Is There Security In Dental Hygienist Jobs?
The psychological aspect to holistic dentistry includes your emotional wellbeing.. and let’s be frank, a career with job security can play a large role in our emotional health.
Dental hygienist jobs are predicted to increase by a third in the next decade. That’s higher than in most job fields, meaning that working as a dental hygienist is an intelligent career path for those looking for work.
And if you think about it, it makes sense: the Baby Boomer generation continues to age, and with age comes dental issues that need to be addressed. The first line of defense against oral health issues is a dental cleaning from a competent and well-trained dental hygienist.
Looking Deeper At The Numbers
There were nearly 200,000 dental hygienist jobs as of 2012, and an additional 64,000 people could be required in this field by 2022. The overall growth in most job fields is expected to be just 11 percent, but the growth in this field is expected to be three times that much.
Plus, the Affordable Care Act and other legislation passed recently means that people who never went to the dentist are now be able to more easily afford it, potentially increasing the need for hygienists even more.
Not Easily Replaced
To decide if a job field is a smart choice, it also makes sense to consider whether the job could become less in demand during an economic downturn. People often stop going to manicurists, hair stylists and spas when times are hard, but people will always need dental treatment. And dental hygienist jobs are skilled positions, so the tasks involved can’t be taken over by receptionists or minimum-wage workers.
In fact, only a dentist can take over the work of dental hygienist. While dentists once did this work themselves, that simply isn’t practical in today’s busy dental practices. That means the specialized skills of a hygienist aren’t likely to be replaced by anyone else in a dental practice.
Although generally speaking, there are limited dental job openings – the numbers and the specificity of the job skills mean that a registered dental hygienist is likely to have job security for years to come.
Embedded from Dental Hygienist Schools