How To Become A Pediatric Dental Hygienist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a pediatric dental hygienist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a pediatric dental hygienist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $39.5 an hour? That's $82,162 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 23,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePediatric Dental HygienistUS Average

Salary

6.4

Avg. Salary $82,162

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.1

Growth Rate 11%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.50%

Asian 6.25%

Black or African American 3.71%

Hispanic or Latino 11.95%

Unknown 3.64%

White 73.94%

Gender

female 92.06%

male 7.94%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress Level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

10.0

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a pediatric dental hygienist

Explore pediatric dental hygienist education requirements

Most common pediatric dental hygienist degrees

Associate

47.1 %

Bachelor's

45.1 %

Certificate

3.9 %

Start to develop specific pediatric dental hygienist skills

Skills	Percentages
DDS	32.89%
Medical Histories	30.99%
Patient Education	18.19%
Dental Hygiene Care	17.93%

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed pediatric dental hygienist usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed pediatric dental hygienist in most of states. 43 states require pediatric dental hygienists to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License Url
Maryland	Degree required	Third-party exam required	DENTAL HYGIENIST
Alabama	-	-	Licensed Dental Hygienist
Alaska	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Dental Hygienist
Arkansas	Degree required	State exam required	Dental Hygienist
California	Degree required	Both state and third-party exams required	Dental Hygienist, Registered

Research pediatric dental hygienist duties and responsibilities

Assist dentist to manage dental and medical emergencies by maintaining CPR certification.
Assist in oral surgery under local and twilight anesthesia in a private practice setting.Primary IV starter and administer anesthetics on command.
Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and operate resuscitation equipment.

Prepare your pediatric dental hygienist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your pediatric dental hygienist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a pediatric dental hygienist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Pediatric Dental Hygienist Resume templates

Build a professional Pediatric Dental Hygienist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Pediatric Dental Hygienist resume.

Apply for pediatric dental hygienist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a pediatric dental hygienist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do pediatric dental hygienists rate their job?

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Pediatric Dental Hygienist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019

Pros

I love being able to help people get back on track with their health. I love to be a part of the process that stops and maintains oral disease.

Cons

It is taxing on your body, especially your neck and back.

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019