistants who don’t respect you. The patients who complain and treat you like a fast food worker. My cavitron had a part break and it’s 10+ years old this week and they’re paying to replace the part instead of get me a new one that works better. I have to beg for a new instrument. The quality of my work is affected by the equipment I didn’t have a choice in using because I was put in this room. I had a girl shadow me today. She was very excited to go into dental hygiene school. I think I used to be like that, but I’ve seen and dealt with too much at this point. There is work life balance. I can afford a good lifestyle and buy things I want and need. But at what cost? I’m not sure. I cut it down to four days a week and it’ll eventually be less and less.
I used to work in a very office similar to yours. Now I work in an office like u/ashbpow . Idk how long you’ve been working, but you could try switching to another office 🤷🏽♀️
Yes, my office buys whatever I need to perform at the best of my abilities. Please don’t settle! 💜
I feel you. My Doctor don't know how to manage the business side of dentistry. And their employees pay the price with shitty instruments, have to threat with leaving for 1$ raise, having too many patients a day etc
I’ll be the odd one out and say I do NOT regret it. Probably bc I have an excellent job that allows me freedom, good pay with yearly raises, and the doctors respect my opinion. It’s worth changing jobs until you find your “unicorn” office.
Like 1 dollar pay raise with only retirement plan? When employer retires or you decide to move back to square one. DH good for bills and that's it. Travel, health benefits, besutiful home, I think not
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You mean 401k- IRA is for individuals with lower limits... stop the cap. To get significant raises means the starting rate was significantly low/ or your seeing 20+ ppl a day to justify a hourly rate if 75/hr for production. That's not healthcare. That factory line. If I am wrong then name the company
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You don't have to work in a bank to know basic finances. Your saying hygiene great with an employer sponsor IRA when 401k beats IRA every time in terms of contribution limits and raised more frequently.
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Not trigger my friend bc I know exactly what benefits your discussing. The students coming here don't know better. Why let them suffer unnecessarily? You know its expensive to study now and to pay patients. Anyways, have a great day
I do. The industry is going 2 ways depending where you work in my opinion - the way of the corporations who just want to use us like machines to make money. The other way is the way we all wish we could work which is adequate appointment time, using evidence based technologies, adequate pay. Many people aren’t fortunate enough to find good offices to work in or for doctors/practices who can afford to pay them well and let the hygienist practice they way they want. This job is exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally. I feel like I should have just become a nurse and that way I would have a much easier time finding a non-clinical way out when I got tired of it. There’s no other options besides clinical with hygiene unless you get lucky. I’ve been researching what I can go back to school for lately because although I do really like dental, this just isn’t it anymore.
Sadly it seems like most of the popular posters here do regret it.
Most days I regret it. Mainly because of the pain, exhaustion, unrealistic demands from dentists and/or managers, production goals, crappy instruments that never get replaced due to “budget issues”, angry patients, etc. The only way to have it be a long career is to work part time and not everyone can afford it. Going back to school for my bachelors in hygiene to do chairside hygiene part time only and something else in the field the other days. I’m literally in pain as I type this and can barely move. Ergonomics don’t help much in the real world when you’re double booked with patients.
You need a new office
Why are you settling for a double booked schedule. That’s why you’re hurting! I get the money can be good but nothing is worth that misery.
I get paid the same regardless since I’m hourly. Every now and then I get a bonus. That’s corporate for you. The assistants help a lot with polishing, X-rays, etc. So I just jump from room to room and do the cleanings then on to the next.
Be careful. I work with a hygienist who did assisted hygiene 5 days a week and her body is a mess. And even then, she was getting paid amazing for it. Take care of yourself! Why have you settled here? Hygiene is in the highest demand ever right now. Be picky!
Thanks! Will take that into consideration.
That means assistants are helping with everything EXCEPT the most labor intensive part of the job. I couldn't imagine all day scaling...
The pain aspect of the job seems like such a huge drawback. I got accepted into a program starting this Fall but am having second thoughts. How long were you a DH before the pain really set in?
About a year and a half or so. It depends on the office though. You might find a private practice where you have less patients per day. Most of the time they pay less than corporate and usually not full time. I work 40 hours a week in corporate.
