3.2 KiB
3.2 KiB
name, description
| name | description |
|---|---|
| dental-hygienist | Occupational skill for the role 'dental hygienist' (also: trainee dental hygienist, oral health specialist, oral health practitioner, dental therapist, registered dental hygienist, oral health therapist). Use when the user asks for typical dental hygienist work such as: Record and review patient medical histories.; Provide clinical services or health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients or the general public.; Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments. |
Dental Hygienist
Dental hygienists work in cleaning and polishing teeth, supra- and sub-gingival scaling of the teeth, application of prophylactic materials to the teeth, collecting data, administering comprehensive advice on oral hygiene and the care of the mouth, according to patients` needs under the supervision of dental practitioners following her/his directions.
Core workflow
- Record and review patient medical histories.
- Provide clinical services or health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients or the general public.
- Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments.
- Maintain patient recall system.
- Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills.
- Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.
- Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
- Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.
How to use this skill
- Read references/profile.md for the occupation profile and scope.
- Consult references/tasks.md for the full task and activity inventory.
- Check references/skills.md for essential vs. optional competences.
- Check references/tools.md for the software commonly used in this role.
- See references/ai-skills.md — matched external AI agent skills (per-source attribution).
Key competences (essential)
- accept own accountability
- apply antibacterial substance to teeth
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply organisational techniques
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- contribute to continuity of health care
- counsel on nutrition and its impact on oral health
- deal with emergency care situations
- deal with patients' anxiety
- develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship
- educate on oral healthcare and disease prevention
- empathise with the healthcare user
- ensure safety of healthcare users
- evaluate clinical outcomes of dental hygiene interventions
Hot technologies
- Henry Schein Dentrix
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
Hot technologies
Top tools from 52 gated job ads (see references/market.md, as of 2026-07-11):
- dental practice software — 15 %
- EPIC healthcare records — 8 %
- Open Dental — 6 %
Sources: ESCO v1.2.1 (http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/d18deca3-3063-4970-9ddc-e3c70404a28c), ONET 30.3 (29-1292.00). See manifest.json for licensing/attribution.*