Feeling good about the decision to become a dental hygienist

May 2, 2014

The first two parts of an RDH profile survey conducted by RDH eVillage addressed statistics such as how many hours a week hygienists work and whether they work in multiple dental offices. The third part below answers the question that every hygienist likely asks (as do most laborers in the American workforce): Did I make the right decision entering this profession?

Mark Hartley

An overwhelming percentage of hygienists (85%) believe they did make the right career decision. The survey was initiated by RDH eVillage in February 2014.

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Related articles from the RDH profile survey

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The question as phrased in the questionnaire was: “In general (we all have trying days), do you feel your decision to become a dental hygienist was a good one?”

The demographic breakdown of the survey is based on age of the respondents. For this question, however, age has little to do with satisfaction over the career choice.

Among ages 20 to 30, 87% are satisfied with career decision
Among ages 31 to 40, 78% are satisfied with career decision
Among ages 41 to 50, 86% are satisfied with career decision
Among ages 52 to 60, 84% are satisfied with career decision
Among ages 60 and older, 91% are satisfied with career decision

The survey allowed hygienists to comment on the “primary reason” that the career decision was a “positive or negative” one. With that in mind, the links below show selected comments based on each age group.

Mark Hartley

Mark Hartley is the editor of RDH magazine and collaborates with Kristine Hodsdon on many of the articles for RDH eVillage, which also appear on DentistryIQ.com.