Dental Hygienist
(Female, Age 55) from KAPOLEI, NY
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 55 who works as a Dental Hygienist in KAPOLEI, NY. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Dental Hygienist |
|---|---|
| Salary | $45,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 40 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | KAPOLEI, NY |
| Years Experience | 30 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
Army Dental Clinic which employs approx. 200 Dental Personnel
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Periodontal treatment and education: i.e. scaling and root planing of teeth and patient education to control bone loss.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
30 days vacation/yr, 15 days sick lv/yr/FEHB insurance, Federal Medical (Kaiser), Federal Pension
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
under
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
I service many patients and do not work with many others – I like ” doing my own thing”
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I work in a very modern high tech Army Dental clinic – It’s great! I have all the equipment I need! Bonus: This clinic is very up on Infection Control and Patient Safety.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 4
Benefits: 3
Hours: 2
Co-Workers: 6
Supervisors: 5
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 1
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | 7:00am – Arrive at Dental Clinic and prepare for patient care (set up instrument tray and cover chair with plastic barriers, scrub hands,etc.) Patient care chairside begins 0730am – Update patient health history, then begin treatment – scaling and root planing (removing hard deposits of plaque from tooth and root surfaces) |
| 8am to 9am | still same patient and treatment as 7am – 8am plus oral health care instruction (instruct patient in the use of various oral hygiene tools to prevent tooth loss) until 9:00am |
| 9am to 10am | 9:00am – remove/dispose plastic chair barriers and disinfect chair, repack instrument tray for sterilization. Set up new plastic chair barriers and instument tray to prepare for next patient. Notate clinical treatment performed at this appointment in patients dental record.
9:15 15 min break 09:30am – repeat another patient chairside care – scaling and root planing as noted above. |
| 10am to 11am | until 11:15 – still same patient and treatment as 9am – 10 am plus oral health care instruction as noted above |
| 11am to 12pm | Lunch break 11:15am – 12:15pm |
| 12pm to 1pm | 12:15pm – chairside patient – scaling and root planing as noted above |
| 1pm to 2pm | Still same chaiside patient as 1215pm, also oral health care education until 2:20pm as noted above.
Yes – A very repetitive day! |
| 2pm to 3pm | Since today is Friday, from 2:20pm until 3:20pm we engage in Infection Control for our chairside units and room. This involves using various disinfectant and cleaning solutions on all unit parts. |
| 3pm to 4pm | Since today is Friday, from 3:20pm until 4:15pm (closing time) the Dental Clinic staff participates in training and other meetings to discuss upcoming issues and disseminate information. |
| 4pm to 5pm | the staff is dismissed for the day at 4:15pm |
| 5pm to 6pm | |
| 6pm to 7pm | |
| 7pm to 8pm | |
| 8pm to 9pm | |
| 9pm to 10pm | |
| 10pm to 11pm | |
| 11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
Referral
What was the application process?
submitted resume
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
No interview – direct hire
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
N/A
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
N/A
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
YES – College curricula specific to Dental Hygiene, and Degree, as well as Qualifing Boards and Licensure.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Education is an absolute essential – see above.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
N/A
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
First: College Degree in Dental and all the applicable Board Exams and Licensing Qualifications. Licensed Dental Hygienists working in Federal Dental Clinics can work anywhere in the world.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Obviously, manual dexterity is of the utmost importance since use of small tools are use in a confined (as well as living) space. People skills are also very valuable to ease patient-clincian relationships and provide motivation.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
ABSOLUTELY!
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Please only your patient and yourself.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes – I am a career Civil Servant.
What are your current career goals?
I have achieved my career goals. Next is retirement?
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
I absolutely love what I do, and where I do it.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Dental Specialist | 4yrs | $400/month? | Set up and operate field dental clinic as well as all other Army Active Duty jobs (i.e., Maintenance of Army vehicles, weapons and equipment, physical and required combat ready training, etc.) |
| Prior Job 2 | Dental Office | 1 yr | $200/wk | Taje checkup dental xrays, clean teeth, patient dental health education |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.8
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.6 | Allegany Comm Col. | Dental Hygiene AA |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
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