RN thinking of going back to school for dental hygeine?

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I am thinking of going back for dental hygeine since I have become so disatisfied in nsg! Any takers? Input please feeling burnt out in nsg I have been an LPN for 7 and RN for 1 and counting. Mon-Fri with all holidays off along with one task sounds GREAT! :clown:

I considered DH. I think it would be a great career and my dentist said there is a demand for them. I just know I would get bored doing the same thing over and over. That's just how I am. Anyways, on average, they do earn a little more than RN's (new grad vs new grad) in my area. But the waitlist for that program is longer than the RN waitlists here.

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Specializes in ICU.

I would really encourage you to think long and hard before you make this change. I am a RDH and an RN. I was an RDH first. I don't know what area you are in, but most every state is oversaturated- worse than the nursing job market. When I graduated 4 years ago, I had to move out of state to find work. Right now, I would be lucky to even find a few hours a week of hygiene work- and I am specially certified in local anesthesia and nitrous oxide administration.

If you are even seeing ads in your local paper/craigslist, they are probably for the offices that can't keep staff d/t horrible working conditions. The best offices are found by word of mouth. There is no demand for hygienists, but dentists will tell you there is- they like the market flooded so they can pay their hygienist less d/t supply and demand. In my state, hygiene pay has dropped about $10 per hour in the last couple of years. I have heard of dentists offering new grads $15/hr and they are taking it! Normal hygiene pay in my area is about $30/hr. New nurses make about the same, maybe a few $ less to start out. The dental "chains" are the worst places to work: corporate offices like Aspen, Great Expressions, Sears Dental, Gentle Dental, etc.

Even before the economy tanked, the hygiene field was saturated (my state has 14 hygiene schools and only 2 dental schools), and full time jobs were very hard to come by. Most dentists employ several part-timers, so they dont have to pay benefits. As a hygienist, I never had benefits of any kind (no health, vision, PTO, holiday pay, etc). I got sent home early if my schedule fell apart (patients no-showing/cancelling appointments). Sometimes my 24hour work week turned into 12 hours. I would be asked to come in late if my morning appointments cancelled, or take 3 hour unpaid lunches if there was a lull in the middle of the day. This was common amongst my other hygienist friends too.

A lot of dentists now want to pay their hygienist "per pt" instead of per hour- that way they are not shelling out money if a patient doesn't show up. My wrist hurt, my back hurt, and my neck hurt, to the point I was seeing a chiropractor/masseuse weekly (it didn't help). I was bored out of my mind my first year in. I didn't have a guaranteed paycheck, and my hygiene pay was only about $2 more per hour than I make as a nurse (actually at my current nursing position, I make a little bit more than I did as a hygienist). They also might try to pay you on production (you get a certain amount of what you produce in a day). This is a good idea in theory, until your whole schedule falls apart and you end up seeing only 2 or 3 pts. Or, all of your 8 pts have insurance plans that reduce the amount that is paid for treatment. Then your production/pay could be very low.

Another thing to keep in mind: many states are starting new pilot programs where they are training people on the job with no degree to perform basic simple cleanings, paying them just above minimum wage (supposedly no subgingival scaling, SRP is to be done). http://www.adha.org/profissues/preceptorship/paper.htm has the ADHA's opinion on it. I am wondering if, years down the road, the job of the hygienist will become obsolete. Why would a dentist want to pay and educated professional, when he could get something similar (albeit uneducated and unsafe) for less $?

You will be constantly pressured about your production as a hygienist- everything you do will be a billable service, unlike nursing where nursing services are included in the room charge. In one office, I was forced to see double the normal amount of pts (about 20/day instead of 8) with an assistant in order to produce more $ for the dentist. Some dentists were extremely unethical, pressuring me to "sell" products and treatments pts did not need, in order to increase production. I left that office in tears every day.

After a while, it gets boring. I was constantly watching the clock, counting the hours until I could go home. It's the same thing, over, and over, and over, etc. Occasionally I would get a really good scaling/root planing or a really good debridement that would keep me entertained, but mostly it was just prophies. And more than one SRP in a day would make me really sore.

Don't get me wrong, there is tons of BS in nursing too, but I am grateful to be employed full time, with overtime available if I want it. I still work an occasional 4hr Saturday for a dentist by my house to keep my skills up, but have no desire to go back. Hygiene is not the cushy easy career that many people think it is.

The pluses: holidays, weekends (Sundays always) off. Your risk of accidentally killing a pt is near zero, lol. Way less liability. If you have a burning desire to be a hygienist and it is your dream, I say go for it. Otherwise, if you are just doing it for the schedule/pay/etc, it is not worth all the $ you are going to spend and time busting your butt in school (maybe it was just me, but I thought hygiene school was harder than nursing). It is a huge $ investment, especially if you won't be able to find enough work to pay off your loans.

Good luck and PM me if you have any questions.

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Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.
Not much grosses me out but the idea of scraping plaque off people's teeth and inhaling bad breath for 8 hours a day is enough to turn my stomach. Blech! No thanks, couldn't pay me enough. I'll stick to the vomit and poo.

Mine has always worn a mask (and dentist too) and it's acceptable!

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RDH1

Thank you for the eye opening post.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

I was prepared to change careers to DH until I told plans to my doctor who said there are more people who will be willing to go to a hospital over going to the dentist. In his thick accent he said, "no do the RN." I must say the $80k/yr potential salary for DH was very appealing.

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You would be hard pressed to find a job as an RDH in some areas. I have a family member who is one and it took her a few years post grad to find a job. Also I know an RDH who has been an RDH all her working life post high school and her back is majorly screwed up, and she has no employment opportunities as an RDH where she wont remain in that same repetitive strain position. Although nurses screw their backs up they do have ways of gaining more options and arent in mainly the same position all day, we are running our bums all over and at least we get some stamina exercise! Dont get me wrong though, the Monday to Friday is tempting, however it isn't the case everywhere, the RDH I know works Monday to Saturday and a variation of day and afternoon shifts. Its not always perfect.

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Also check out the forums on indeed.com. There are a few good threads which could give you some more insight, especially regarding the job situation and pay.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Home Health.

Thanks Guys! I think I was venting and I am burnt out in LTC! But GREAT NEWS ! Got a job offer for a med surge unit will get 10 weeks orientation and will only have 6 patients!

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Oh, gosh! Congratulations!

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I really want to know if u went back to school for RDH.

I too am an RN thinking of doing RDH. I want to practice

Both, is it worth it?

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(maybe it was just me, but I thought hygiene school was harder than nursing). It is a huge $ investment, especially if you won't be able to find enough work to pay off your loans.

Good luck and PM me if you have any questions.

Really?! I've been an RDH 13 years and I'm thinking about getting a BSN through an academic partnership program. That is music to my ears. I'm so burnt out from hygiene. Even working more than 2 days a week throws my shoulder out of whack and I can't do it without seeing a chiro.

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My sister in law is a Dental Hygienist, she said a million times if she had it to do over she would have went into nursing, here are reasons:

1-Way Way more jobs to choose from

2-Benefits (dentists don't provide good benefits like hospitals)

3-She has to put up with so much crap from the dentists being in her face most of her shift, and it is not easy just to find another job.

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