I had the opportunity to shadow Kellie the Dental Hygienist at “ A Place to Smile” in Springville UT on December 7, 2010. Here are the questions I asked her:
1. How long have you been a hygienist?
a. 4 years
2. Where did you go to school?
a. At UCDH here in Utah. It was a two year program
3. How long did it take you to find your first job after graduation?
a. I already had two part time jobs lined up before I had my license
4. What is a typical day like for you?
a. I see an average of 10 patients per work day, 3 days a week
5. What is the pay like?
a. My first hygienist job started at $31 per hour, then it has gone up from there. Currently I am salary based.
6. What is your least favorite thing about the job?
a. Really not a lot, probably dealing with insurance companies
7. What is your favorite thing about the job?
a. The hours and getting to interact with the patients.
8. Is there any specific thing you would recommend to anyone looking into the profession?
a. I would say to definitely get licensed in Anesthesia because it only takes a couple weeks to do so and makes you a lot more valuable in the job world.
All in all, I thought the shadowing was very eye opening and made the career even better than I had imagined it to be. The Hygienist had children also and said that her schedule worked perfect with raising kids. She is home every night, weekend, holiday and gets paid a very well compensated salary. I am glad I had the opportunity to do this and it has made me a lot more interested in pursuing this career in the future. I am actually excited about it and think it would be a career that fit my personal and financial needs.
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