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Summary Job Description | Tasks | |||
Clean teeth and examine oral areas, head, and neck for signs of oral disease. May educate patients on oral hygiene, take and develop x rays, or apply fluoride or sealants. | Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments. | |||
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Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease. | ||||
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Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist. | ||||
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Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer. | ||||
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Apply fluorides and other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay. | ||||
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Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease. | ||||
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Expose and develop x-ray film. | ||||
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Remove excess cement from coronal surfaces of teeth. | ||||
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Make impressions for study casts. | ||||
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Administer local anesthetic agents. | ||||
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Conduct dental health clinics for community groups to augment services of dentist. | ||||
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Remove sutures and dressings. | ||||
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Place and remove rubber dams, matrices, and temporary restorations. | ||||
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Record and review patient medical histories. | ||||
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Provide clinical services and health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients and the general public. | ||||
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Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments. | ||||
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Maintain patient recall system. | ||||
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CompGeo Salary Survey Benchmark Job Summary and Competencies
Dental Hygienists
The Benchmark Job Description below represents the specific Position Characteristics of the job used in the Salary Survey. Benchmark Job Descriptions should be inspected carefully to review the degree of matching between an organizations' Job and the Salary Survey Benchmark. Matching internal Jobs to Salary Survey Benchmark Jobs should not be done on Job Title alone. A thorough comparison of Salary Survey Benchmark to Internal Job Descriptions is recommended. A good overlap should exist on any comparisons used on critical Job Dimensions and Competencies.- Job Description
- Knowledges
- Skills
- Abilites
- Tools and Technology
- Education and Experience
- Alternate Job Titles
- Salaries
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Important Knowledge Competencies | Competency Description | |||
Medicine and Dentistry | Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures. | |||
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Customer and Personal Service | Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. | |||
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English Language | Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. | |||
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Psychology | Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders. | |||
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Education and Training | Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. | |||
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Sales and Marketing | Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems. | |||
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Biology | Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment. | |||
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Important Skill Competencies | Competency Description | |||
Active Listening | Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. | |||
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Speaking | Talking to others to convey information effectively. | |||
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Critical Thinking | Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. | |||
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Reading Comprehension | Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. | |||
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Social Perceptiveness | Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. | |||
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Coordination | Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. | |||
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Service Orientation | Actively looking for ways to help people. | |||
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Writing | Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. | |||
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Science | Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems. | |||
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Judgment and Decision Making | Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. | |||
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Active Learning | Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. | |||
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Monitoring | Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. | |||
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Complex Problem Solving | Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. | |||
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Time Management | Managing one's own time and the time of others. | |||
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Persuasion | Persuading others to change their minds or behavior. | |||
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Important Ability Competencies | Competency Description | |||
Oral Comprehension | The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. | |||
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Oral Expression | The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. | |||
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Problem Sensitivity | The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. | |||
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Finger Dexterity | The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. | |||
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Near Vision | The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). | |||
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Arm-Hand Steadiness | The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position. | |||
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Written Expression | The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. | |||
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Manual Dexterity | The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. | |||
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Speech Recognition | The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. | |||
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Speech Clarity | The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. | |||
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Written Comprehension | The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. | |||
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Inductive Reasoning | The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). | |||
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Deductive Reasoning | The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. | |||
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Information Ordering | The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). | |||
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Selective Attention | The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted. | |||
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Control Precision | The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions. | |||
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Category Flexibility | The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. | |||
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Flexibility of Closure | The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material. | |||
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Perceptual Speed | The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object. | |||
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Extent Flexibility | The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs. | |||
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Far Vision | The ability to see details at a distance. | |||
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Tools/Technology Example | Product Category | |||
Dental billing software | Accounting software | |||
