Characteristics of the Current Dental Hygienist Workforce in Washington State

Abstract

Demand for dental hygienists (DHs) in Washington is high and is limiting access to dental services in the state. Using data from state licensure records and a survey of DHs in the state, along with a variety of other sources, this report provides insights into who selects dental hygiene as a career and their pathways into this important oral health occupation, descriptions of the types and locations of their work, as well as DHs’ views of their jobs and careers.

Survey findings suggest that about 84% of DHs with Washington licenses were practicing as a DH in the state. Analyses focused on these respondents, and key findings include:

• Nearly 98% of DH respondents working in Washington were female and 78% were white.
• Half of the DH respondents completed an associate degree and 45% completed a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene, and a quarter completed their dental hygiene education in a state other than Washington.
• Washington DHs working in public and non-profit settings, such as public health departments and community health centers, reported they worked more weekly hours on average (30.2 hours) and earned lower average hourly wages ($55.32) compared with DHs in private practices where most DHs in the state were employed (26.8 hours and $60.35).
• DHs in public and non-profit settings as well as DHs overall who worked more weekly hours (35 or more) reported receiving more employment benefits (including medical insurance, retirement, and paid time off) than DHs working in private settings or DHs overall who worked fewer (fewer than 35) weekly hours.
• When asked their views of their jobs and careers, DH respondents were generally positive, but some indicated dissatisfaction with opportunities for growth and leadership development and opportunities for promotion in their jobs.
• Slightly more than half (55%) strongly agreed or agreed that they would recommend a career as a DH to a friend or relative.
• DHs reported recording health histories, performing subgingival planing, oral inspection, and applying topical fluorides and varnishes nearly every day. Just over half of DHs reported having ever applied silver diamine fluoride and about one quarter reported having ever placed and finished restorations.
• Most (89%) DH respondents reported experiencing pain or discomfort in the hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, or neck in the past 12 months, with 93% of those with pain attributing it to dental hygiene work. These findings are comparable to a similar Washington survey of DHs conducted in 2004.
• Despite some job dissatisfaction and high rates of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) attributed to their work, nearly three quarters of DH respondents planned to continue working as a DH in clinical practice over the next few years.

Conclusions from these findings include:

• Strategies to address the conditions and DH practices that contribute to MSDs could help to encourage DHs to work more weekly hours, reduce DH job vacancies, and help improve access to patient care.
• Extending the DH career pathway with more opportunities for advancing dental hygiene careers, including but not exclusively into dentistry, could make DH a career that attracts more, and more diverse, entrants.
• Ongoing tracking of the size, distribution, and characteristics of Washington’s dental workforce is important to determine if and where progress is achieved to address oral health workforce issues in the state.

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