Dental Hygienist
Dental Providers › Dental Hygienist
About this specialty
An individual who has completed an accredited dental hygiene education program, and an individual who has been licensed by a state board of dental examiners to provide preventive care services under the supervision of a dentist. Functions that may be legally delegated to the dental hygienist vary based on the needs of the dentist, the educational preparation of the dental hygienist and state dental practice acts and regulations, but always include, at a minimum, scaling and polishing the teeth. To avoid misleading the public, no occupational title other than dental hygienist should be used to describe this dental auxiliary.
Source: Comprehensive Policy Statement on Dental Auxiliaries, American Dental Association.
Taxonomy definitions from the NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy (public domain). Provider counts derived from NPPES; payment figures from CMS Medicare data. Not affiliated with CMS, NPPES, NUCC, or any government agency.