Barbara Carter

DHY 258
Community Health Concepts
June 15, 2019

Career in Public Health

Many feel a sense of satisfaction as they help an individual or a group of people in need

of one thing or another. It could be something as simple as providing a service for free or even

volunteering one’s time. A dental hygienist has many different opportunities to expand their

career into. Some opportunities could include a position in a public setting. Volunteering at a

public event that provides free services to the public such as IMOM is one example a dental

hygienist can bring their expertise to.

Community Health programs are typically funded by government or nonprofit

organizations. These positions often offer an opportunity to provide care to those who otherwise

would not have access to dental care. Examples of public health opportunities include a variety

of roles and settings: clinicians, administrators, researchers, state public health officer,

community clinic administrator, Indian health service, head start programs, local health

departments, national health service Corps, school sealant programs, and rural or inner city

community clinics. The goal of public health is to protect and promote health and prevent

disease. I will be discussing how a dental hygienist may obtain a government position such as a

state public health dental hygienist (SPHDH). This career choice fascinated me because of how

broad it is and the different paths it can take a dental hygienist.

Before becoming a SPHDH, one must become a registered dental hygienist. After

obtaining a license, the next step would be to volunteer one’s time to gain some experience by

working in a public setting such as a free clinic day. Once a person has gained some experience

and insight on a public position, continuing education is needed such as gaining a bachelor’s,
master’s or doctorate degree in public health or a related concentration. The salary of a public

health dental hygienist is between $45,500 and $80,000.

The SPHDH oversees the oral health surveillance plan and collect data to monitor the

population's oral health status and health behaviors through the Basic Screening Survey (BSS)

(funding dependent), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS), the Youth Risk

Behavioral Survey (YRBS), NICRP kindergarten survey, annual dental workforce surveys, CDC

water fluoridation reports, and other oral health surveys. The SPHDH engages in quality

assurance and evaluation activities for the Oral Health Program. The SPHDH will work

collaboratively with the State Dental Health Officer, Oral Health Program staff, and

internal/external partners to increase public knowledge of the importance of oral health and

expand the reach of oral health messaging to children, children and youth with special healthcare

needs, adolescents, and women of childbearing age. The SPHDH must possess high level

communication, interpersonal, conflict resolution, and negotiation skills. The SPHDH must

demonstrate prior experience in communicating effectively, internally and externally, in verbal,

digital and written platforms. The SPHDH will be required to research and procure new funding

opportunities as well as provide grant writing support for current applications and oversee

organization of all grant applications. Jobs available for such position within a 200-mile radius

are very limited. At this time, there are no positions available, however, I am sure that will

change in the future as the need for such a position is steadily increasing.

In conclusion, obtaining a position in public health as a dental hygienist can be extremely

rewarding at times. To be able to serve the population that is in need of a service that you can

provide and to educate them on a topic that they have very little knowledge on, would be a

satisfying in itself.
 References

https://www.adha.org/professional-roles

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Public-Health-Dental-Hygienist-Salary

https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=public%20health%20dental%20hygienist%20officer&l&
vjk=229aa1c5fb422355