Is studying dental hygiene difficult?

Dental Hygiene Program or Registered Nurse ?

• Dental Hygiene Program or Registered nurse ? I am thinking about these programs. I dont know which one should I choose? In my opinion: __Dental Hygiene Program: the work field is not wide. However the salary is very good. I dont know the salary is better than registered nusre's salary or not. The work is not hard than registered nurse.Is it easy to find a good job than registered nurse? __Registered Nurse: right now I think that the work field is wide. The salary is very good too, but I dont know the salary is better than Dental Hygiene or not.The work is very hard and walk a lot than Dental Hygiene too. How about BS in nursing, it is good? I just checked colleges in orange county, CA, I saw that Dental Hygine program requires a high GPA than Registered Nurse. So I think that Dental Hygine pays higher than Registered Nurse, and the environment is better than enviroment of Registered Nurse too. Also Nursing school are more than Dental Hygine Program. I dont know my opinion is right or not I need more your help Thanks!

• Answer:

  You definitely are not alone on which area to choose! I currently am a senior at a four year university and I am graduating with BS in Physiology and Health Science because I could not decide between the two. I choose to get this degree because it covers all the medical areas and deals mostly on patient education in the different settings, and would also give me a head start in either the nursing or dental hygiene industries (plus I have something to fall back on if all else fails). It's really helped me see where I'd fit in better. My university has a nursing program, yet they only offer the pre-requirements for dental hygiene, so I have gotten to talk to the nursing advisors on campus quite often. In the past year I have visited 6 different hygiene schools (both in and out of state) and I would definitely recommend scheduling an appointment with a nursing advisor and hygiene advisor at the school(s) you are interested in. What I learned from these advisors was astonishing. After comparing both I knew which one was the right fit for me. Hygiene schools are not easy, so I do not agree with someone saying it is easier than a nursing program. Typically in the nursing program you have to stay longer in school to get a decent paying job (at least compared to what hygienist start out being paid - there is a vast difference). Basically what I am saying is hygienists go to school for less time (either 2 or 4 years) and get paid relatively higher than a nurse who has gone the same amount of time. Another thing I noticed was that hygienists always work the same hours - so no night shifts or being on call constantly. Typically a hygienist will see in between 2 to 5 patients a day (5 being a lot, actually) where as nurses see much, much more. Also, dental hygienists have the availability to work on their own schedule (so you could possibly have a 3 day weekend, every week for the rest of your career, if you chose to), which as a nurse you aren't guaranteed that type of schedule (especially being on call). Liability is another thing that is becoming a bigger issue for nurses and MD's. For example, as a nurse you could be responsible for something as serious as death if you accidentally make a mistake in a medication dosage for a patient. Dental hygiene schools typically are more costly than the nursing schools in the United States. A large portion of the dental hygiene's program tuition goes towards scrubs, safety kits (personal eyewear and masks and/or shields), larger equipment you'll use (because the machines are not cheap), and tool kits (which you end up getting to keep once you have graduated). Books are also another added expenditure as well as replacement tools. Also these schools typically have a higher GPA requirement than nursing. Many times they'll say to have a 2.5 or better but these programs are very selective and it would look better with something above a 3.0 (I'd think the higher your overall GPA and a strong pre-req science GPA - you'd have no problem getting in). Don't let this discourage you though, if this is what you want to do, you can definitely do it! I have a family member who is a delivery room nurse, and she has two kids. She works most nights because that was the only available shift for what she was needed for in the hospital that she works at. It's really changed the structure in her and her husband's lives, along with the kids. While the kids are awake during the day, she sleeps and does not get to interact as much with them as she'd like - which has caused her to hire a nanny. When we do get to see her in the day she is always exhausted and tired. So, I feel if you are planning on having a family you might want to take these sorts of things into consideration because you might have to restructure your life to accommodate them. Both programs offer a chance to advance in their fields. You can get a BS in dental hygiene and teach as a professor or even work for a company that specializes in dental products. As a nurse you will have to continue your education to get to a field that is more stable, but if you like school then this could definitely be for you because you can keep moving up into different fields! Also, you said you are from California and from what I have heard there is a waiting list to get into dental hygiene schools there, do you have the option of going out of state? I live in the midwest and I have heard from one advisor from a hygiene school that people were coming from california to that school because of the waiting list out west for these schools (you typically get in with less hassel if you have a strong general GPA and a strong science GPA for your pre-req courses). Or maybe you could get your BS in a health related field to have a degree prior to going to hygiene school (then you would really only have to get an associate's in dental hygiene - unless you'd want to teach in the future). It's just a suggestion! One last thing to remember: Each nursing and hygiene school have different pre-requisites, that is why I urge you to go speak to advisors in each of these areas, at the schools you are interested in. Just because there are 20 different schools for nursing doesn't mean they require the same things to get admitted into them. I have come across these problems while applying to different dental hygiene schools - not all of my credits from my university will transfer and some of the schools I had looked at have extra classes that were needed to be taken before submitting an application. Just keep this in mind! I really hope this helps and just remember - this is what you want to do for the rest of your life, not want I think is best or what others may think. Go with which career you are most comfortable and happy with; you don't want to be miserable at what you do! I think it's great that you want to go into a career that benefits our society - both careers seem so rewarding :) Good Luck!