AIBU to consider retraining as a Dental Hygienist?!

@NellesVilla randomly remembered this thread today, if you’re still around would love to know if you went for it.

(Sorry everyone for dragging up a zombie thread!)

How much of that is taken for the practice overheads, i.e. staffing, premises, admin, equipment, etc etc? In reality the hygienist will see a lot less and not get holiday pay, sick pay, pensions, etc. What you pay is a hell of a lot more than what the hygienist gets after all expenses/deductions/provisions, etc.

@unhappyhygienist exactly! I am a dentist who did 5 years at university and never got less than an A in an exam in my life and patients get so mad that im earning more than mimimum wage! Although I’m an NHS associate in a rough area so it’s barely more than minimum wage these days haha!

Have pm’d you

go for it if you really want to...my dentist charges £39 for 30 mins....its a new practice.

You can, fast track masters pre reg in 2 years if you have a degree that converts (some converted with chemistry degrees, business or other non medical forms no problem), or three years normal degree with a-levels. Worth exploring. Get some shadowing in and see what you think. I converted and have never looked back, love it.

Can I put a vote in for physiotherapy… Really varied work, many retrain as mature students in 2 or 3 years. You can go into private msk for more money. There are lots of nhs/locum/private work and it’s mainly 1:2:1 with the patient.

@unhappyhygienist - she does come in beaming! - we have alot of chit chat too, I really enjoy going. I owe her my smile - she literally has saved my teeth as I had no idea my gums were so shot. I'm glad then that we have that, if her working world is not as pleasant all the time.

@Furball you are the kind of patient who makes it all worthwhile. I bet your hygienist’s face lights up when she sees your name in the diary

I'm assuming an arts degree isn't relevant. My Ds has had speech therapy and still is and it's very interesting, although I can imagine it's very challenging with various ages and issues. Also makes you so self conscious as a parent, I'm trying to loose my South London drawl.

That's so lovely, Furball! I hope I get patients like you if / when I go back!

I'm just lurking about here out of interest for a hygienists work etc - I go to my private practice hygienist 4 times a year, my gums were really bad before I did.

She has literally saved my teeth, I cannot thank her enough, yes it costs money, but she is worth EVERY penny. I don't set my watch at the appointment, I have no clue how long it takes, it takes as long or as short as it takes.

I cannot believe hygienists get such bad treatment when the work you are doing is so invaluable - I for one am truly grateful to you

@unhappyhygienist

Had so many comments from patients of “you’re way too young to be earning £120 per hour”, yer I wish I was taking home 100% of the patient fee and am fully booked consistently every day. I’d never dream of questioning anyone’s salary but as the public have this perception of ‘greedy dentists’ it’s fair game.

It's the same with everyone self employed unfortunately. General public don't understand they have costs to pay out of their "hourly rate", their own training, don't get sick/holiday pay, etc etc. You've just got to grow a thick skin. No point trying to explain as they can't get it through their thick skulls that an hourly rate paid to a self employed person is absolutely nothing like an hourly rate paid to an employee.

Oh and people who get really annoyed at you for "not being NHS". I have had so many people rant at me that they shouldn't need to pay for this appointment etc. People don't seem to understand that hygienists CANNOT work directly for the NHS. We can only work for practices and how they choose to offer treatment/ pay us is entirely down to them. I have had a few people refuse to pay in the past because "no one told them it was private". Reception are meant to always inform people, they swear that they do, I cannot say for definite either way as I am not there with them but if someone doesn't pay I don't get paid. I get told to "claim it from the NHS" by patients. It doesn't work like that. I just cleaned their teeth for free as the practice doesn't care enough about people not paying to do anything about it. Thankfully I don't work in that place anymore.

Also people readily begrudge you earning more than tuppence an hour, it’s weird! I spend a fortune at my hairdressers, don’t begrudge paying as she does a brilliant job and I’m not naive enough to think every penny of that goes in to her pocket.

Had so many comments from patients of “you’re way too young to be earning £120 per hour”, yer I wish I was taking home 100% of the patient fee and am fully booked consistently every day. I’d never dream of questioning anyone’s salary but as the public have this perception of ‘greedy dentists’ it’s fair game. So many times I’ve recommended treatments and people accuse me of lying about their gum disease to fleece them out of money.

My husband and most of my friends earn way more than I do in various industries and nobody begrudges them their salaries.

Trust me the industry isn’t as well paying as people think. And the patients can be really abusive! And it is back breaking work!

Mostly yes, as are most dentists too. Very few "PAYE" jobs for dentists and hygienists in practices. If you want PAYE then it's NHS hospital jobs.

The private ones charging £75 won't be. They're self employed and the practice will take a huge cut for admin/premises contribution etc, maybe the same 40% cut they take from s/e associate dentists. Then no holiday/sick pay/pension, etc. Not as lucrative/secure as it looks.

You’re right, no dentist would ever consider working unchaperoned, yet they expect their hygienists to just suck it up and get on with it. When I raised the safety/med emergency aspect with my boss you know what he did? Bought me a whistle to signal for help. A fucking whistle.

Not the same but have you considered training as a speech & language therapist? There is x huge shortage. It’s a 2 years masters if you have A relevant degree and you get a bursary. Google it in NHS careers.

www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/allied-health-professionals/roles-allied-health-professions/art-therapistart-psychotherapist

To give a counter side to my ranting I will admit I had a lot of good years at a really lovely practice. If you can get lucky and work somewhere with a really nice boss and fantastic receptionists then you can deal with the few horrible patients as in most places the nice far outweigh the bad. But as with everything in life things change and I've never managed to find a place as nice as that again despite years of trying.