Continuing education courses are an essential part of having a successful career as a dental hygienist. They help keep you updated on the latest best practices, learn new skills, and continue to hone your abilities to provide optimal care for every patient. However, with so many different dental hygiene continuing education courses available, it’s not always easy to understand which ones offer the most benefits. Providing ongoing education is what we specialize in here at rdhu, and we have found that the following types of courses are proven to be effective at elevating dental hygienists’ careers across the country.

Dental Hygiene Continuing Education Courses You Should Take

New technology training.

Technological advancements in the field of dentistry continue to revolutionize how we treat our patients and give us the ability to provide better care than ever before. That’s why learning about these new tools and getting time to master them is essential for dental hygienists. Laser treatments, for example, use highly concentrated laser beams to effectively minimize bleeding and swelling during oral surgery.

3-D printing technology is another new asset available to dental practitioners to better serve their patients. They can be used to fabricate orthodontic aligners, removable prosthodontics, and surgical templates for various procedures. By taking continuing education courses that focus on emerging technologies, you can ensure you have the skillset needed to advance your career further.

Patient communication best practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed the way dental care experts interacted with and treated patients in 2020, and that trend highlighted potential growth opportunities for patient communications. One focus of the dental hygiene continuing education courses we recommend is how to streamline the patient experience.

This includes creating a comprehensive “Before Experience” that helps bolster patient satisfaction. This includes communicating with them thoroughly before the appointment, sending a video about what they should expect, and explaining any recent adjustments your practice has made. These courses help you learn different methodologies to create as enjoyable an experience as possible. They also help make interactions with patients once they are in the office more effective and meaningful. You can learn how to ease the patient’s concerns or fears and glean valuable insights on how to interact with patients that have any special needs.

Mastery of skills instructions.

As a dental hygienist, you should continually assess your potential areas of growth and find courses that help master your assessment, instrumentation, and communication skills. Mastery of skills courses are a fantastic way to accomplish this.

Whether it’s improving your hand scaling skills, broadening your knowledge of new instruments, or learning how to handle issues with dental anxiety, these courses provide thorough training on every aspect of the job. Not only will this type of continuing education give you more confidence in your abilities, but that confidence will translate to better treatment for all of your patients.

Take the Next Step in Advancing Your Career.

rdhu provides premier dental hygiene continuing education courses for professionals around the world. For more than a decade, we’ve built a reputation as one of the leaders in dental hygiene education by offering a variety of courses specifically designed to help improve technical advancement, meet quality assurance requirements, and learn business development solutions to help take your practice to the next level.

Founded by a talented group of dental professionals, rdhu has grown to include over 16,000 members taking advantage of our in-person and online courses. Get the continuing education you need to thrive in your career by reaching out to us online with any questions or concerns you may have.