Dental hygienists are educated health professionals who specialize in promoting oral health and preventing oral disease. They have become integral members of the oral health-care team, able to work alongside dentists, independently, or in a wide range of fields related to oral health.
In addition to earning a diploma or bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene from a college or university accredited by The Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada, practising dental hygienists must be registered with the dental hygiene regulatory authority in their province or territory. Once registered and practising, most provinces and territories require dental hygienists to successfully complete a number of professional development initiatives each year. In Ontario a quality assurance program is mandatory.
While proper brushing and flossing techniques are important strategies in the profession, dental hygienists are also highly educated and capable of planning and implementing oral care interventions, various client motivational and communication strategies, and process and outcome evaluation.
The primary task of dental hygienists is to perform periodontal therapy, which includes but is not limited to, assessing and recording the overall oral conditions, commonly called charting, providing scaling and root planing, which may be referred to as teeth cleaning, and taking measures for oral disease prevention. Some dental hygienists can administer local anesthesia and perform intraoral radiography. Dental hygienists are also able to apply dental sealants and administer fluoride.
In orthodontic clinics, dental hygienists are able to size and qualify bands for dental braces, remove oral appliances, such as braces, and take impressions for the construction of casts and mouthguards.
In Ontario, dental hygienists can self-initiate treatment. They can also scale and plane teeth and perform other measures, like curettage surrounding tissues, all without an order from a dentist, subject to any restrictions by the regulatory college.
With more than 20,000 practitioners in Canada, dental hygienists make up the sixth-largest regulated health profession in the country. While dental clinics are the most frequent career landing spot, dental hygienists are able to work in a variety of other fields, including sales and marketing, labs and research, community health, education, and more.
https://odha.on.ca/students/interested-in-becoming-a-dental-hygienist/
Dental hygienists provide individualized oral health care to their clients. During your appointment, your dental hygienist will: • Examine your teeth, mouth, head, and neck • Work with you to develop goals and plan appropriate care to meet your oral health needs • Remove calculus and plaque from your teeth (periodontal therapy) • Take x-rays (radiographs) •Apply fluoride to prevent tooth decay • Offer support for healthy lifestyle choices in the form of smoking cessation strategies, nutrition counselling, and oral cancer screening • Monitor your progress in achieving optimal oral health
https://files.cdha.ca/OralCare/Facts/CDHA_DHbackgrounder_Feb2025en.pdf
https://files.cdha.ca/OralCare/Facts/CDHA_DHbackgrounder_Feb2025en.pdf