Military Training to Become a Dental Hygienist

By allied health world contributing writer
Published: January 22th, 2010

Members of the Armed Forces can take advantage of training while in the military to become a dental hygienist, provided that they have normal color vision and score at least 95 in the ST portion of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB).

This training will:

Prepare you to appropriately deal with patients.
Prepare you to properly use dental instruments.
Show you how to collect and record basic medical information.
Allow you to assist in dental exams.
Show you how to properly administer anesthesia.
Show you how to properly remove sutures.
Show you how to take x-rays.
Prepare you to use impression materials.
Prepare you for a number of darkroom procedures.
Help you to develop office and inventory management skills.
Help you to understand the proper care of equipment.
Show you how to schedule patients.

All of these skills will allow you to become an important part of a medical team that takes care of members of the military, along with their families. Also, the skills that you will obtain as a dental hygienist and as an office manager will make you a much more viable candidate for civilian dental hygienist positions, and many employers seek out military personnel because of the top-notch training and skills that the Armed Forces provides.