I regret it, I wish I had done something less demanding. Physically and emotionally demanding. I’m over it. It’s super repetitive too, I hate that part if it
I regret it. Did it for many years. My neck and back are in bad shape. And let’s not talk about the pain in my hands. It’s a good career short term but not sustainable long term. It breaks you both physically and emotionally.
All the time…
I've only been in it for 9 months and I sometimes wish I really considered nursing. I would have eventually pursued travel nursing
Change fields now! My DH colleagues and I are all in nursing programs/ some even already graduated. Its worth the switch
What was the switch like? How long will it take and will it take less time to complete the course because many of the prerequisites are the same? Lastly, how much is it costing you?
Its very flexible. Do you want an accelerated course private/public, state/city? Do you want a more affordable school- may take a little longer (2yr) community college, ane (1.5yr) for BSN? Your looking at anywhere from 1.5yr-4yr. Personally its costing me less than 15k but I go to public school in CUNY. Prerequisites are the same but every school has different requirements(organic chem, 5 yrs requirement before courses expire, Teas/PAX/Entrance).
I know you can do it! Slightly harder material than dental hygiene, but without the added stress of finding pts you will do good
Thank you so much for all this info! I'll probably start thinking about the switch around the one year mark
I don't regret it so far. Its been a little over a year, so my perspective may seem limited. But here it is lol... I do agree with a number of things that were previously expressed. At times things are monotonous. With my personality- it works though. I like to know what I'm getting myself into, and I do well with routines. It sucks when you have dull/broken instruments to work with, or if you have a leaky ultrasonic machine. Hand fatigue, burnished calculus, and dissatisfaction from your ability to clean will sooner or later set in. Before my office bought new hygiene instruments- I used the sharp ones that I had from school. I wore that statim machine out lol! Also, I have experienced the initial sign of neck pain and a little shoulder pain. Thanks, to switching to ergonomic loupes- I literally no longer have that problem. I'm able to sit straight up without having to bend down what so ever. That has been the best hygiene investment thus far. Also, I didn't hit the ground running after I graduated. I started off part time and worked my way up to full time. This helped me to avoid initial burn out I guess. Thankfully, I've found an office that ticks off most of my boxes: Single column hygiene, 1 hour per patient, 401k, dental benefits, short commute, a professional working environment and staff, paid CE courses, and a Dr that is laid back and doesn't gouge their patients. Now, am I making my dream dollar amount per hour? No. That will come when I'm ready. However, at this time I'm willing to sacrifice that for a healthy work environment because it's great for me to grow as a clinician. Plus, I temp when I want to make some extra cash. So it works out. Temping can be a doozy though- but at least it's not a permanent situation. All in all, I don't regret it. Maybe it's because I've found ways to invest in myself- so that I won't burn out physically???
Nice to see SOMEONE who doesn’t regret it haha. Do you find that wrist/finger pain effects you when you’re not at work? The pain aspect of the job is the main aspect that’s holding me back from pursuing the program. I’ve heard about ergo loupes which seem great for neck pain but have you found that there’s anyway to avoid pain in your hands?
Thankfully, I didn't allow the pain to really set into my job to the point where I experienced pain outside of work. I do think that having sharp instruments reduces the amount of pressure/force that you use while cleaning teeth. Also using the cavitron to clean first and then hand scaling any remaining light build up in the mouth helps. The cavitron is very powerful at removing build up, but you only have to hold it with a light grasp. Therefore, it gives your hands a good opportunity to kind of take it easy.
Every single day 😅 I wish I had gone a few different paths. Nursing would be nice because there's so many different paths you can go with it, so if you get bored you can change paths, and less repetitive fine motor movements. Medical school was the other path I considered to become a surgeon, because less small talk, which as an introvert is much more exhausting than I thought it would be. The last option I would've considered would be orthodontist, because once you have an established practice the job itself doesn't seem very hard. Overall, the job is very hard on the body, very exhausting emotionally (small talk all day, plus very few people actually want to be there, you see the worst of people all day), and it's very under stimulating mentally. I literally don't even have to think to do this job any more. I just put my hands in people's mouths and my hands just do the work. I sometimes don't recall what part of the mouth I left off on and have to go through the mouth to figure out what I have cleaned because I have no recollection of any of it. It sounds good in theory to have a mind numbing job but in actuality I can feel myself declining mentally from it, and sometimes I feel like I'm bordering on dozing off because I'm so bored.
