{"id":28310,"date":"2025-10-24T12:00:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T17:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/?p=28310"},"modified":"2025-10-16T13:55:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T18:55:14","slug":"so-you-want-to-be-a-dental-hygienist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/2025\/10\/24\/so-you-want-to-be-a-dental-hygienist\/","title":{"rendered":"So You Want to Be a Dental Hygienist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I have always referred to the dental hygiene profession as a hidden gem. Most people don\u2019t truly understand what it means to be a dental hygienist \u2014 how special this profession is, not just for those of us who practice it, but for everyone we encounter along the way; whether they are our patients, teammates, or professional colleagues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I entered dentistry twenty years ago as a dental assistant with no experience and no family background in healthcare, other than regular visits to my dentist and hygienist growing up, I knew very little about what truly went on behind the scenes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I fell into dentistry completely by accident and I have to say it was one of the best missteps I ever had. It was solely because a doctor took a chance on me and gave me an opportunity to work alongside him as his dental assistant. For five years, he had patiently taught me dentistry and I was fortunate enough to also learn about dental hygiene from the wonderful women I worked with at the time. Like so many others, I walked into this field with hopes and dreams of my own \u2014 but there\u2019s no teacher quite like experience, is there? Just like any career, you never fully know what you are stepping into until you are actually living it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Too often, aspiring hygienists only hear about the good: the stability of the profession, great pay, flexible schedules, the ability to give back to your community, and the incredibly rewarding moments when you help someone improve not only their oral health but their overall health. But like any career, there is another side to the story \u2014 the challenges, the hard truths, and the moments no one talks about.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Five years ago, I realized that people needed a resource to help them see the full picture of this career \u2014 the wonderful moments and the difficult ones, which is why I decided to write my book, <\/span>So You Want to Be a Dental Hygienist: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly<\/span><\/i>. My goal was to provide an honest, no-nonsense and unbiased guide for those who are thinking about entering the profession, so they could make an informed decision for themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This book is a play-by-play handbook, walking readers through every step of the journey \u2014 from being accepted into a dental hygiene program, to navigating school, graduating, and then stepping into the real world of dentistry. It covers everything from building meaningful patient relationships to handling the physical demands of the job and the complexities of navigating workplace dynamics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since its official launch in 2020, I have been blessed to hear from aspiring hygienists all over the country who have thanked me for giving them clarity and guidance on what to expect in their own journey. As someone who became a hygienist to care for patients and serve my community, I never imagined that my words would reach and inspire so many people I have never even met.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re a student exploring the field, a recent graduate taking your first steps into practice, or even a seasoned hygienist seeking a renewed perspective, this book is for you. If you or someone you know has ever wondered what becoming a dental hygienist really means and what this profession is really like \u2014 the good, the bad, and yes, sometimes the ugly \u2014 I encourage you to grab a copy for yourself or as a gift for someone aspiring to become an Registered Dental Hygienist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcd6 Order here: <\/span>https:\/\/a.co\/d\/5OaZi1i<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have always referred to the dental hygiene profession as a hidden gem. Most people don\u2019t truly understand what it means to be a dental hygienist \u2014 how special this profession is, not just for those of us who practice it, but for everyone we encounter along the way; whether they are our patients, teammates, Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":223,"featured_media":28314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[166,278,123,243],"class_list":["post-28310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-practice-management","tag-dental-education","tag-dental-hygiene","tag-dental-hygiene-month","tag-dental-hygienist"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Lisa-Nitkowski_Featured-Image.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7W16z-7mC","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28310"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/223"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28310"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28316,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28310\/revisions\/28316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}