dental hygienists

Dentists: Are Dental Hygienists Worth Their Weight in Gold?(video)

November 14, 2011 By Catherine Hughes Leave a Comment

Dentists: Are Dental Hygienists Worth Their Weight in Gold?(video) In our story, Dental Hygienists Among the Fastest Growing Occupations in the U.S. we revealed that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook for 2008-2018 expects the demand to hire more hygienists to perform preventive dental care will continue to grow.

According to the ADA, independent dentists reported paying full-time dental hygienists $33.90 per hour in 2008.

Considering the current economic environment The Wealthy Dentist decided to conduct a survey asking dentists if they pay their hygienists an hourly wage or if compensation is based on commission.

It seems most dentists still pay their dental hygienists an hourly wage, but some feel paying on commission is more fair. Said one dentist, “Hygienists are worth their weight in gold!” Another dentist disagreed saying, “Practices couldn’t run without them, but the current economics barely breaks even at best … hygienists seem to think they are cash cows for the office and fail to recognize the support and facilities the utilize.”

It’s an interesting economic issue. Click on Play to hear more of what dentists say about paying hygienists –

How do you pay the hygienist in your practice?

Filed Under: Dental Videos Tagged With: dental hygienists, dental practice management, Dental Practices, dental surveys, dentist, dentistry, dentists, economy, survey, video marketing

Dental Hygienists Among the Fastest Growing Occupations in the U.S.

November 8, 2011 By Catherine Hughes 2 Comments

Occupational Outlook: Dental Hygienists Among the Fastest Growing Occupations in the U.S. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook for 2008-2018, employment among dental assistants is expected to grow by 36 percent during the 10-year period, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.

Of the 20 fastest growing occupations in the US economy, half are related to healthcare.

Healthcare is experiencing rapid growth, due in large part to the aging of the baby-boom generation, which will require more medical care. As healthcare costs continue to rise, work is increasingly being delegated to lower paid workers in order to cut costs.

For example, tasks that were previously performed by dentists are now beginning to be performed by dental hygienists and dental assistants.

As dentists‘ workloads continue to increase from treating the aging boomer population, it is expected that the demand to hire more hygienists to perform preventive dental care will grow as dentists will want to spend more time working on more complex dental procedures.

There is also the growing situation of not enough dentists to provide adequate care in rural areas where hygienists are needed to fill in the gap. According to the Center for Rural Affairs, in 2007, approximately 15 percent of rural residents were 65 years of age or older, 25 percent greater than in the nation as a whole.

The U.S. population of those 65 or older is predicted to double by 2030, reaching 20 percent of the U.S. total population, and the fastest group age living in rural America are residents 85 and older.

The average median wage for dental hygienists is $32.81 hourly, $68,250 annually with the best employment opportunities following the population size of states. New York, Texas, California, Michigan and Florida employ the most dental hygienists.

See: Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition — Dental Hygienists

Filed Under: Dental Hygiene, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: dental hygienist, dental hygienists, dental management, dental practice, dentist, dentist shortage, dentistry, dentists, economy, salaries

Dental Hygienists’ Compensation (video)

June 20, 2010 By Julie Frey 2 Comments

Dentists report the average dental hygienist base hourly pay is $36 an hour, starting at under $20 an hour and extending past $50 an hour.

“They get paid too much for what little they do,” complained a New York orthodontist paying his dental hygienist $27 per hour.

Another dentist – one paying $55 an hour – disagreed about the value of dental hygiene. "She's worth every penny. She makes me a fortune."

Filed Under: Dental Hygiene, Dental Videos Tagged With: compensation, dental hygienists, dentist, hygienists

Dentists Cut Hours of Dental Hygienists

February 9, 2010 By Julie Frey 18 Comments

One dentist in three has cut their dental hygienist working hours, with the slow economy leaving less demand for dental hygiene services.

Another 11% have reduced the number of dental hygienists they employ, and 5% have cut compensation.

“Hygiene is the fuel that feeds the fire," said a California dentist.

How much hygienists are paid is an important dental management decision. "Upon doing a practice analysis, we found we overpaid our hygienist by $13,000," said one dentist. "We paid more in hourly plus benefits than we collected!"

“Our hygienist was paid salary and now she is paid hourly," said one doctor. Offered another, “Instead of any raises, we put our hygienists on a bonus system based on achieving a minimum daily production."

Here’s more of what dentists had to say on hygienists and tooth cleaning appointments:

"Hygiene at our office, which has a dentist and a prosthodontist, has remained strong throughout this economy. We are very thankful." (Ohio prosthodontist)
“We have not cut hours, but we have worked very hard at activating past due patients, with good success.” (General dentist)
“We have at least two cancellations in hygiene daily. Most tell us to reschedule their dental cleaning later into the year. Other simply say they are not coming.” (Bermuda dentist)
“Hygiene is the one aspect of the practice that hasn't shown lower numbers. I'm glad we instituted a good recall systems several years ago.” (Pennsylvania dentist)
“We are seeing more no-shows, and some people are wanting to wait a year instead of 6 months for their next dentist cleaning.” (Dental hygenist)
"If things slow down more, I will cut my dental hygentist days or time and do the dental hygiene myself.” (New York dentist)
“They have to take on more responsibility.” (Massachusetts dentist)
“We have a very periodontal oriented office. A lot of our patients are switching themselves to twice a year for teeth cleaning. They only want what the dental insurance will cover.” (Utah dental office worker)
“The gross receipts were down about 1% last year, but the profits were slightly up.” (Pennsylvania dentist)

Filed Under: Dental Surveys Tagged With: dental hygiene, dental hygienists, dental management, dentist, hygienist, hygienists

Dental Hygienists Get Paid Better than Some Dentists Wish! (video)

May 10, 2009 By Jim Du Molin 3 Comments

Dentists report paying their dental hygienists about $36 per hour, according to this poll. Many dentists expressed resentment over the high price tag of a dental hygienist.

Location is highly correlated with hourly base pay, with urban California hygienists being paid twice as much as their rural Southern counterparts.