subject: Is My Dental Hygienist A Licensed Dentist Too? [print this page] Is a dentist the same as a dental hygienist? No. A dentist must go through much more dental school training than a dental hygienist. A dental hygienist focuses more on preventative dental care whereas a dentist can specialize in other dentist services and perform more intense dental care procedures such as root canal dental procedures and dental cavity fillings and oral surgery.
A dentist can specialize in many different fields of dentistry. For example a dentist could prolong his/her dental school to include more than the general dentistry services. A dentist can specialize in Prosthodontic dentistry, Endodontics dentistry, Periodontics dentistry, Pediatric dentistry and more. A dentist will go to more dental school to complete these specializations in dental services. A dental hygienist only has one option for dental school studies and that is to complete the dental school set forth for a dental hygienist to be licensed in providing dental preventative services and dental hygiene education.
A dentist usually owns his/her own dentistry or jointly owns a dentistry whereas a dental hygienist works for a dentist within a general dentistry team. Most dental hygienists work in a general dentistry, but some dental hygienists choose to teach at a dental school for dental hygienist or provide dental care instruction for the public.
A dentist relies on a dental hygienist to clean and polish dental patient's teeth. Cleaning and polishing teeth is prevents tooth decay and is vital in good oral health care and dentist services. Cleaning teeth and polishing teeth with fluoride are services that you will find in a general dentistry and so most dental hygienists work for a dentist in a general dentistry to perform these basic preventative dental care services.
A dentist will use the dental x-rays taken by a dental hygienist. A dental hygienist will take a dental x-ray to check for any signs of dental decay and oral bone disease. A dentist and/or dental hygienist can also find abnormalities in the oral bone with dental x-rays. Other dentist care and dentist services that a dentist or a dental hygienist may perform to prevent dental decay is using a plastic sealant on molar teeth.
A dentist teaches dental hygiene to all his/her dental patients who receive the dentist services. Dental hygiene means the study and dentist care used to prevent dental disease that can happen in the teeth, oral bone, and oral tissues. The person in a dentist office who actually does most of the dental preventative care and dental hygiene teaching to the dental patients is called the dental hygienist. Just like a dentist, a dental hygienist is a licensed professional and must have a certificate of dental education and must pass the board exam before practicing dental services in a dentist office.
What does a dentist do that a dental hygienist doesn't do within a general dentistry. Some of the dental services that a dentist will do that a dental hygienist cannot do are to care for dental cavities, provide root canal therapy services, and perform oral surgery. Think of it this way, the dental hygienist will use the dental scraping tools and dental polishing tools. A dentist uses the dental drills. A dentist fixes dental decay whereas the dental hygienist works in preventing dental decay.
