Alice Kennedy, age 14, of Providence, R.I. for her question:
WHAT TRAINING DOES A DENTAL HYGIENIST RECEIVE?
A dental hygienist is a member of the dental health team that includes the dentist, dental assistant and dental laboratory technician. But only the dentist and dental hygienist are licensed to work in the patient's mouth. A dental hygienist must have special academic training.
Accredited schools of dental hygiene require that applicants have at least a high school education. Students are chosen on the basis of special aptitudes. This helps schools select students who probably have the best chance of completinmg their study.
Persons who enter schools of dental hygiene may choose either of two kinds of programs. They may take a two year course, which leads to a certificate or diploma, or they may take a four year course to earn a bachelor's degree.
Several schools that offer the bachelor's degree admit students to the dental hygiene program only after they have completed two years of college. Subjects studied in both of the programs include anatomy chemistry and bacteriology.
Students enrolled in the training programs must also include special subjects as dental anatomy, dental health education and the clinical practice of dental hygiene skills.
All states require dental hygienists to have a license to practice. Applicants must pass state board examinations to get the license.
A dental hygienist's duties include important services that help the dentist give complete dental service to his patients. The hygienist's chief duties are dental health education and dental prophylaxis, or the cleaning and polishing of the teeth. In dental health education, stress is given of the necessity for good home care of the teeth.
A dental hygienist also may take and develop X ray pictures of the teeth and jaws, and apply solutions to the teeth to aid in reducing decay.
In some dental offices, the dental hygienist may assist the dentist in other dental work when necessary.
Most dental hygienists work in private dental offices. Other dental hygienists work in industrial and hospital clinics, do public health work in government and private health agencies or teach in schools of dental hygiene.
Information on career opportunities may be obtained by writing to the American Dental Hygienists' Association 211 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.
The history of dentistry goes back to prehistoric times. Early man used both magic and medicine to treat pain, including that caused by teeth. After writing was invented, both the Egyptian and Babylonians recorded their methods of treating dental problems.
Greek medical texts written in the 500s and 600s B.C. talk about pincers for pulling out teeth. But it wasn't until 1840 that dentistry became a profession. In that year the first dental school was organized in Baltimore, Md.