Occupations · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Dental Hygienists
Administer oral hygiene care to patients. Assess patient oral hygiene problems or needs and maintain health records. Advise patients on oral health maintenance and disease prevention. May provide advanced care such as providing fluoride treatment or administering topical anesthesia.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 29-1292.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 24% between 2019 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $103,640 | 10,240 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $106,480 | 8,100 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $98,030 | 6,420 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $90,690 | 6,230 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $102,060 | 5,080 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $97,710 | 4,760 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $78,170 | 4,620 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $100,970 | 4,300 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $103,050 | 3,900 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | $97,920 | 3,650 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $81,540 | 3,440 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $100,560 | 3,030 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: Associate's degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Record and review patient medical histories.
- Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
- Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
- Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.
- Provide clinical services or health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients or the general public.
- Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.
- Expose and develop x-ray film.
- Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills.
- Apply fluorides or other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay.
- Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments.
- Maintain patient recall system.
- Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2021-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2021-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills.
O*NET 25.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2020
Comparing O*NET release 25.1 (2020-11-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 1
No longer listed 2
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| dental hygienist | 3251.2 | exact |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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