Dental Hygienist Salary

Find Out Why The Dental Hygienist Salary Is So Rewarding

Did you know that exploring other people's mouth can be financially rewarding? Have you heard how lucrative the dental hygienist salary can be? With dental practices thriving, the demand for highly qualified dental hygienists is also rising.

So if you've yet to decide what career to go into, you may want to ask yourself if working with mouth and teeth is something you wouldn't mind doing. Because the truth is, this is one allied health care service that pays very well.

The job profile

With a minimum of two years of dental hygienist training, you work under the direction and supervision of a licensed dentist, primarily taking over the less complicated tasks of preventive oral health care services. This means checking up on patient's mouth, teeth and gums, performing regular cleaning like removing tartar, stains and plaque.

In certain cases, depending on your place of work, it'll be your job to remove sutures, take dental x-rays, do root canal procedures and perform other expanded dental functions as required by your employer.

At other times, you may be called upon to render public service such as provide clinical services and health education to improve and maintain the oral health of schoolchildren, or to conduct dental health clinics among communities as a service by dentists. For these services, you can expect an average dental hygienist salary of $47,120 to $74,041 annually.

Perks of the job

Unlike most allied health care professionals, dental hygienists perhaps have the most flexible jobs yet they earn very comfortable salaries. Get this, more than 50% of dental hygienists work part-time. This means they don't do the regular 40-hour week. Well, they do only because they work at more than one clinic or dental office. Why? Because dentists usually require them to come in only twice or thrice a week.

But why do they still make so much? Unlike other professionals, they are mostly paid on an hourly basis. And they have one of the highest hourly rates in the industry. The national average is between $24.84 to $36.39. Well realistically the lowest paid receive $21 per hour, while there are others who make $42 per hour. Still, the rate beats the $9 to $16 that other health care technician jobs receive for much harder work.

On top of their hourly rates, many dental offices also offer commissions to their dental hygienists. Usually, you get a percentage based on the number of cleanings you performed for a day. Or they can earn through bonuses given when a clinic exceeds monthly income targets.

Why are they paid much?

Dentists need them badly. In order to perform the more complex oral procedures, they need people to take over with the simpler stuff. This way, they can take in more patients, serve them all well for their routine appointments, yet still have a rich client base for the more complex orthodontic cases.    

So to keep their businesses thriving, they hire these professionals and pay them very competitive salaries to make them stay on. With so many dental hygienist opportunities around America, you can be sure there is work available wherever you go, and the pay will never be anything to sneeze at.

Salaries vary by state, but it is always attractive.  In California, the average hourly rates are $29.75 to $49.92. Texas isn't far behind with $27.09 to $35.81, while Georgia rewards them between $25.31 and $35.87; Florida is a little lower at $24.38 to $30.29.

Still, when you compare these figures to other jobs, you pretty much understand why those in the profession decide to stay on and build their experience. In fact, with the completion of your education at any accredited dental hygienist schools followed by 10 or more years of experience, you can even make upwards of $100,000 in the right environment.

So is the pay really the reason why many are lured to this career? Definitely. Consider that if you incurred student loans while studying to become a dental hygienist, it won't take you long to pay this off. With the average tuition fees ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 for an associate degree, you can easily recover this investment with the dental hygienist salary.

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