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Dental charting software | Medical software | |||
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Dental clinical records software | Medical software | |||
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Dental digital radiology software | Medical software | |||
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Dental imaging software | Medical software | |||
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Dental intra-oral imaging software | Medical software | |||
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Dental office management software | Medical software | |||
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Email software | Electronic mail software | |||
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Henry Schein Dentrix software | Medical software | |||
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Inventory management software | Inventory management software | |||
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Scheduling software | Calendar and scheduling software | |||
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Voice-activated perio charting software | Medical software | |||
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Web browser software | Internet browser software | |||
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Word processing software | Word processing software | |||
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Air abrasion equipment | Dental laboratory air abrasion units | |||
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Air-driven dental polishers | Teeth cleaning devices or accessories | |||
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Air/water syringes | Teeth cleaning devices or accessories | |||
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Amalgam carriers | Amalgam carriers | |||
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Angle formers | Dental cutting or separating discs | |||
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Aspirating syringes | Dental syringes or needles or syringes with needles | |||
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Autoclaves | Steam autoclaves or sterilizers | |||
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Autoscalars | Dental scalers or accessories | |||
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Bite wings | Dental bite blocks or wings or tabs | |||
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Calculus explorers | Dental probes | |||
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Caries detection aids | Dental lasers | |||
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Caries explorers | Dental probes | |||
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Cavitron equipment | Dental scalers or accessories | |||
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Computer scanners | Scanners | |||
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Cotton pliers | Dental tongs | |||
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Dental chairs | Dental examination chairs or related parts or accessories | |||
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Dental curettes | Dental scalers or accessories | |||
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Dental lasers | Dental lasers | |||
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Dental needles | Dental syringes or needles or syringes with needles | |||
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Dental polishers | Teeth cleaning devices or accessories | |||
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Dental x ray development equipment | Dental film processors | |||
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Dental x ray machines | Dental x ray units | |||
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Digital cameras | Digital cameras | |||
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Digital dental x ray units | Dental x ray units | |||
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Electronic blood pressure units | Electronic blood pressure units | |||
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Electronic calculus detectors | Dental hygiene instruments | |||
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Film badges | Medical radiation films or badges | |||
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Hand scalers | Dental scalers or accessories | |||
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Hollow handle scalars | Dental scalers or accessories | |||
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Impression trays | Dental impression trays | |||
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Instrument sharpening devices | Dental instrument sharpening accessories | |||
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Intraoral dental cameras | Digital cameras | |||
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Lead aprons | Medical radiological shielding aprons or masks or drapes | |||
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Manual blood pressure cuffs | Mercury blood pressure units | |||
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Matrices/matrix retainers | Dental matrices or sets | |||
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Mechanical mixers | Dental amalgamators | |||
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Mechanical stethoscopes | Mechanical stethoscopes or accessories | |||
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Mercury blood pressure units | Mercury blood pressure units | |||
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Microscope slides | Microscope slides | |||
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Motor-driven dental polishers | Teeth cleaning devices or accessories | |||
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Nabers furcation probes | Dental probes | |||
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Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Nd:YAG dental lasers | Dental lasers | |||
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Nitrous oxide administration equipment | Oxygen therapy delivery system products accessories or its supplies | |||
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Notebook computers | Notebook computers | |||
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Oxygen administration equipment | Oxygen therapy delivery system products accessories or its supplies | |||
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Panoramic dental x ray units | Dental x ray units | |||
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Periapical films | Dental radiology film | |||
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Periodontal probes | Dental probes | |||
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Personal computers | Personal computers | |||
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Portable dental x ray units | Dental x ray units | |||
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Pulp testers | Dental pulp or vitality testers | |||
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Retraction cords | Dental operatory retraction cords | |||
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Rotating caps | Attachments or replacement parts for dental instruments | |||
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Rubber dams | Dental dam supplies | |||
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Saliva ejectors | Dental saliva ejectors or oral suction devices or supplies | |||
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Solid handle scalars | Dental scalers or accessories | |||
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Suctioning equipment | Dental saliva ejectors or oral suction devices or supplies | |||
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Ultrasonic scalers | Dental scalers or accessories | |||
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Ultrasonic sterilization units | Ultrasonic cleaning equipment | |||
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Prerequisite Qualification Category | Education and Experience Level | |||
Required Level of Education | Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | |||
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On-Site or In-Plant Training | None | |||
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On-the-Job Training | None or short demonstration | |||
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Related Work Experience | None | |||
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Related Work Experience | Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years | |||
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Required Level of Education | Bachelor's Degree | |||
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Alternate Job Title(s) | |||
Dental Hygienist | |||
Dental Nurse | |||
Hygienist | |||
Oral Hygienist | |||
Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH) | |||
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