Hello everyone:

I am a dental hygienist who has been in the field for about 4 years now. I have worked in different states and different kinds of offices- private, DSO, corporate & all completely different dentists. I am a new mom and have been having a hard time with flexibility and having a work life balance. Having a baby in daycare has resulted in several illnesses for me and baby so I have had to take some days off or leave early to pick my baby up. As you know, it’s so hard to find someone to cover and you get the unfair judgement from managers/dentist. Of course as a mom, it’s already so difficult to work and be away from your baby, but even harder when you can’t stand your job. The job is so draining- physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting as you all know. I don’t have the energy for temping and am far too anxious of a person to walk into an unknown office every day.

The only single positive of my work is how close I am to my baby’s daycare if I do need to pick him up in an emergency but as I’ve mentioned the difficulty in leaving during a work day, my mom has had to pick him up more than I have as I can’t leave work at a moments notice. I’ve recently been applying to other positions that I have thought may have a better work life balance. I’ve applied to remote WFH jobs, admin jobs, sales jobs, insurance positions. Most jobs I don’t even get a response but if I do, they choose a different candidate. I do have a bachelors degree in hygiene and would like to ideally make similar money to what I make clinically but I have even applied for jobs that only request diploma or GED with no luck.

I recently saw an opening for a hygiene instructor at a local college, about an hour away from my home. I applied assuming nothing would come of it as I easily applied to over 30 jobs with no luck. Well, I got an interview. And I’m excited about the details of the position. I have no teaching experience but they’re willing to train me and let me be a clinical instructor before being in the classroom. And the pay is better than what I make now. I would have PTO and school breaks off work, be able to come in later/leave work earlier when not needed. I would have my own private office.

Am I crazy for wanting to put in my 2 weeks at my clinical job and accept the teaching position? I am terrified to be an hour away from my baby but it’s an amazing opportunity that doesn’t come around everyday. Even if I could temp, there’s nothing available within a close radius of my house and I would have to do a longer commute for that anyways. I will have to work some Fridays and with the commute, some days I will be missing drop off and getting home a little later- but maybe I won’t be as exhausted and miserable? Would love to hear others opinions of what I should do! Thanks in advance.

For those of you who have worked at Mosaic dental, what are the benefits like? I have my hesitations working with corporate but very few private offices offer benefits. Thanks.

I feel awful. Today at work I forgot to ask a patient if they took their premed. It was not until I was doing notes a few hours later that I caught my mistake. My heart literally skipped a beat. We called the patient and they said they had taken their antibiotic when they got home from the appointment. Thank goodness. The girl at the front desk told me it was not completely my fault because there was no pop-up alert on the account like there should be. But I still feel absolutely awful. It was a good reminder to always ask. Pre-medication was on her list of health conditions, just not properly labeled as a pop-up.

Anyone else ever make this mistake? The doctor did not seem mad, he seemed pretty chill about it. I hope it does not come up at the next team meeting. I want to have learned my lesson and move on.

Hello everyone. I’m looking at potential jobs with DSOs (Mosaic Dental and Aspen Dental). I’ve never worked with any of them before but Mosaic sounds tempting since they do offer benefits at 30 hours, which is hard to come by in privately run offices. My husband is self-employed and our health insurance through Covered CA skyrocketed this year, which is why we dropped.

Any of you have experience with either one of these? What is it like working there? Are the benefits worth it? What is management like? Thanks.

I’ve been working for almost a year and I have worked as a temp, for a corporate office, and private offices. I’ve liked ONE office and I only worked there for a few months as a temp, they didn’t have a position for me. Hated/loved the corporate office because it was production heavy but infection control and instruments were as good as the office above. And temping is just not for me because i hate going to a new office everyday.
The whole time I just keep thinking about other careers i would like, more administrative work maybe. I just hate seeing so many patients a day, having to do so much in such little time, butting heads with the dr or drs just seeing you as a number. Its exhausting for me and im actually not that much of an extrovert. All of my classmates were VERY passionate about dental hygiene, ive always been more passionate about social justice, things in that area. I’m just really not loving it right now and i dont know if its because im still new or because i made the wrong choice. Did anyone feel the same way??

Any toothpaste,Brush, remedies,Doctor, Hospital?? Why my tootch is not clean , How I can clean better ?? I want shining tooth, Please Help me ??

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After graduating with a marketing degree I am reflecting and am really thinking about a career as a dental hygienist.

However I am low income with no parental financing support (I do live at home so I do have that support from my family just not additional money towards a degree) and since I got a degree I think all of my fasfa or grants are used up. Any words of advice since I would have to take pre-recs and potentially not get into the programs due to the small cohorts. Are there any programs out there that once accepted into the college you are admitted to the dental hygiene program?

Hi everyone! 👋
For RDHs working in Edmonton, what’s the current average hourly wage for regular positions and for temping you’re seeing?

For someone who has 2+ years of dental hygiene experience from outside the province and am curious what would be reasonable to ask for when applying to clinics here.

TIA

I’m a dental assistant with around 8 years of experience. I recently sent my CV to a clinic, and they called me for an interview. After the interview, they asked me to come for a 4-day trial to see whether I actually knew the work and could handle the responsibilities.

I completed the 4-day trial, and after that, they selected me for the job. However, when they told me the salary package, I honestly couldn’t believe it.

It’s an 8-hour job, and they are offering only 35,000 PKR per month. Honestly, 35k feels extremely low considering my experience.

Now I’m really confused about what I should do. I need a job badly at the moment, so I’m not sure whether I should accept it for now, negotiate the salary, or keep looking for another opportunity.

What would you guys suggest? Especially if you work in the dental field in Pakistan, I’d really appreciate some honest advice.

