INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dental Hygienist positions are at a 12% growth rate, which is faster than average. With that said, there are currently 75,200 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 9,200 to 84,400 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Dental Hygienist jobs was $38,620 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $25,770, and the highest 10% more than $63,910.
Our conclusion? The Dental Hygienist job market is wide open for candidates.
Top dental hygienist sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
A dental hygienist resume experience section to be proud of
Writing a strong experience section for your dental hygienist resume:
- List your previous jobs in chronological or reverse-chronological format;
- Use no more than 4-6 bullets per position;
- Mention only relevant work experience;
- Describe the tasks you were responsible for and how you managed to exceed expectations;
- Show you’re able to take charge by choosing action verbs over buzzwords.
Looking for real-life examples of what a strong experience section looks like? Check out our suggestions below!
- Successfully work a double column hygiene schedule with the help of an assistant.
- Evaluate the level of periodontal care needed for both new and current patients.
- Competent in taking digital radiographs and intra-oral photographs.
- Application of prevention methods such as topical fluorides and sealants.
- Maintain the care of all equipment used for treatment.
- Part-time hygienist seeing one patient an hour.
- Provided excellent patient care along with oral hygiene instructions.
- Helped establish a patient base at newly established office.
- Implemented a fluoride varnish protocol for children 5 and under.
- Gave extensive oral hygiene instructions and applied fluoride.
- Preformed cavity screenings and made referrals to dentists when necessary.
- Preformed bacterial saliva testing for pregnant woman..
- Using my skills and education, I was able to care for thousands of patients over the years. Seeing them grow and making a difference on how they view the dental visit is exceptionally rewarding.
- Implemented "happy visits" for autistic and special needs children to make the dental visit easier for families.
- I am able to lead by example. Molding and training the staff on clinical knowledge, skills, and professionalism.
- Organized the hiring process, clinical evaluations, training processes during the staff members employment.
- Conducted interviews, hiring, firing, and coaching/counseling new hires.
- Clinical care of pediatric patients, while assisting the dentist on various procedures. Ensuring the patients' safety and comfort was my utmost priority.
- Building confidence, gaining clinical hands on knowledge and experience.
- Reviewing treatment plans with parents, financial estimates, and clinical implications.
- Ensuring trust with our parents and patients.
- Increased overall practice profitability by marketing dental restorative services based on their unmet needs with advanced procedures including implants, root canals, crowns, ceramic fillings and veneers.
- Practiced laser periodontal therapy in stimulating healing of the soft tissues as well as antibiotic placement within periodontal pockets.
- Communicated effectively with patients and staff of varying cultures and languages and acted as a bridge of communication between staff.
- Rendered basic routine cleanings on patients of all ages including orthodontic and special needs patients.
- Promoted good oral hygiene care through demonstrations, DVD’s, pamphlets, charts and literature.
- Collaborated with the dentist in chair side assisting and helped the front team in daily tasks.
- Patient screening procedures such as assessment of oral health conditions, review of the health history, oral cancer screening, head and neck inspection, dental charting, monitoring blood pressure, pulse, respiration and developing dental x-rays including VGI for sleep apnea patients.
- Teaching patients’ appropriate oral hygiene strategies to maintain oral health with regular tooth brushing, flossing, nutrition and follow ups.
- Counseling patients on oral health benefits and how to prevent gum disease of the oral flora and supporting structures of the teeth.
- Applying preventive materials to the teeth with protective resin materials such as sealants and fluorides.
- Removing hard and soft tissue deposits from all surfaces of the teeth.
- Retained new and existing patients by providing excellent patient care.
- Provide dental hygiene services to patients.
- Completed all aspects of radiography including processing of digital or manual films and intraoral photography.
- Evaluated medical history, previous dental records, current and past clinical findings to ensure safety of the patients.
- Conducted nutritional and personal hygiene counseling to educate patients of their health and wellness.
- Partnered with the dentist in implementing patients' dental treatments and continued dental care protocols.
- Skilled in patient assessment, performing dental hygiene/periodontal treatments and therapies.
- Take impressions of patients for whitening and night guard along with pouring stone models and fabricating trays for patients.
- Prepare teeth for orthodontic bonding and de-bonding in the finishing stages as well as do adjustments for continued ortho TX.
- Perform ortho records for patients.
- Take digital Cephalometric and Panoramic radiographs for patients.
- Took impressions for retainers and appliances.
- Diligently clean, package and arrange instruments in sterilization area.
- Work with habit appliances and palatal expanders by bonding and de-bonding them.
