You’re always ready with an encouraging smile and youth-friendly dental education to help reinforce good habits. You’re also extremely skilled at performing basic dental cleanings, managing patient stress, and preparing x-rays for dentists and radiologists at your establishment.
But how can you make your resume look as clean and tidy as your last patient’s set of teeth? What’s the most important information to include, and where should that go?
Don’t worry: We’ve helped many people in dentistry to make it into their dream roles, and our cover letter writer, three pediatric dental hygienist resume examples and resume tips can help you, too!
Related resume examples
What Matters Most: Your Skills & Relevant Work Experience
So, what can you do? Recruiters want to know what kinds of technical and interpersonal abilities you have. Are you excellent at making kids feel more comfortable and confident about their dental routines? Are you especially good with special needs patients?
Make sure each skill you list relates directly to your profession—whether it ties in with the dental or pediatric aspects. If you have job experience in the classroom, many abilities you utilized while working with kids will transfer beautifully to your new role.
Your skills should be specific, too! Don’t say “communication”; instead expand your repertoire to things like “youth patient education”.
9 top pediatric dental hygienist skills
- Oral Prophylaxis
- Teeth Cleaning
- Soft Tissue Handling
- Patient Education
- Oral X-rays
- Patient Documentation
- Tool Sterilization
- Station Prep
- Time Management
Sample pediatric dental hygienist work experience bullet points
Your skills section shows off an impressive set of tools you use to do your job. But recruiters want to see some examples and stories of how you’ve made the most of them! When did you increase patient returns with your efficient dental hygiene education and aftercare instructions?
How have you motivated families to take better care of their teeth through workshops and outreach programs? When did your efficient assistance with dental tools and equipment change the course of a procedure for the better?
And make sure you include numerical metrics with that stuff! Recruiters want to see quantifiable data that backs your claims to success. What kinds of star ratings, patient return rates, or satisfaction ratings can you share?
Here are some cool samples:
- Identified oral health issues, advising families on dental hygiene practices to achieve improvements of up to 97%
- Actively participated in outreach programs for uninsured/under-insured families, providing education on proper nutrition and oral home care to decrease cavities and decay by 36%
- Served pediatric patients with disabilities, displaying compassion and providing an educational and fun visit, ultimately earning a personal rating of 4.7/5 stars
- Provided friendly and detail-oriented front office management each day, greeting patients, answering phone calls, scheduling appointments, and billing insurance forms with a 99% accuracy rate
Top 5 Tips for Your Pediatric Dental Hygienist Resume
- Keep your bullet points clean!
- It’s crucial to present your absolute best experience points on your pediatric dental hygienist resume! But ensure you don’t get too verbose at the expense of readability. Recruiters move fast, so keep your bullet points concise and easy to read.
- Stay minimalist and modern
- Many dental offices sport a stylish but sterile, modern look—and so should your resume! Don’t go over the top with kooky colors or fonts (even if the kids would love them!) since these can get in the way of recruiters absorbing your excellence while they skim.
- Balance clinical and clerical achievements
- While each one of your accomplishments should be presented as technically as possible, focus on striking a nice balance between your ability to prepare x-rays and clean teeth, and your cheerful attitude while answering patients’ questions over the phone.
- Choose your fighter!
- Any of our three pediatric dental hygienist resume templates should give you a great springboard to show off your qualifications. But ultimately, go with the one that puts your best achievements in the limelight.
- Include all types of education
- Always include that degree in Dental Hygiene, but don’t neglect any other types of recognition or certifications you’ve earned, like a Dental Assistant (RDA).
Ooh, that can be a tough one when you can’t bear to part with any of your crowning achievements! But don’t worry: You can save some of your stories about helping children have calm, fun dental cleanings, for your cover letter!
Yes, you can! Just ensure they’re relevant to your field, even if your old job role was different. If you have a previous employer from when you worked at a daycare, that can still boost your qualifications.
Metrics are all about measuring your impact. So, if a number just tells how many patients or cleanings you worked with, it won’t be very impressive . . . unless it boosts a final impact statement like how that hard work boosted satisfaction rates, that is!
