Hiring the right dental hygienist is an important decision for every dental office and that’s something Princess Dental Staffing specializes in.
Dental hygienists play a vital role in patient care, from performing preventive services to educating patients and fostering long-term relationships.
Here are some tips on hiring the right hygienist.
Hiring Hygienists in 7 Steps
Dental hygienists often spend more time with patients than the dentist does. This truly speaks to the importance of hiring the right hygienist—they’re the face of your practice!
A hygienist’s ability to build rapport directly impacts patient satisfaction and retention. Hiring the right hygienist ensures your practice maintains high standards of care and a positive atmosphere.
1. Key Qualifications to Look For
When we pre-screen dental professionals who join our site, we prioritize candidates who meet these essential qualifications and you might consider using the same when you’re hiring a dental hygienist
- Education and Training: Graduated from an accredited dental hygiene program.
- Licensing and Certification: Holds a verified state license.
- Technical Skills: Has proficiency in hard skills like scaling, polishing, administering local anesthesia, and using modern dental technologies.
2. Soft Skills for Success
When it comes to hiring, we believe soft skills are equally as important—things like people skills, time management, communication, and collaboration. So consider looking at these qualities as well when hiring. Ask yourself questions like:
- Can this hygienist work with anxious patients?
- Does this hygienist have the attention to detail necessary for cleanings and assessments?
- How well will the candidate speak with patients and your team?
3. Crafting a Standout Job Description
Your job description is the first impression a candidate has of your practice. Here are a few things to consider when crafting yours:
- Highlight Responsibilities: Clearly outline the tasks, such as periodontal therapy, patient education, and use of digital radiography.
- Share Something About You: Share what makes your practice a place where candidates would want to work. Many candidates want their office to feel like family.
- List Qualifications: If a candidate must have specific qualifications, such as education, licensure, or experience, be sure to list those in your job description.
4. Interview Tips
The interview is your chance to assess both technical expertise and cultural fit. Consider asking:
- Behavioral Questions: “Tell me about a time you dealt with a nervous patient. How did you help them feel at ease?”
- Clinical Scenarios: “How would you handle discovering a patient has significant gum disease during a routine cleaning?”
- Soft Skill Evaluation: “How do you educate patients about oral health in a way they can easily understand?”
Struggling with which questions to ask? Check out our article on coming up with the right interview questions.
5. Where to Find Candidates
Finding qualified hygienists requires strategy:
- Staffing Agencies: Work with specialized staffing agencies like Princess Dental Staffing to access pre-screened, qualified candidates quickly.
- Networking: Connect with local dental hygiene schools, professional associations, or alumni networks.
- Digital Platforms: Post your opening on job boards like Princess Dental Staffing, Indeed, or ADA CareerCenter.
6. The Importance of Cultural Fit
Your office culture is an important part of the hiring equation. A hygienist who aligns with your practice’s values and team dynamics will enhance your office environment. Here are three things to consider:
- Work Style: Does the candidate prefer a collaborative or independent approach?
- Patient Interaction: Do they embody the level of care and empathy your practice is known for?
- Working Interviews: Invite top candidates to a working interview, where they’ll spend a day shadowing or performing a limited set of duties to see how they interact with the team and patients.
Princess Dental Staffing makes working interviews easy. Simply schedule a temp request for the day of the interview in three easy steps. Invite the candidate you’re interviewing and once they accept, you’re all set!
7. Onboarding and Retention Strategies
While hiring staff is a good start to the New Year, our journey doesn’t end there. Retention plays an important role in the hiring process. We’ve written a comprehensive article on tips for retaining staff. Here are some highlights:
- Training: Pair new hires with experienced team members creates a smooth transition.
- Feedback: Regular check-ins offer an opportunity to proactively address a new hire’s concerns and celebrate their successes.
- Growth Opportunities: Continuing education is a valuable perk many hygienists are looking for.
Know What Assistants Want
Having the pulse of hygienists can help your office craft its hiring process to attract top candidates. Threads on Reddit discuss what hygienists want from a dental office. These include:
- Respect
- Wages that continue to be competitive over time
- Enough time for treatments
- Attention paid to the physical demands of the job to allow for longevity
- Friendly coworkers
- Insurance
One user shares, “Avoid favoritism among staff” and “don't give me all the difficult patients because of my skills and then insist all hygienists get paid the same rate.”
If you’d like help hiring a dental hygienist, Princess Dental Staffing specializes in connecting dental offices with top-tier talent. Create an account today to get started!
Additional Resources
Here are a few additional resources we’ve created to help you with your hiring:
- Dental hiring process articles
- Princess Dental Staffing YouTube Channel
- Princess Dental Staffing on Pinterest
- Princess Dental Staffing on LinkedIn
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