- Do Invisalign attachments, buttons and give instructions to the patients accordingly for their use of trays.
- Increased growth of the company in revenue by over 20% yearly consecutively from 2006-2016 and grew from 56 offices to 110 in the designated market assigned.
- Determined financial gains in the offices all over Texas and generated hygiene productions and collections from 1 million to over 3.5 million in the consequent years.
- Maintained contacts with the dental product companies for IPO inventories and supervised staff with the purchase ordering of supplies.
- Served as a liaison between the clinical, and managing support staff to execute planning, implementation and communication.
- Created marketing schemes for promotions, advertisements, discounts, questionnaires, surveys and dental products up-selling.
- Created financial documents based on EBITDA and reported directly to the Director of Operations.
- Trained dental hygienists to guide them enhance their clinical skills and communication.
- Provided HR support in getting new graduate and experienced hygienists on board.
- Created protocols specifically for hygienists to advance optimal care and brought productivity to the territory.
- Provided dental hygiene services to clients in various offices of the company throughout the years.
- Increased overall practice profitability by marketing dental restorative services based on their unmet needs with advanced procedures including implants, root canals, crowns, ceramic fillings and veneers.
- Practiced laser periodontal therapy in stimulating healing of the soft tissues as well as antibiotic placement within periodontal pockets.
- Communicated effectively with patients and staff of varying cultures and languages and acted as a bridge of communication between staff.
- Rendered basic routine cleanings on patients of all ages including orthodontic and special needs patients.
- Promoted good oral hygiene care through demonstrations, DVD’s, pamphlets, charts and literature.
- Collaborated with the dentist in chair side assisting and helped the front team in daily tasks.
- Performed patient screening procedures such as assessment of oral health conditions, review of the health history, oral cancer screening, head and neck inspection, dental charting, monitoring blood pressure, pulse, respiration and developing dental x-rays including VGI for sleep apnea patients.
- Taught patients’ appropriate Removing hard and soft tissue deposits from all surfaces of the teeth. hygiene strategies to maintain oralhealth with regular tooth brushing, flossing, nutrition and follow ups.
- Counseled patients on oral health benefits and how to prevent gumdisease of the oral flora and supporting structures of the teeth.
- Applied preventive materials to the teeth with protective resin materials such as sealants and fluorides.
- Performed dental charting and did periodontal screening for patients.
- Working alongside Dr Oliver Pope with anaesthetising his patients, putting on rubber dam
- Seeing recall patients, taking BWs and PAs
- Taking CBCT scans
- Administrative tasks
- Attending Dr Jesse Green's conferences and implementing strategies within the practice
- Seeing a minimum of 10 patients per day for examinations, routine scaling, periodontal debridement and fissure sealants
- Taking impressions for study models, retainers, bleaching trays
- Performing oral hygiene instruction and nutritional counselling
- Band sizing, separator, retie and deband appointments
- Going to local kindergartens to provide oral health education sessions
- Provision of preventive oral care services and periodontal therapy using microscope and laser support
- Patient motivation and explanation of treatment plans and estimates
- Digital storage of photos and documents related to the cases treated
- Scale and root debridement of a great range of patients, including periodontic patients
- Comprehensive examinations on children
- Working collaboratively in a large team environment
- Orthodontic therapy - braces and Invisalign with multiple different orthodontists
- Intraoral scanning/photographs
- Clinical photography
- Scale, root plane, oral cancer screenings, and routine prophylaxis.
- Apply sealants and fluoride.
- Educate patients on proper oral health care.
- Cared for a minimum of 10 patients per day while performing oral examinations, fissure sealants and scaling, and root debridement appointments
- Provided patient evaluation, assessment and devised treatment plans suited to each individual patient
- Performed routine digital x-rays and clinical photographs using both the intra-oral and SLR camera
- Provided oral hygiene instruction and nutritional counselling
- Administered local anaesthesia
- Performed orthodontic retie appointments, separators, band sizing and in depth oral hygiene instruction
- Visiting local kindergartens and providing an oral health education session
- Provision of preventive oral care services and periodontal therapy using microscope and laser support
- Patient motivation and explanation of treatment plans and estimates
- Digital storage of photos and documents related to the treated cases
PRO TIP
Show off real numbers that display your accomplishments in past roles. Instead of listing out your responsibilities as Dental Hygienist, talk about the measurable impact you made to their business. Did you boost their revenue? Increase customer retention? Mention your proudest points on your resume.
