Dental Hygienistsresume guide.
Administer oral hygiene care to patients. A strong Dental Hygienists resume shows active listening, critical thinking and speaking, and names the tools you have worked with, such as Henry Schein Dentrix, Microsoft Office software and Microsoft Excel.
See a sample Dental Hygienists resumeAnnotated against this guide · 3 templates↓This guide, on a real page.
A Dental Hygienists resume built in ResumeXRays, annotated against the data below. Flip the pages, try a template, then make it yours.
- 1Show what your charting led to.Examining gums and charting disease for the dentist are core tasks in this guide. A larger periodontal maintenance program shows that care mattered to patients and the practice.
- 2Say what your anesthesia permit frees up.Every state now lets hygienists give local anesthesia, and offices short on staff value it. Dentist chair hours handed back show why it matters.
- 3Name the practice software you know.Henry Schein Dentrix is the hot tool in this guide. Using it to bring patients back shows more than knowing how to log in.
- 4Count the people you taught.Health education for patients and the public is a core task here. Children reached and families given care sheets turn that task into a number.
- 5Write out each credential in full.Give the license name, the state board, that it is active and which permits it includes. What a hygienist may do depends on the state, so the exact wording tells the office what you can do.
- 6Keep education to one line.Most dental hygienists hold a two-year degree, so the degree, school and year are enough.
Sample resume. The candidate is fictional; the layout and templates are real.
01Also called
O*NET02Skills employers expect
O*NETImportance is how much the skill matters to the job; level is how much of it the job demands. Both are worth naming on the resume, in this order.
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | High | Advanced |
| Critical Thinking | High | Intermediate |
| Speaking | High | Intermediate |
| Monitoring | High | Intermediate |
| Service Orientation | High | Intermediate |
| Social Perceptiveness | High | Intermediate |
| Writing | High | Intermediate |
| Active Learning | High | Intermediate |
| Coordination | High | Intermediate |
| Instructing | High | Intermediate |
03Knowledge areas
O*NET- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Psychology
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Computers and Electronics
- Public Safety and Security
- Chemistry
- Law and Government
- Biology
04Common responsibilities
O*NETOrdered by importance. Each one is a bullet waiting for a result and a number.
- Record and review patient medical histories.
- Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
- Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.
- Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
- Provide clinical services or health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients or the general public.
- Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.
- Expose and develop x-ray film.
- Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills.
- Apply fluorides or other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay.
- Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments.
05Software and tools
O*NET17 tools across 8 categories. The six largest categories are below; Hot marks a hot technology, In demand a tool employers ask for most often.
- Henry Schein DentrixHotIn demand
- Patterson Dental Supply Patterson EagleSoft
- Open Dental
- Dental charting software
- Dental clinical records software
- Dental digital radiology software
- Dental imaging software
- Dental intra-oral imaging software
- Voice-activated perio charting software
- Dental office management software
- Dental billing software
- Scheduling software
- Web browser softwareIn demand
- Microsoft Office softwareHotIn demand
- Microsoft ExcelHotIn demand
- Microsoft WordHotIn demand
06Education and preparation
O*NET07Putting it on your resume
ResumeXRays guidanceLead with the credential and the record. Job Zone 3 roles usually ask for training, a license or a few years of related experience. Put those on the first screen, then show what you did with them.
List the software you have actually used. Employers scan for Henry Schein Dentrix, Microsoft Office software and Microsoft Excel. Put the ones you know in a skills line, spelled the way the vendor spells them.
Show critical thinking and speaking, not just active listening. Critical thinking and speaking rank close to active listening for this occupation. One bullet per role that shows a decision, a tradeoff or a result covers them.
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