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Best dental hygienist certifications
The best certifications for a dental hygienist are Dental Assistant (RDA), Certified Dental Technician, and Certified Dental Assistant (CDA).
Dental hygienist certifications demonstrate your competency as a dental hygienist to employers. However, not all dental hygienist certifications provide the same value.
Below is a list of the best dental hygienist certifications. Obtaining a dental hygienist certification will give you a leg up when you apply for jobs and increase your potential salary.
6 best certifications for dental hygienists
| Rank | Dental hygienist certification | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dental Assistant (RDA) | AMT |
| 2 | Certified Dental Technician | NBC |
| 3 | Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) | DANB |
| 4 | Infection Control Certification (CIC) | CBIC |
| 5 | Certified Preventative Functions Dental Assistant (CPFDA) | DANB |
| 6 | Medical Assistant (MA) | AMT |
6 best dental hygienist certifications
1. Dental Assistant (RDA)
A Dental Assistant is an integral member of the dental health team, competent via education, experience, and understanding of patient welfare. The Dental Assistant is qualified to provide support in administrative duties: chairside, laboratory, and radiological procedures, as defined by existing state laws. As an agent of the Dentist, the Dental Assistant strives to cultivate good will and confidence within the dental practice.
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? Yes
- More than two years of work experience required? Yes
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 3 year(s)
2. Certified Dental Technician
Certification is the process of assessing a dental technician's knowledge and applied skill level necessary to perform the tasks required of a dental technician. The skill standard,based upon this knowledge and applied skill, is the level required to perform successfully and is the baseline for certification testing. Once the dental technician successfully passes the examination, they are then considered a Certified Dental Technician and issued the CDT designation.
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? No
- More than two years of work experience required? No
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 1 year(s)
3. Certified Dental Assistant (CDA)
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? Yes
- More than two years of work experience required? Yes
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 1 year(s)
4. Infection Control Certification (CIC)
July 2015 CBIC Examination Content Outline: Identification of Infectious Disease Processes, Surveillance and Epidemiologic Investigation, Preventing/Controlling the Transmission of Infectious Agents, Employee/Occupational Health, Management and Communication, Education and Research, Environment of Care (new), Cleaning, Sterilization, Disinfection, Asepsis (new)
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? Yes
- More than two years of work experience required? Yes
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 5 year(s)
5. Certified Preventative Functions Dental Assistant (CPFDA)
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? No
- More than two years of work experience required? No
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 1 year(s)
6. Medical Assistant (MA)
A Medical Assistant (MA) is an integral member of the health care delivery team, qualified by education and experience to work in the administrative office, the examining room and the physician office laboratory. The Medical Assistant, also a liaison between the doctor and the patient, is of vital importance to the success of the medical practice.
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? No
- More than two years of work experience required? No
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 3 year(s)
What is the best certification for a dental hygienist?
The best dental hygienist certification is Dental Assistant (RDA). The Dental Assistant (RDA) is awarded by the American Medical Technologists. This certification is great to have as it shows an improvement in your competency to perform your role. You can earn this certification at the beginning of your career, as it often doesn't require a minimum education level and work experience.
Here's a bit more background on how to obtain this dental hygienist certification:
- To become a certified Dental Assistant (RDA), you need to pass the exam.
- This certificate requires more than two years of work experience.
- Renew certification every 3 year.
What are some of the most in-demand certifications for dental hygienists?
The most in-demand dental hygienist certification is Dental Assistant based on all active job postings. Having this dental hygienist certification will give you access to more dental hygienist jobs with higher salaries.
The most common combination of dental hygienist certifications include: Dental Assistant (RDA), Certified Dental Technician, and Certified Dental Assistant (CDA).
Online courses for dental hygienists to earn certifications
1. Introduction to Dental Medicine
The mouth is the window into human health. This course provides an overview of dental medicine to engage, educate, excite and assist you in improving the oral health of your patients and members of your community. We will review topics in dental medicine including scope of the field, what to expect in function, and some of the many ways that dysfunction may present for different patients. This will include discussions of mouth, jaw, and tooth anatomy, pathology, and treatment. We will talk...
2. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers
This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...
3. Modern Dental Extractions - Fast, Painless, & Non-invasive
The goal is less trauma and less drama! This is an update that teaches superior methods for atraumatic extractions...
4. Design of Water Treatment Systems for Beginners
Learn how to fully design a water treatment system for small to medium scale projects...
5. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
6. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: (1) Identify the signs and symptoms associated with a patient in shock, to describe the major categories of shock, to assess a patient with signs of shock and formulate a plan for treatment to stabilize the patient for transport, (2) Identify a patient in cardiac arrest and to describe the components of high performance CPR...
7. Water Treatment Process Design
design water treatment& RO/NF plants, sand& multimedia filter, iron& manganese removal filter, Ion exchange DI& softener...
8. Introduction to Medical Imaging
Your guide to the history, science, math, and economics of medical imaging systems (e.g., X-ray, CT, MRI, Ultrasound)...
9. Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation
Kidney transplantation is a major advance of modern medicine which provides high-quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. What used to be an experimental, risky, and very limited treatment option more than 50 years ago is now routinely performed in many countries worldwide. The number of renal transplants is expected to rise sharply in the next decade since the proportion of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing. Are you interested in clinical kidney, pancreas...
10. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative
Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...
11. IASTM Deep Tissue Massage Certificate Course
Learn instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM), a popular Myofascial Massage treatment (2 CEUs)...
12. OSHA Workplace Safety (General Industry 6 Hr Class)
Learn the requirements and standards associated with OSHA and workplace safety. Safety best practices for the workplace...
13. Medical Emergencies: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1) assess a basic medical patient 2) describe general pharmacologic principles and the skills associated with medication administration, 3) explain airway physiology, the assessment of the airway and available interventions for airway management, 4) identify, assess and formulate a plan to stabilize a patient with a...
14. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
15. How to Read Chest X-Ray - From Zero to Hero
Master reading CXR entirely from the very basics until professionality with tens of examples & quizzes...
16. Deep Tissue Massage: Neuromuscular Therapy Certificate
Neuromuscular Therapy is a highly effective form of Deep Tissue Massage for pain relief (2 CEUs)...
17. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...
18. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations
Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...
19. Trauma Emergencies and Care
Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...
20. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...