Dental hygienists are registered health professionals who contribute to overall health through the prevention of oral disease and the promotion of oral health. They are regulated by the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario. There is a tendency to think of the dental hygienist simply as the person who cleans your teeth and teaches you how to brush and floss. Although this is true, it is only part of the story. In helping to attain and maintain optimum oral health, dental hygienists provide a process of care that involves assessing the oral condition, planning the treatment, implementing the plan and evaluating the outcome. As members of the oral health care team, they are responsible for professional treatment that helps prevent periodontal disease (gum disease) and dental caries (cavities).

Dental hygiene has been recognized and practised as a profession in Canada for more than 50 years.

Currently, there are close to 10,000 registered dental hygienists practising in Ontario. This makes dental hygiene one of the largest of the regulated health professions in the province.

Dental hygienists are concerned primarily with the promotion of oral health.

As members of the oral health care team, dental hygienists are responsible for professional treatment that helps to prevent periodontal disease (gum disease) and dental caries (cavities).

Dental hygienists are not just teeth cleaners. They also assess, plan and implement treatments, and evaluate individual oral care needs.

In Ontario, dental hygienists have completed either two years of post secondary education at a community college or private school, or a baccalaureate program at a university. Dental hygiene education includes extensive education in the biological sciences and the principles of preventive care as well as indepth clinical training.

Additional education gives some dental hygienists a specialization in restorative dentistry which allows them to place and contour fillings after the dentist has prepared the tooth.

In Ontario, dental hygienists are regulated by the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario. They must follow the standards of practice, adhere to a dental code of ethics and meet ongoing quality assurance requirements.

Dental hygienists are most often employed by dentists and work in private dental offices. However, a growing number of dental hygienists are choosing careers in public health, education, hospitals, research, independant practice, dental product development and promotion, and specialty services for those in long-term care facilities or the homebound.

A recent change to the legislation governing dental hygiene now makes it possible to access a dental hygienist directly.

While dental hygienists are most often employed by dentists and may be found in:

• general dental practices
• orthodontic practices (teeth straightening)
• periodontal practices (gum disease)
• paedodontic dental practices (children)

They may also be found in

• dental hygiene clinics
• public health including schools, health unit clinics and facilities for seniors
• universities and community colleges as educators and researchers
• hospital dental clinics
• independant practice
• long-term care homes
• First nations healthcare facilities
• mobile practices

Consumer health care trends indicate that dental hygienists will become more involved in home care services and community-based health centres.

Within a dental setting, there are a number of oral health care providers each with their own responsibilities. To distinguish the dental hygienist:

• They are registered by the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario and they may be wearing their professional pin.
• They may display certificates of registration, graduation and membership in their professional associations.
• Your dental office may display a directory in the reception area which identifies staff members and their role on the dental team.
• When in doubt - just ask!

The College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario makes available the work address for any registrant on the register of the College.

Dental Hygienists can be contacted through a dental office, since they are most often employed by dentists and work in private dental offices.

In addition, the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario has a list of those dental hygienists who are in independent practice and therefore available outside of a dental practice.

In limited circumstances, the members of the ODHA may be contacted through the ODHA.

During your dental visit, be sure to ask for an appointment with the dental hygienist.

The practice of dental hygiene made its debut in North America in 1913 when a Connecticut doctor, Dr. A.C. Fones, opened the the first dental hygiene school in his garage. The first graduating class consisted of 27 women. The benefits of their work exceeded expectations - cavity rates among participating children were reduced by about 75 per cent.

In Canada, Ontario became the first province to legally recognize dental hygiene with the amendment of the Dentistry Act (1911) in 1947. The first dental hygiene program in Canada was offered at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Dentistry. Five students signed up for the two-year program which began in September 1951 with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Today, dental hygiene is recognized and practised worldwide - existing in more than 50 countries on six continents. In Ontario alone, there are close to 10,000 practising dental hygienists.

Over the years, the dental hygiene scope of practice has broadened. In 1947, dental hygienists were mainly responsible for cleaning and polishing teeth, giving instructions and demonstrations in oral hygiene and mouth care.

Today, dental hygienists not only clean teeth, they provide a process of care that involves assessing the oral condition, planning and implementing the treatment, and evaluating individual oral care programs. As registered health care professionals, they are responsible for the professional treatment that helps prevent periodontal (gum) disease and dental caries (cavities). In so doing, they make an important contribution to overall health.

Dental hygienists have a distinctive role to play as health care providers. They are important members of the oral health care team which includes dentists, dental assistants, preventive dental assistants, denturists, dental technicians, receptionists and office managers. Dental hygienists are distinguished by the pin they wear indicating they are regulated by the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario.

In 1994, 47 years after dental hygiene was first regulated and controlled by the Royal College of Dental Surgeons, the government of Ontario recognized the professional status of dental hygiene and granted self-regulation to dental hygienists.

All dental hygienists in Ontario are registered with the College of Dental Hygienist of Ontario and must adhere to a code of ethics and standards of practice.