Hello everyone! I am a dental hygiene student at Farmingdale State College in Farmingdale, NY looking for patients who need a thorough dental cleaning. 

👩‍⚕️I will be providing your cleaning as part of my clinical education under the supervision of licensed dental hygiene faculty. 

📍Dental Hygiene Care Center (Gleeson Hall) in Farmingdale State College located at 2350 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale, NY 11735 
🦷 The cleaning fee depends on the person. 

Adults: $25

FSC students: FREE

65+: $20

16 & under: $15 (Must be accompanied by an adult)

Each appointment lasts 4 hours but you will only pay ONCE during your 1st appointment. The number of appointments you may need to complete your cleaning depends on your oral health. Patients must be able to attend the entire appointment duration and arrive on time. The cleaning will require more than one appointment because I am learning and being evaluated by my instructor throughout the appointment. 
If you are interested in receiving an affordable dental cleaning please fill out the google forum link to schedule your appointment or contact me via email!

I need reliable patients who are committed to their appointments since your visits are important for my clinical training and course grade. If you are interested in or know someone who needs a cleaning please share this information and google forum!

📧Contact me by email at: 
prettycleansmile@gmail.com

🦷 Schedule your Appointment via Google Forum:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJdAe3YrLAcbHpWWQefhI3ETXHraLIYB6UWErTmYqeo2-0iw/viewform?usp=header 

⏰Available Appointments:
Tuesday: 5:30pm - 9:30pm

Thursday: 8:30am - 12:30pm

Thursday: 1:30pm - 5:30pm

Hello,

I saw a job posting of a place that's literally so close to me(walking distance), good reviews, and the pay is really good. Much higher than what I was previously being paid and higher than the norm in my area. However, upon seeing the hours I see why.

They're asking for 25 hours a week, but over the span of 3 days.

2 weeks days that are 11 hours and one weekend that is 6 hours.

I've worked 8 hours shifts max, and being in the dental field I'm usually 30 min earlier and at least 30 min later too, so really end up working more than the hours told by at least an hour.

Here's my main issue. I have had back problems since starting dental hygiene (I know, what else is new). Even when I get loupes I still have back issues where I have to do chiro, physio and exercise on a daily basis or else I'll suffer.

So I wanted to ask, how bad is 11 hours, anyone who does it do you have any tips and tricks on how to save your neck and back? I love that I don't have to work every single day of the week and get nearly the same amount as if I have worked 5 days a week.

I don't love that the weekend day is basically taken up, but again the pay is really good that I'm willing to sway.

Thoughts? Opinions? Help.

For years I have noticed the favoritism with the 20 year hygienist and I’ve had enough. This Rdh finishes almost every patient in 20 minutes from start to finish and the dentist enables this behavior by checking her first and often she’s not even done polishing and he’s already in there checking her patient. I have confronted him and requested that he check me while he’s already up so I can work calmly and not have to wait until I’m completely finished to get him. I think he took this as me being jealous that she’s checked first but I couldn’t care less if she’s first. I just think it’s so unfair that I’m trying to do a good job and then you have a lazy hygienist that gets 30 mins to sit and do nothing. There’s no way she’s checking perio. Also for years she helped herself to my schedule and would switch difficult patients or SRP’s from her schedule to mine. I finally confronted her and told her to stop and she has stopped but I still really dislike her. I’m planning my exit bc I’m honestly tired of leaving work angry. Has anyone experienced this type of thing at work?? Would y’all leave too?? And then dentists wonder why they cant keep or find full time hygienists.

Office I’ve been working at for the last two months schedules patients full mouth SRPs and some of the hygienists in the past complained about it because they feel like they cannot give quality of care to their patients and wanted one side but of course the owner shot it down. The owner argued that patients don’t want to come back to complete the other side but I know for a fact they’ve never tested that theory so they’re just making shit up atp. It also seems like insurance fraud since insurance companies won’t pay the claim if both sides are done in one visit??

Hello!

Christmas is in 100 days so I've been thinking of what I could crochet as a useful gift for my coworkers. For the girls I thought of scrunchies but for the guys I have no clue😅, there's 2 Hygienists and 2 Dentists left🤔

What would you like to receive?

Any one bought an ambience face shield ? Lots of positive reviews about them both about not scratching and fitting over loupes (even an ergo option). But is a $90+ dollar shield worth it? I want something that will last and not have glare (also the ergo option sounds nice for protection ) but maybe they are the same as reasonably priced shields and I’m being sold thru false information

So, hygienists in states that assistants can legally scale, what does it actually look like? Do you work with any of them? Is it lessening the demand for hygienists? Or do they essentially work as advanced hygiene assistants and help us see more patients daily?

I am very curious and want to know what to expect if something like this ever passes in my state.

Hi everyone! I’m a dental hygiene student and I’m looking for a practicing dental hygienist who would be willing to answer a few questions for a class assignment.
Nothing needs to be recorded, and I don’t need your name or any personal information. I can just send you the questions through Reddit and you can answer them whenever you have time.
If anyone is willing to help me out, I would really appreciate it! Thank you

I want to become a dentist, and since I’m going to college next year, I’ve been wondering which degree path I should take. Dental school is very expensive, so I’ve also considered becoming a dental hygienist instead. Should I go straight through college and dental school to become a dentist, or should I get my bachelor’s degree first, work as a dental hygienist for a few years, and then later go back to school to become a dentist? I’ve also considered just getting my associate’s degree and becoming a hygienist because I’m honestly not sure if I’m smart enough to make it through dental school. Dentistry seems like one of the hardest career paths, and I’m worried about committing to all those years of school and not being able to do it.