Dental Hygiene Resume: Sample & Complete Writing Guide [20+ Tips]

Dental Hygiene Resume Sample

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Sample Dental Hygiene Resume—See more templates and create your resume here.

Here are a few other resume examples related to dental hygiene:

• Dentist Resume: Sample & Complete Writing Guide
• Dental Assistant Resume: Sample & Complete Guide
• Medical Assistant Resume: Sample & Complete Guide
• Physician Assistant Resume: Examples & Complete Guide
• Healthcare Resume: Examples & Complete Guide

Above was our version of the perfect dental hygiene resume example.

Time to cut your teeth on your own—

Here’s how to write a resume for dental hygienist jobs:

1. Choose the Best Format for Your Dental Hygiene Resume

You’ve got the skills, experience, and education to be an award-winning dental hygienist.

But none of that matters—

If you don’t format your resume in a way that keeps the dental office partner interested.

Follow these dental hygiene resume format rules:

• Start with a phone number and contact info on a resume in the professional header.
• Use visible headings to differentiate the various sections on a resume.
• Use the chronological resume layout, as it is usually the best resume format.
• Pick the best font to use for a resume, something legible and easy to parse.

Pro Tip: Should you send your resume in PDF or Word format? Unless the dental job ad requests one specifically as a Microsoft Word doc, PDF is always the better choice.

2. Write a Dental Hygienist Resume Objective or Summary

To start the written portion of your dental hygiene application, you need a compelling professional profile at the top.

Also called dental hygiene resume objectives or summaries, these are intro paragraphs of around 3–4 sentences, an elevator pitch, if you will. They give dental office managers insight into your oral hygiene experience and dental skills.

Which one to use?

A resume summary statement is for veteran dental hygienists. Here, you “sum up” your previous dental hygiene job experience and skills.

A resume objective statement is for newbies and those fresh out of dental school. With this one, you give your career goals in dentistry to replace your lack of experience.

Whichever one you use, give a key numbered accomplishment from your past to prove you’re a top candidate.

Pro Tip: Your resume objective or summary statement goes at the top of your resume right under the contact information. However, write it last. It’s an important statement to write, and this way you can determine what items to mention there as you complete the rest of your resume.

3. Create the Perfect Dental Hygienist Job Description for a Resume

Whether you’ll work at a small local dental practice or a large national chain, know how to describe work experience on a resume.

So—

Here’s how to add your dental hygienist job description to a resume:

• Start with your most recent job and go backwards from there.
• Put business position titles above dates of employment, the dental practice name, and up to 6 bullet points detailing your dental work history.
• Use power verbs (e.g., administered, prepared, etc.) to start each duty.
• Show off quantifiable achievements to verify your level of knowledge.

Pro Tip: Know how to tailor a resume to a job posting. Dentist employers hate generic resumes as much as the rest of them.

4. Make Your Dental Hygiene Resume Education Section Shine

One of the requirements for dental hygienist jobs is that they complete a dental hygiene specialized program, associate degree, or bachelor’s degree.

So—

Don’t go easy on your resume educational background.

Here’s how to nail the academic section on a resume for dental hygiene:

• Like the work history, start with your most advanced degree and go back from there.
• Include your degree, completion date, school name and place, and relevant coursework.
• To really impress them, add extras such as Latin honors, minors, and publications.
• Since you need to have completed a degree, don’t add a high school entry on your resume.

Pro Tip: Have a dental hygiene externship to add to your resume? Add it here in your education section, since it was part of your studies, rather than in your work experience section.

5. Highlight Your Dental Hygienist Skills for a Resume

Dental hygiene jobs will grow by 20% between 2016 and 2026 in the United States, alone.

That’s 41,000 new candidates fighting for your job.

So—

Show them you’ve got what it takes with the best dental hygienist skills resume section.

Here are several soft skills and hard skills you'll need as a dental hygienist:

Soft Skills and Hard Skills for a Dental Gygienist Resume

• Prepare Patients for Oral Surgery
• Oral Hygiene Assessments
• Periodontal Therapy
• Intraoral Radiographs
• Anxiety Management
• Perform Panoramic and Diagnostic X-Rays
• Pain Control
• Plaque Removal
• Calculus Removal
• Topical Fluoride
• Provide Prophylaxis Treatment
• Attention to Detail
• Periodontal Charting
• Dental Therapeutic Methods
• Interpersonal Skills
• Decision-Making Skills
• Time Management Skills
• Communication Skills
• Technical Skills

But—

Instead of copying those skills right into your dental hygiene resume:

• Make a list of skills (soft skills and hard skills) you have related to dental hygiene job positions.
• Open up the original job ad for the dental hygiene role you’re applying for.
• Find the best resume keywords to use by highlighting skills they’re searching for from the job requirements.
• When you have a match between something you highlighted and one of the original skills you listed, put that on your dental hygienist resume.

Pro Tip: Dental care is changing. By 2040, researchers say that dentistry will probably become more integrated with general medical care. So, if you have medical skills outside of dentistry, it could benefit your chances at scoring the dental hygiene job interview.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your resume here.

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6. Add Other Sections to Your Dental Hygienist Resume

Every dental hygiene candidate has those above sections, as they should.

However—

It means you won’t be so unique if that’s all you include.

So, stand out from the rest of them by adding extra dental hygiene resume sections.

Here are a few ideal choices on a resume for dental hygiene jobs:

• Resume volunteer experience
• Dental licenses and certifications
• Dental job-related achievements
• Dentistry organization memberships
• Hobbies and interests
• Resume language skills

7. Attach a Dental Hygiene Cover Letter to Your Resume

Are cover letters important for dental hygiene jobs?

Absolutely.

Most employers want a resume, going so far as saying they’ll reject an application missing one for that reason alone.

Here’s how to write a cover letter for dental hygienist jobs that’ll put a smile on their face:

• Sort out the format for a cover letter before you start writing.
• The cover letter first paragraph should be a compelling introduction.
• Explain any career gaps when talking about your experience and skills.
• Throw in a few numbered achievements here, as well.
• The cover letter closing paragraph  should have a strong call to action.

Also, check out our posts on how long should cover letters be, best cover letter tips, and what to include inside a cover letter to really make a winning application.

Pro Tip: Don’t forget that following up on a job application might just be the thing that gets you the call for an interview. Speaking of which, get ready for the big day with our best interview tips!

Got any questions on how to write a dental hygiene resume? Not sure how to talk up your dental skills, required certifications, or hygienic achievements? Get at us in the comments below, and thanks for reading!