{"id":2987,"date":"2016-06-24T11:46:53","date_gmt":"2016-06-24T15:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/?p=2987"},"modified":"2023-08-08T09:32:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T13:32:00","slug":"dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene\/","title":{"rendered":"Dental Assisting or Dental Hygiene?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pursuing a career in the dental health field is a great way to make a great living in Connecticut. As part of an in-demand career, both dental hygienists and dental assistants can find employment in this rising, in-demand field.\u00a0 Employment is projected to grow roughly 15%, according to the CT Department of Labor.<\/p>\n<p>But what is the difference between dental hygiene and dental assisting? After all, dental hygienists and dental assistants are both entry-level positions in the dental field. If you\u2019re considering attending a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/majors\/dental-hygiene\/\">dental hygienist school<\/a> or pursuing a dental assistant certification, you\u2019ll definitely want to know the difference between the two.<\/p>\n<h2>Dental Assisting<\/h2>\n<p>In general, dental assistants do just that&nbsp;&mdash; assist the dentist. They may have a range of tasks, from providing patient care to more administrative tasks like scheduling appointments. They perform a variety of preparatory duties in the dental office, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Disinfecting dental instruments in preparation for patient exams<\/li>\n<li>Processing patient x-rays and completing lab tests<\/li>\n<li>Providing fluoride treatments<\/li>\n<li>Obtaining and recording patient dental records<\/li>\n<li>Billing patients and filing insurance claims<\/li>\n<li>Scheduling appointments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are many paths one can take to becoming a dental assistant. In most states, you have to graduate from an accredited dental assistant program and pass a state certification exam.<\/p>\n<h2>Dental Hygienists<\/h2>\n<p>Dental hygienists typically have more advanced responsibilities than a dental assistant, as they work directly with patients throughout the entirety of their visit. Dental hygienists clean teeth and examine patients for oral health conditions, and are responsible for a variety of patient-care duties once relegated to the dentist. These tasks include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Conducting oral exams<\/li>\n<li>Removing tartar, plaque, and stains from patients\u2019 teeth<\/li>\n<li>Removing hard and soft deposits from teeth<\/li>\n<li>Applying sealants, fluorides, and polish for protection<\/li>\n<li>Taking radiographs<\/li>\n<li>Documenting plans for patient care and treatment<\/li>\n<li>Providing patient education on preventive oral care, including brushing and flossing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most employers require hygienists to obtain an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/landingpages\/dental-hygiene\">associate degree in dental hygiene<\/a> from a reputable career college, as well as complete the National Board exams.<\/p>\n<p class=\"cta\">Interested in learning more about Goodwin College? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/learnmore\/\">Learn more<\/a> today, or check out all of our programs to see why we\u2019re a leader in healthcare education in CT! You can also interact with us on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GoodwinUniversity\/\">Facebook<\/a>or <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/goodwinuniv\">Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pursuing a career in the dental health field is a great way to make a great living in Connecticut. As part of an in-demand career, both dental hygienists and dental assistants can find employment in this rising, in-demand field.\u00a0 Employment &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Dental Assisting or Dental Hygiene?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":2988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[217,219,268],"class_list":{"0":"post-2987","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-magnet-schools","8":"tag-dental-assisting","9":"tag-dental-hygiene","10":"tag-featured","12":"fallback-thumbnail"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dental Assisting vs. Dental Hygiene | Goodwin College<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What\u2019s the difference between dental assisting and dental hygiene? 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From certifications to job duties, learn which career path is right for you.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Goodwin University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GoodwinUniversity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-24T15:46:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-08T13:32:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ENB_DentalAssistingOrDentalHygiene_6.6.16.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"904\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Goodwin University\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@goodwinuniv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@goodwinuniv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Goodwin University\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Goodwin University\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/#\/schema\/person\/c2fa455a823cc67309bc65a457318e44\"},\"headline\":\"Dental Assisting or Dental Hygiene?\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-24T15:46:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-08T13:32:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene\/\"},\"wordCount\":378,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ENB_DentalAssistingOrDentalHygiene_6.6.16.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Dental Assisting\",\"Dental Hygiene\",\"Featured\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Magnet Schools\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene\/\",\"name\":\"Dental Assisting vs. Dental Hygiene | Goodwin College\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/dental-assisting-vs-dental-hygiene\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ENB_DentalAssistingOrDentalHygiene_6.6.16.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-24T15:46:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-08T13:32:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"What\u2019s the difference between dental assisting and dental hygiene? 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