First Day of Hygiene 101

Congratulations to the class of 2022! You made it through 2+ years of dental hygiene school, finding all your own patients, multiple board exams, and all through a world wide pandemic at the same time! Looking back, can you believe it?  Now that you’ve finished that huge obstacle of dental hygiene school, you can jump right into working in a practice! YAY! Sometimes that first day of work can be a bit daunting. Going from school, having lots of help, supervision and time, to being on your own can be a bit overwhelming. But you can definitely do it! So many new grads have done it (we did back in the day!) and you can too. We’ve compiled a few things we’ve gathered over the years to help make that first day of working a bit easier. Small notebook and pen. This is so handy to have to write a few little notes on. If the office has a different software than you’re used to and explains how to open a chart, take a retake, etc, write it down! In the middle of the day, you may need that reminder. It’s also nice to not be taking these notes on your phone, so you don’t have to pull out your phone in front of the patient or a staff member. Also jot down names of people in the office, any specifics you’d like to remember, how to take a pano, or notes about patients they mention. Snacks or a lunch. It’s tempting to plan on leaving during lunch to take a little break to decompress. However, it’s hard to know how much time you may even get for a lunch! It’s the worst to be working a full time, have a very short break in the middle of the day, and end up being starving. Have some snacks on hand to get you through the day, just in case you end up being behind and seeing patients during lunch, if you have notes to catch up on during that time, or lunch ends up being shorter than you originally planned. Fully charged loupes light. That may seem obvious, but check your battery the night before. It’s always so hard to be working in a new space, and then end up losing your light in the middle of the day. Some newer offices don’t even put overhead lights in anymore since everyone wears headlamps. You could even ask before going in for the day to see if they do or do not have them to know what to plan for. Thank you note. If you end up loving the office that you’re working at for the day, leave a thank you note and maybe even a treat at the end of the day, letting them know how much you appreciate them taking the time to let you come spend a day at the office. You could include your business card or contact information in the note as well so they can easily get a hold of you to give you the job! Any little thing that you love to work with. Obsessed with your own slow speed handpiece from school? Bring it. Like those prophy cup holders and have a few? Bring them along. It’s always nice to have something comfortable with you to make your day go a bit smoother. Just make sure you grab them at the end of the day. If you use it on your last patient, I’ve honestly wiped and bagged them, brought them home unsterilized, then sterilized them at either the next office I worked for at the beginning of the day, or went back to the university I went to school to quickly have them done. I have forgotten and lost instruments along the way, so keeping an eye on this precious items is important. Welcome to such a great profession and we are so proud of you! Congratulations on making it through your schooling, and into a practice to start changing your patients oral and overall health. You can definitely make it through your first day of work and we’re excited for you!