AIBU to consider retraining as a Dental Hygienist?!

@unhappyhygienist
@AnotherUnhappyHyg

Wow, I also had rose tinted glasses that patients wouldn't be rude! That is awful that happened to you both!

*have to pay their own

Ugh I had the exact same when my dad died, turned up late for his appointment and said “I’m not apologising seeing as you pissed me about at my last appointment”.

Some are employed by Hospital/Community Trusts. They do have to be their own annual registration and indemnity though. CPD -majority of time is paid for by the employing Trust.

@AnotherUnhappyHyg

Thanks for answering. I've been thinking about potentially retraining as a dental hygienist in the future; burnt out NHS nurse with rose tinted glasses that it would be a satisfying job and easier on my joints and back, but this thread has disproved that! I've always wondered why the dental hygienist jobs round here are advertised with the hourly rate rather than the salary, must be very stressful and annoying when people don't turn up!

Everything @AnotherUnhappyHyg has said is spot on - I feel your pain!

And yes, probably 99% are SE, there is the odd employed position but these are VERY rare. I even have to pay for my own meal at the Xmas party 😂

I once had a patient come in and before he even said hello he said "haven't seen you for ages. You kept cancelling my appointment and I wasn't going to see the locum they had so if my gums are bad then it's your fault for cancelling me". My mother had died and that's why I was off. He was told that by reception when they rang to tell him it would be a locum and not me. But he couldn't care less. Was only bothered that I had dared take time off.

Have you thought about podiatry? You might get more job variety?

Yes, dentists too. That's why they opened during the Pandemic as soon as they could. And just as well, many of my patients are suffering with relapses from gum disease despite trying to get back to full productivity which has been hard due to cleaning protocols. Our next appointment for our hygienist is about 4 months time but people are cancelling last minute which means we don't get paid and then we don't have appointments.

The majority are self employed yes. There are a few that are employed but I've never seen an employed position advertised near me in 15 years. I'd love to be employed. But it's up to the practice owner to agree to it. So yes I get no sick, holiday, pension or maternity benefits. And I pay for all my own Indemnity, registration, CPD etc.

OT here. Would you consider an OT apprenticeship? You would train on the job and get paid. OT is incredibly varied and there is an OT shortage right now

And do you have to pay for your own indemnity insurance, registration, CPD etc?

Just out of curiosity, are all dental hygienists self employed? No sick pay, annual leave, mat leave, pension?

I've been a hygienist for 15 years and I'm desperate to get out of the profession. I work in London and have never had a nurse so like people above have said I used to do 30 minute appointments back to back all day. No gaps other than lunch as despite being "self employed" the practice owner is in charge of the diary not me. Trying to clean up and write notes in 2-3 minutes is hard going. While having patients say I've paid for 30 minutes but you've only done 28 minutes is just ridiculous. Their teeth are clean. I done a perfect job. My job is not a luxury massage it is a treatment. I don't think any patient would complain if the dentist booked a filling for an hour and did it in half an hour. Yet for some reason people get upset if I cleaned their teeth in what they consider in too quick a time. If I ask them are they happy and is there any area they feel isn't clean they say no they feel and look great. So what is the issue? Yet people constantly complain and ask for money back despite apparently being happy with the completed treatment. Patients need to understand that if practices put breaks in between each patient all that would happen is prices would increase even more. So note writing and cleaning is included in the appointment time. It's always been this way.

And so many people saying oh my hygienist charges £100 for half an hour etc! You do realise we don't get anywhere near that? The wages are pretty good yes if you work at a decent place don't get me wrong. But I'm certainly not on anything like £200 an hour! The average is about 35% of generated income. And at my practice it is £60 for half an hour. And if lots of people cancel or don't turn up 35% of nothing is nothing. Plus I need to factor in money for sick pay and holidays etc as I get zilch as I'm self employed.

I'm also in constant pain with my neck, back and shoulders. It's got so much worse with covid and hand scaling in 2020 for months.

I'm hoping to leave dentistry by 2024 latest.

I wouldn't discount OT just because of the starting salary. It's £25655 now, not 23k, and the band 5 salary rises to £31354 after 4 years. Two of my friends are OTs: one became a band 6 a couple of years after qualifying and is now a top band 7, so on about 45k. My other OT friend works part time as a band 5 by choice and tops up her income with bank shifts.

Yes the NHS has rubbish yearly pay rises and most jobs are incredibly stressful, but the job stability, flexibility, sick pay, annual leave and pension are good.

From your description of what sort of job you are looking for, I would suggest being an ODP. Some hospitals offer apprenticeship posts, so you could actually get paid to train. The work is varied: anaesthetics, scrub, recovery, and all the ODPs I know (quite a few) actually quite like their job. It seems harder to progress up the bands in theatre (though not impossible), but overtime is plentiful, and once you have a few years experience you can apply for agencies which pay £20 - £50 per hour. A lot of the ODPs I know work part time in the NHS and pick up a few agency shifts a month.

Hi I'm a dental Therapist who was previously a teacher. I love my job, I find being a therapist gives me more variety than hygiene alone so I dont find the work as repetitive. Having said that lots of Therapists I know prefer to do hygiene alone. From what I am aware many of the 2 year courses are being fazed out for 3 year degrees. (I graduated in 28 months, but this course is now 3 years, however some of the hygiene only courses are 2 years , think Cardif may be one)
I did and access to health science course at collage to get to uni rather than a science A level and felt this prepared me well for my first year, these can be part time evening courses too.
In terms of working day I'm busy, work with nursing support in a lovely practice with a good wage, I'm happy.
Good luck with whatever you choose.

@YayitisfinallySpring makes a good point, dental therapy is great work if you can get it, and there does appear to be more therapy work available now than when I first qualified. Sadly I never got a chance to do it and have completely deskilled.

I don't know anything about dental hygienists, but just to say don't discount OT, it's a fantastic, interesting job.

The starting salary is low but you can progress quickly and will likely have more job security in the NHS and benefits of pension/ sick pay etc.

The Therapy diploma alone is longer than 2 years though and there are hardly any Unis still offering that. Most are BSc DT/DH.
I agree it's a far more interesting /varied work. Extended skills like Inhalation Sedation can make Dental Therapy a very satisfying career.

@unhappyhygienist That was my problem too, but the hygiene side doesn't appeal. I like the drilling and filling!

Yah I am qualified as a dental therapist. Never been able to find work so had to stick to hygiene.

Have you looked at becoming a Dental Therapist? The work is varied and interesting.

I agree, unhappyhygienist. I used to not drink all day so I wouldn't need a wee.

Not saying it is. Just giving the OP a realistic expectation of what the day to day involves

The working solo is dubious. No dentist would work unchaperoned. What do you do if you have a medical emergency?
Is there always a dentist on the premises?