The following information covers details about the dental hygienist salary as well as state to state average earnings.
Dental hygienists do make quite a nice living off their wages. Many people breaking into the field (and people already considered Dental Hygienists) are curious to learn about the types of salaries this field generates. You can find this information by contacting the dental offices in your area to find out more about starting salaries, as well as the annual starting salary of dental hygienists and the pay scale at that particular office.
How much a dental hygienist makes is based on a lot of factors, but the outlook is good as statistics show a trend of annual increases. These dental hygienist salary ranges vary from state to state and office to office – but more importantly, that number also will be affected by the number of years of working experience. Having advanced qualifications such as a masters degree or if you are qualified to perform root canals, will result in higher salaries in general.
The dental hygienist salary is also slightly different that other professions in that it can be derived from several sources. Many dental hygienists are employed by several dentists, allowing them to work at several clinics at a time, so their total income attained is actually higher on average than what your research will show. They can be paid in a number of different ways: some are paid hourly, some are on paid salary while others are commission-based.
Statistics show that in 2008, the population of part-time staff was around 170,000, which makes up about one half of all of the dental hygienists in the entire United States.
The average pay rate is just shy of $33.00 per hour, according to BLS statistics. Some dental hygienists make less than $45,000 and others make over $100,000. It varies. These annual figures were used to obtain a median annual salary number of $67,340.
More than 95% of the hygienists work in dentists offices, making more than $68,160 per year. The highest paid dental hygienist was reported as making $112,000 in one year. The lower range bottoms out around $45,000. Reports show that the best paying states are Alaska, Washington, Califonia, Nevada and Oregon, with Alaska coming paying the most at $96,280 per year.
What Is the Employment Outlook Like?
Your ability to retire is great. You will have a long career. People will always need to take care of their teeth. These days, dentists themselves are handing over the routine tasks over to dental hygienists, so they can focus on doing the more complicated jobs. When there are several hygienists available at one point, the dental clinic is able to process more patients per day, which results in better returns for the business as a whole.
Since hiring more dental hygienists makes better business sense, job prospects for dental hygienists are definitely shooting up. In fact, this profession is rated as being one of the most in demand and the fastest growing within the United States.
Year by year, the demand for dental care is increasing (and so are the baby boomers) and if you aim at starting up in this profession now, you will be in a great position job-wise and financially. Overall employment in this field is projected to increase by at least 30%, with 50,000 new jobs available for dental hygienists by the time we get to 2016. Dental care is so important that it isn’t really optional these days, and because more of the population become aware and educated about the importance of taking care of their teeth and having regular checkups, the average dental hygienist salary should see a similar increase over the next few years.