Dental hygienists from around the world celebrated the 100th anniversary of their profession in Boston over the past week at the annual meeting of the American Dental Hygienists Association.
It was in 1913 that a Bridgeport, Conn., dentist, Dr. Alfred Fones, opened the world’s first dental hygiene school. The first dental hygienist was Fones’ cousin and chairside assistant Irene Newman.
These days, more than 181,000 dental hygienists are at work in the United States, cleaning teeth, examining for oral disease, providing preventive care and educating patients about maintaining and improving their oral health, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Hygienists have typically held associate’s degrees in dental hygiene and worked in dentist’s offices. But much about this profession has been changing in recent years.
An increasing number of hygienists have expanded their skill sets to serve wider populations and enjoy more professional autonomy.
Currently, 35 states are considered “direct access” states by the ADHA – states where hygienists are able to initiate treatment based upon their own assessments of patient needs without the specific authorization of a dentist.
“We have seen dental hygiene evolve more in the last 20 years than in the previous 80,” ADHA Executive Director Ann Battrell told me in an interview for DrBicuspid.com.
“We are seeing dental hygienists with different professional titles, such as the dental hygienist in expanded practice in Oregon and the dental hygienist in alternative practice in California, as well as the expanded care permits that hygienists in Kansas can work under,” she said.
“We are seeing dental hygienists expanding into schools and other public health settings. We are seeing new dental hygiene-based workforce models emerge, such as the advanced dental therapist in Minnesota. These new models, which operate in much the same way as the nurse practitioner model applied in many different healthcare settings, can help get critical oral healthcare to the people most in need – the more than 31 million people living in designated dental health professional shortage areas,” Battrell added.
Battrell is not the only one who sees growth potential in dental hygiene.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the profession will expand by 38 percent (or 68,500 jobs) by 2020, much faster than average for U.S. occupations.
“Ongoing research linking oral health and general health will continue to spur the demand for preventative dental services, which are often provided by dental hygienists,” notes the BLS in its 2012-2013 Occupational Outlook Handbook.
