If you are going to build your career in the field of dental services, you should know about the different options available to you and basic differences of those options. Most of the people pursuing a career in dental field usually make their living as a dentist or a dental hygienist. There lie certain differences among these two careers of which office duties and amount of education required are the basic differences. We’ll talk about these two differences and what you need to do to avail either of the careers.

Office Duties: Providing treatment to the patients is the main duty of a dentist. A dentist never does the duty of a receptionist or customer care provider. Removing damaged teeth, filling cavities, scaling teeth, carrying out root canals, and applying caps on broken teeth are the tasks that are executed by a dentist.

The first and foremost duty of a dental hygienist is to assist the dentist during operations and other dental procedures. You will need to give patients advice about what they should do before undergoing any treatment, the safety procedures like advise them to test whether they have diabetes and make them feel safe. Some office tasks like processing dental X-rays, updating patient database and paper works are done by a dental hygienist. You need to do some simple dental tasks like scaling and cleaning teeth. Other office works are executed by dental assistant.

Education: There exist vast difference in terms of education required for a dentist and a dental hygienist. Usually dental hygienists need to attend a course that lasts for 2 years. Physiology, anatomy and oral health are the topics they need to study. To build your career as a dental hygienist you need to study math and science in your high school. Though most of the courses can be completed within 24 months, some course may need 4 years to complete.

On the other hand the path of a dentist is much harder than a dental hygienist. You need to study for about 8 years to be a dentist. At first you need to obtain your bachelor degree from an approve school. After completion of bachelor course you have to attend another four-year doctoral program. But this is not the end. To get your license you will have to attend a residency program which lasts for one year.

If you want to pursue your career in the dental field within a short time and with less labor, dental hygienist would the better option. Those who have enough patience and wish to earn better, they can opt to become a dentist.