Action verbs for your dental hygienist resume
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Taking Control of Your Dental Hygienist Resume’s Skills Section
A skills section that shows what you’re capable of includes:
- Keywords from the job advert to help you pass ATS;
- Both hard and soft skills, incl. technical skills and people skills;
- Skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for;
- No more than 15 skills – to keep your resume readable.
Top skills for your dental hygienist resume
EHR Systems
SRPs
Gingivitis Therapy
Oral Screening
Perio Maintenance
X Rays
CPR
Photoshop Editing
Events planner
Communication
Compassion
Patience
Flexibility, adaptability, and emotional stability
Proactive, ethical, and responsible nature
Honesty
Team-player
Strong work ethic
Time management
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
Recommended Reads:
Dental hygienist resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your dental hygienist resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Dental Hygienist resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
A dental hygienist resume summary that spotlights your achievements
Checklist: A strong dental hygienist resume summary:
- Use adjectives that highlight the character traits you’re most proud of;
- Mention 1-2 of your biggest achievements;
- Add keywords from the job advert to increase your chances of passing ATS;
- Keep the recruiter’s attention by going for short sentences.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
You’re not going to get hired simply because of a good summary or objective. However, your recruiter can bump you up in front of similarly experienced candidates who didn’t demonstrate such passion and drive.
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Creating an impressive education section for your dental hygienist resume
The education section: checklist
- List your degrees in reverse-chronological order;
- Include your degree subject, place of study, name of institution, and year of graduation;
- Add a line or two about your relevant certifications;
- Mention some classes and projects that have helped you gain additional skills.
Top certifications for your dental hygienist resume
Nitrous Oxide Course for Dentists & Dental Hygienists
Administration of Nitrous oxide Sedation Course: Conscious Sedation Refresher - Dental Training
Modern Dental Extractions - Fast, Painless, & Non-invasive
The goal is less trauma and less drama! This is an update that teaches superior methods for atraumatic extractions.
Dental Marketing & Get More Patients Online Dentist Bootcamp
attract more patients & grow your practice with seo & digital marketing course for hygienist implant cosmetic dentistry
Purpose Driven Dental Assisting
An introduction to Dentistry and Dental Assisting.
Dental Crowns (Prep-Temp-Final)
How to perform dental crowns that last and patients love
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
A professional format for your dental hygienist resume
There are some aspects worth taking into consideration when choosing the format of your Dental Hygienist resume. These include the position and company you’re applying for, your total years of experience, whether you’ve been through some employment gaps, and so on.
Generally speaking, there are three basic resume formats for you to choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The reverse-chronological resume format is just that: all your jobs listed in a reverse-chronological way, starting from the most recent and moving backward. It’s great for highly experienced professionals with over 10 years in the industry behind their backs. The reason for this: it’s almost entirely focused on experience and achievements.
The functional skills-based resume format, on the other hand, is just the opposite. It’s based on your skills, personality, and expertise. It highlights what you’re capable of even when you don’t have sufficient work experience. This makes it great for students, recent graduates, or people with larger career gaps.
If neither of these sounds like you, go for the combination resume format. It’s a combination of the best characteristics of other formats, which makes it great for showcasing different aspects of your career and education. It also gives you plenty of options to choose from – in terms of colors, structure, and sections.
Check out our additional tips on perfecting your Dental Hygienist resume’s style and layout:
- Choose traditional 1-inch resume margins;
- Go for a serif or sans serif resume font that’s easy to read yet looks professional (e.g. Arial, Verdana, or Calibri);
- Keep your Dental Hygienist resume short: one-page template are preferable, but if you have over 10 years of experience, you can also go for a two-page format;
- Save your resume as PDF and choose a suitable name, e.g. NameSurnameResume;
Tired of looking for ways to make your resume stand out? Read this article!
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PRO TIP
Test your draft Dental Hygienist resume by sending it out to peers and mentors in your circles. Ask them to review it as if they are hiring you for a project and implement the feedback afterwards.
Additional sections for your dental hygienist resume
After drafting the required sections of your Dental Hygienist resume, it’s now time to move to something a bit more fun. There are a number of sections you can add to your resume depending on the company, the position, and how you’re feeling in general:
Adding the right kind of creativity to your dental hygienist resume
It is through creativity that we express ourselves. And trust us, it’s important to show at least a bit of your personality if you want to leave a strong first impression.
But what are the ways to add creativity to your Dental Hygienist resume? Well, you can either go for a colorful and engaging template, or you could add some out-of-the-box sections, such as ‘life philosophy’ or ‘what my typical day looks like’.
It’s up to you! Just make sure that the level of creativity matches the position, the company, and the industry you’re applying for.
What makes a great dental hygienist resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