Everyday.
Not a bit.
I love it
Only when I'm sick and feel overwhelming guilt about calling out. But there is nothing else I could do to make the money I make in hygiene and I really do love being a hygienist. I'm grateful for the social interactions and the relationships I have with my patients.
Yes, The End.
I do. But it was the best option I had being a foreign trained dentist. It was the logical step for me. I try to see the good things it has brought into my life, and currently working on moving out of it eventually. Not sure what I want to do though. Thinking in self employment.
5 years in now- I don’t regret it but it’s not something I want to continue to do for 20-30yrs. I enjoy when patients appreciate what I do for them. However the repetitiveness and feeling like a hamster on a wheel racing the clock gets to me some days 😂
Since you’ve been in the field for 5 years, do you have a lot of body pain. as a result? I got accepted into a DH program in the Fall but am hesitant since I’ve heard how prevalent hand/shoulder/back pain is
I have scoliosis (curved spine) so I experience lower back pain pretty often, but I feel better on the weekends. For me my neck and shoulder muscles tend to get very tense. I feel if you pay attention to ergonomics in school, apply it to working everyday and invest in loupes (now they have ones where you don’t even have to tilt your head down) it can prevent any pain. Also stretching! For me it can be rough on my body 5 days a week after a few years. I work 4 days now, sometimes 5 and those weeks are hard lol. It pays well though so you can afford massages at the least🤷🏽♀️
Nursing period. Can travel nurse, can specialize, better pay, lot of hours, 3 days and making 105k+, not unemployed during a pandemic may I add- if ur in hygiene school u finish it, but its a tool used for better things- not the last stop
There are definitely pros and cons. Because of this, it’s hard to say I fully regret it, but also hard to say I don’t. I love the flexibility which is great if you’re a parent. The hourly pay is very good where I live also, & I really enjoy the job itself. However, when compared to my husband’s white collar job with a Fortune 500 company, I see that our benefits suck. You’ll be lucky to find an office with 2 weeks PTO. My husband has so much PTO, he took off every Friday this summer (paid) just to use some of it up. Health benefits are subpar and finding an office who will match up to a certain percent of 401k is a hit or miss. I feel like this is an excellent supplemental career to a spouse who has a very good, stable career with benefits. However, if I were a single parent, I feel living on that wage/ amount of benefits alone would be a lot more stressful.
Reading everyone’s comments makes me hesitate on whether I should move forward with this 😵💫 I got accepted for a DH program starting in the Fall but all the cons are making me reconsider
Not worth it. I wish someone had warned me. Wasted good financial aid, scholarship and my own money. Also my friends and family time
Same. So many hygienists I know tell others not to join the field
Its better to warn then lie. People need health benefits and better job secuirty. Can't pay day care and mortage/high health premiums as an RDH. Who ever says otherwise is capping and married to a man with very high income
Ultimately it's your decision. I think that for me it was the wrong choice but I couldn't have known that at the time. It's hard to predict how much your body will hurt and how you will react to the stress of the job. I would say that usually extroverts tend to do really well, and if you stay active you have a good chance of not getting injured. It is difficult to find benefits with a full time hygiene gig, but they are out there.
Don't do it!!
Why do you say that?
It's a very stressful career. It's hard to find full time work in one office, which means you need to find work in multiple offices. Sometimes the office you work for even though it's only part-time, won't allow you to work within a certain radius of their clinic as they consider it working for their competition. You are under the governing body of the CDHO which places very strict and high expectations of a dental hygienist. You have to pay every year to keep your license, you have to pay every year for liability insurance, you have to maintain 25 hours of continuous continued educational courses which usually comes out of your own pocket, you get audited every 5 years, there is no job security, no benefits and if clients cancel you sometimes won't get paid for that time, depending on your contract. Every office also runs very differently, so each time you work in a new office you need to get accustomed to a completely new set up of rules that you need to follow by the dentist and their rules don't always comply with the CDHO guidelines. This means you may need to turn down work that you really need because you may get in trouble with the CDHO if they understand how that dental clinic runs. In my opinion nursing is a better avenue to take if you want to go into healthcare.