RN or DENTAL HYGENIST

RNMeg · Dec 31, 2009

You'll probably get biased opinions here, since it's a nursing forum Nursing offers a wide variety of areas you can work in; if you get tired of one area, you can usually move to another. It also has flexible hours and decent wages. However, you probably will find yourself working nights, weekends, and holidays, which some may not like. With dental hygeine, you work in one area, so if you get tired of it or find it's not for you, you're kinda stuck. Hours tend to be Mon-Fri 9-5 type.

In my area, a dental hygienist makes 46-73k per year. RNs in my area make 46-67k per year (for staff RNs without specialty), but have the opportunity for overtime, holiday pay, etc. Often there are also shift differentials for less desirable shifts. These numbers may vary by area, also.

Hope this helps :redbeathe

NursingStudent2012 · Dec 31, 2009

I have a friend who recently graduated as a dental hygienist. She is constantly bragging about her pay and likes to remind me that hygienists make more than nurses. According to the national average salary, its not much of a difference. The things about dental hygiene that I dislike are that it is harder to get a job (especially full time....she works 2 or 3 days a week), and there isn't much room for advancement. I'm pretty sure you'd be stuck doing the same thing in as a hygienist for the rest of your life. To me, it'd get boring. As an RN, you can go into different specialties and advance. Also, how awesome would it be to know that every day you come home from work that you may have helped save someone life?

blueyesue · Dec 31, 2009

You have to look into what intrests you more. If you want to work specifically in mouths, prefer routine work, and would enjoy scraping people's teeth clean every day, then go for becoming a Dental Hygenist. :)

Cyn2school · Dec 31, 2009

I am licensed as a Dental Hygienist and will start nursing school in 2 weeks. Fortunately, most of my DH prerequisites were accepted for my RN program. If you want a job that is 'medical lite" you'll love DH. Your patients are basically well ambulatory persons.

Good luck getting a full time job, the DDS will hire 2-5 part timers to keep from paying benefits to 1 full timer. The per diem is good because thats all you get other than discounted dentistry for yourself. The emphasis in the majority of offices is to "sell" additional procedures like tooth bleaching, gum treatments, and electric tooth brushes.

When you're young, pretty, and hang on the DDS every word... there are jobs. When you're older, experienced and have neck, back, and hand problems not so much. Also, if the scheduled day "falls apart" you will be told to go home or not to come in (unpaid of course).

I pretty much used it to complete my BA and move on. I did love the 2-3 times a year contact with my patients, seeing small kids grow up into young adults, etc, but that human contact didn't pay for my health insurance purchased on the open market. Next time you go see your DDS, ask him/her if she provides benefits to employees and see the deer in the headlights look and a stammering, "well everyone here is part timer so they dont get benefits"...

I decided to change occupations when I developed an interest in Diabetes (there are many oral manifestations) and metabolic diseases in my patients. I couldn't become a Diabetes Educator with my RDH back ground. There arent many jobs out there right now for DH and unlike nursing there is no collective bargaining or much in the way of an organization except for providing continuing educational units.

If you take off time to have a baby, take a vacation, etc. most DDS has no compunction about firing you and hiring someone else (who may have undercut your $ you to get her foot in the door).

There are a few offices who are ethical, pay benefits, and are less production oriented here in so California, but they have no staff turnover.

I realize that nursing is hard work and the hours are on a 24 hr clock but I do look forward to variety... of treating the "whole person." Receiving a consistent salary, paid overtime, a variety of work places and work hours, and a more independent organized profession that advocates for the patient and mandatory staffing ratios.

Starfish1 · Dec 31, 2009

im very interested in these two courses but i cannot decide. please tell me what are the PRO's and CON's of these two careers? who gets paid more? thanks :)

I was actually going to school for dental hygiene but switched when I completed my pre reqs which also required an internship with a dental office for the hygiene program- I like nursing I always wanted to do nursing, there are sooooo many different things you can do with an RN degree vs a dental hygiene degree. You cant look at what you want to do for the rest of your life based on $$, you need to do it based on passion and what you want to do on a daily basis...

sis N · Jan 23, 2010

well ! I had to make a similar decision and I chose nursing because I have been an dental assistant for 5yrs and can to testify to how DDS plan and strategize on firing full time hygenist and getting temps to avoid paying benefits.you also have to consider the facts that DDS can work without hygenist especially now in this economy where pts are losing their jobs and also losing insurance and most are no longer able to afford major procedures that keep the DDS busy such as CROWNS,RCT and so forth. Many DDS are now less busy and are now resulting to doing cleanings instead of sitting idle thereby cutting the need for more hygenist. This is all that i observed and it greatly influenced my decision ,money was the least thing I had to think of. STABLE JOB=STABLE MONEY =BILLS PAID =HAPPY EMPLOYEE. :yeah: