Dental Hygienists
Administer oral hygiene care to patients. Assess patient oral hygiene problems or needs and maintain health records. Advise patients on oral health maintenance and disease prevention. May provide advanced care such as providing fluoride treatment or administering topical anesthesia.
Also called: Dental Hygienist · Hygienist · Licensed Dental Hygienist · Pediatric Dental Hygienist · Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH)
Median pay (national)
$94,260
$66,470–$120,060 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
219,070
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+7%
~15,300 openings/yr
Typical entry
Associate's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for dental hygienists shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $120,060 versus $66,470 at the bottom 10% — 1.8x. The median of $94,260 leaves roughly 27% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +7% from 2024 to 2034 — faster than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 15,300 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 52 states with released data, Alaska pays the most for this role (median $129,760, +38% vs the national median), while Guam sits lowest at $56,770 — a 129% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Henry Schein Dentrix as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Science
- Mathematics
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Record and review patient medical histories.
- Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
- Expose and develop x-ray film.
- Apply fluorides or other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay.
- Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer.
- Administer local anesthetic agents.
- Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
- Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.
- Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.
- Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills.
Tools & technology
- Henry Schein Dentrix
- Dental billing software
- Dental charting software
- Dental clinical records software
- Dental digital radiology software
- Dental imaging software
- Dental intra-oral imaging software
- Dental office management software
- Open Dental
- Patterson Dental Supply Patterson EagleSoft
- Scheduling software
- Voice-activated perio charting software
- Web browser software
- Email software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
Knowledge areas
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Psychology
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Computers and Electronics
- Public Safety and Security
- Chemistry