Dental Hygienist

Dental hygienists work with dentists to deliver oral health care to patients.While the range of services performed by hygienists can vary depending on State regulations, these dental specialists often conduct patient health screenings; take and develop dental x-rays; remove plaque from the teeth, and apply sealants and fluorides; and teach patients oral hygiene strategies, such as tooth brushing, flossing, and proper nutrition.

Dental hygienists are trained in academic programs at community colleges, technical colleges, dental schools, or universities; and become licensed and earn the RDH (registered dental hygienist) designation by taking national, as well as State or regional exams.

Almost all oral disease can be prevented with proper care, yet the unavailability of dental care in some American communities contributes to painful, disabling mouth and throat diseases, ranging from cavities to cancer. In underserved areas, where a shortage of dental professionals is the rule, and tooth and gum problems are prevalent, dental hygienists are a precious addition to a quality health care team.

Jennifer Hockema, RDH
Gentle Dental Care: Giving Once-Fearful Patients a Reason to Return

Some patients walk in with healthy teeth and private insurance for the first-rate preventive dental care offered at southern Oregon’s Siskyou Community Health Center, but more people walk into the center without insurance and without access to any other care. A toothache, for example, has finally made their long-postponed trip to the dentist unavoidable.

In a county with one of the highest unemployment rates in Oregon, Jennifer Hockema gets to introduce many kids and adults—who have long dreaded the dentist’s chair—to the health and cosmetic wonders that regular dental visits can achieve.

We asked Hockema about the NHSC:

What difference has the NHSC made in, your community?
With the NHSC’s support of this federally-qualified health center, a lot of residents of this community are helped in many different ways. Here, patients are able to receive care for a minimum payment. Many of our patients have never thought about prevention—they associate all treatment with pain and they’re afraid to go to the dentist—but we offer a place where people can come and be treated gently and with respect, regardless of their socioeconomic status. And here, we’re able to convince people to change the way they’re thinking and start taking preventive measures to save their teeth and gums.

What difference has the NHSC made in your professional life?
Even though getting my bachelor’s degree was expensive, I was able, with the NHSC’s support, to come here to turn around people’s thinking about oral care. I see a variety of dental problems that my friends who are hygienists don’t see in most of their practices. I get to help people with periodontal disease who are missing teeth because of neglect. The goals and focus here in rural Oregon are definitely different than in more affluent communities, where the core set of patients all have insurance and are educated in healthy dental habits.