Dental hygienist resume example

What recruiters look for

• License and permits: your state RDH license, plus local anesthesia, nitrous oxide or restorative permits where your state offers them.
• Daily volume and production: patients a day and, if you know it, average daily hygiene production. Practices think in both.
• Periodontal care: charting, scaling and root planing, periodontal maintenance. Practices want hygienists who diagnose and treat, not only clean.
• Case acceptance and patient education: how often patients agree to recommended treatment after talking with you.
• Technology: digital radiography, intraoral scanners, practice management software (Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental).

Writing the summary

Say your license, years in practice and the kind of practice (general, periodontal, pediatric, public health). Add your daily volume and one strength, such as periodontal care or patient education. Mention permits that matter in your state.

Bullet points that work

Strong lines for this role, beyond the ones in the example. Borrow the shape and put in your own numbers.

• Kept a 92% recall reappointment rate by booking the next visit before patients left the chair.
• Grew periodontal maintenance patients from 15% to 24% of the hygiene schedule in 18 months.
• Placed 1,200 sealants in a school-based program reaching 9 elementary schools.
• Raised daily hygiene production from $1,100 to $1,500 by adding fluoride varnish, sealants and periodontal therapy where clinically indicated.
• Took and processed 30 to 40 digital radiographs a day, with a retake rate under 3%.
• Trained 4 hygienists on the practice’s new intraoral scanner, now used for every new patient.
• Screened 2,500 patients a year for oral cancer and referred 6 suspicious lesions, 2 confirmed early-stage cancers.
• Wrote the office’s infection control manual and passed an OSHA review with no citations.
• Taught 15 dental hygiene students as a part-time clinical instructor one day a week.

Skills to list

Certifications and licenses worth listing

• State dental hygiene license (RDH): required. Name the state and board.
• National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE): passed by every licensed hygienist; list it as a new graduate.
• Regional clinical exam (ADEX through CDCA-WREB-CITA, or your state’s accepted exam): list it as a new graduate or when moving states.
• Local anesthesia and nitrous oxide permits: rules differ by state, and practices value hygienists who can numb their own patients.
• BLS: required by almost every dental office.

Length and format

One page. Put your license and permits in clear view, then experience with volume and acceptance numbers. Leave continuing education to a short line unless it supports a specialty such as laser therapy or periodontal care.

Common mistakes

• Writing “performed cleanings” and stopping there. Say how many patients, what kind of care and what changed.
• Leaving out permits. Local anesthesia and nitrous oxide permits can decide a hire.
• Listing every continuing education course. Keep the few that relate to the job.
• Not naming the software you know. Offices want someone who can work in their system on day one.
• Using production numbers you cannot explain. Only quote figures you know from your own schedule.