How to hire a Dental Hygienist

How to hire a dental hygienist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step dental hygienist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a dental hygienist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new dental hygienist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a Dental Hygienist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The dental hygienist hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a dental hygienist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a dental hygienist that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of dental hygienist salaries for various roles:

   Type Of Dental Hygienist	Description	Hourly Rate
   Dental Hygienist	Dental hygienists clean teeth, examine patients for signs of oral diseases such as gingivitis, and provide other preventive dental care. They also educate patients on ways to improve and maintain good oral health.	$26-65
   Hygienist	The Hygienist is a specialist in the promotion of clean conditions for the preservation of health. They work in various environments, from factories and building sites to offices.	$28-55

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • CPR
   • Medical History
   • Infection Control
   • Work Ethic
   • Local Anesthesia
   • RDH
   • Dental Equipment
   • Dental Instruments
   • OSHA
   • Dentrix
   • Dexterity
   • Blood Pressure

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Assist dentist to manage dental and medical emergencies by maintaining CPR certification.
   • Assist front office with eligibility interviews and inputting information of future patients into Dentrix computer system.
   • Perform all the same duties as a dental hygienist under the supervision of a RDH.
   • Enter all services render, treatment plan and suggest into DENTRIX computer system; including clinical charting.
   • Develop a course plan, instruction materials, and curriculum goals for students as a didactic instructor for radiology.
   • Sterilize surgical instrument trays, set up and operate ultrasonice cleaners, maintain and operate autoclaves, assemble surgical trays.

   More Dental Hygienist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the dental hygienist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A dental hygienist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a dental hygienist in Tennessee may be lower than in Rhode Island, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level dental hygienist. Additionally, a dental hygienist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average dental hygienist salary

   $88,432yearly

   $42.52 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level dental hygienist salary

   $56,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 14, 2025

   Average dental hygienist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	California	$94,660	$46
   2	Massachusetts	$93,272	$45
   3	New York	$92,661	$45
   4	New Hampshire	$92,534	$44
   5	Pennsylvania	$91,425	$44
   6	Nevada	$91,189	$44
   7	Maryland	$89,572	$43
   8	Arizona	$88,670	$43
   9	Washington	$88,650	$43
   10	District of Columbia	$88,587	$43
   11	Virginia	$88,409	$43
   12	Oregon	$88,363	$42
   13	Michigan	$84,552	$41
   14	Texas	$82,324	$40
   15	Ohio	$79,669	$38
   16	Colorado	$78,869	$38
   17	West Virginia	$78,635	$38
   18	North Carolina	$78,609	$38
   19	Louisiana	$77,338	$37
   20	Wisconsin	$77,003	$37

   Average dental hygienist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Bonita	$111,910	$53.80
   2	Walmart	$110,803	$53.27
   3	Blank Rome	$109,489	$52.64
   4	Dignity Health	$104,963	$50.46	2
   5	St. Mary's Health Inc.	$103,809	$49.91
   6	Children's Hospital Los Angeles	$103,167	$49.60	2
   7	Fayette Community Hospital Inc	$101,092	$48.60
   8	Express Healthcare Professionals	$98,253	$47.24
   9	Roseman University	$97,939	$47.09	2
   10	Massachusetts General Hospital	$96,753	$46.52
   11	Spectrum Healthcare Resources	$95,684	$46.00	9
   12	Holzer Health System	$95,223	$45.78	1
   13	STG International	$94,984	$45.67
   14	Conway Medical Center	$94,186	$45.28
   15	The Arora Group	$93,676	$45.04	18
   16	Queens Health Systems	$93,366	$44.89
   17	Open Door Health Center	$93,187	$44.80	1
   18	Private Practice	$93,090	$44.75	9
   19	UTMB HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS	$92,908	$44.67	6
   20	Lone Star Circle of Care	$92,869	$44.65	3

4. Writing a Dental Hygienist Job Description

   A good dental hygienist job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a dental hygienist job description:

   Dental Hygienist job description example

   Backed by national accrediting organizations, MTC Medical staff are dedicated to providing quality medical and dental services to men and women at our correctional and detention facilities. We value the professional and caring employees we have on the MTC Medical team who are dedicated to improving people's lives.
   
   MTC is proud to operate the Bay Correctional Facility in Panama City, FL where our employees strive to improve the lives of those in our care through robust educational programming, clinical care, and other resources.
   MTC and the BCF are seeking a part-time Dental Hygienist to perform direct and indirect inmate care procedures, as well as clinical and clerical support tasks specifically delegated by the on-site dentist
   
   Shift: 16 hours per week
   
   In this role, you will Record inmate health history and vital signs; perform radiography, inmate oral health orientation, and oral health education and counseling. Provide dental screening; perform removal of calculus, deposits, or accretions from the natural and restored surfaces of teeth and dental prostheses; perform root planning or the smoothing and polishing of roughened root surfaces of exposed teeth; perform topical application of caries preventive agents and plaque indexes. Coordinate availability of clinic staff and appropriate oral health educational materials teaching aid; ensure the availability on the unit of oral health education materials and oral health aids Provide instruction and technical guidance for other clinic staff in the prevention and control of dental disease. Education and Experience Requirements :
   Graduate of an accredited dental hygiene school or program and current licensure as a dental hygienist in the
   state of Florida. Three (3) years' experience preferred. Must possess current CPR certification. Valid driver's
   license in the state of Florida with an acceptable driving record required, unless waived by management. Must
   attain and maintain appropriate facility security clearance.

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right dental hygienist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with dental hygienists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit dental hygienists who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your dental hygienist job on Zippia to find and attract quality dental hygienist candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit dental hygienists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new dental hygienist

   Once you've decided on a perfect dental hygienist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new dental hygienist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a dental hygienist?