The Overlooked Provider in Patient-Centered Care: The Dental Hygienist

In today’s healthcare landscape, interdisciplinary collaboration is essential. From managing chronic diseases to improving population health outcomes, every provider has a role to play. Yet one key professional remains largely absent from hospital care teams: the registered dental hygienist (RDH).

Registered Dental Hygienists are essential members of collaborative care, ensuring comprehensive, patient-centered health solutions.

Often mischaracterized as being on the job trained to provide dental cleanings, dental hygienists are, in fact, highly trained preventive specialists with extensive education in systemic health, behavioral health, patient assessment, and therapeutic care. Their exclusion from collaborative care models is a missed opportunity for more effective, prevention-centered healthcare.

What You May Not Realize: Dental Hygienists Are Medically Educated

To become licensed, dental hygienists must graduate from a Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)-accredited program, which involves rigorous education in biomedical and clinical sciences. CODA is the only accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for dental-related professions (1).

Dental hygiene programs are 2–4 years in length, depending on whether the student earns an associate’s or bachelor’s degree — just like nursing programs. And like nursing students, dental hygiene students complete a structured and intensive curriculum that includes:

• Anatomy and physiology

• Pathology and pharmacology

• Microbiology and immunology

• Medical emergencies and infection control

• Patient assessment and care planning

• Ethics, communication, and public health

In fact, the science coursework in CODA-accredited dental hygiene programs mirrors that of accredited nursing programs, with both professions trained to understand the systemic impact of disease, recognize risk factors, think critically, and support prevention strategies (2).

Clinical Education: Comparable to Nursing in Hands-On Training

While nursing students often complete 600–800 hours of clinical training before licensure, dental hygienists are also required to complete 600–700 hours of supervised clinical care before graduation (3). According to the American Dental Hygiene Association (ADHA), dental hygienists complete nearly 3,000 hours of comprehensive and clinical training prior to licensure (4).

These clinical hours are not limited to dental procedures — they include comprehensive health assessments, reviewing medical histories, interpreting radiographs, administering local anesthesia, recognizing signs of systemic illness, and educating patients on chronic disease prevention.

Like nurses, dental hygienists are trained to:

• Monitor vitals and screen for hypertension and diabetes

• Identify medication interactions and contraindications

• Assess health risks and social determinants of health

• Communicate clearly with both patients and interprofessional teams

• Document care in compliance with HIPAA and quality standards

Dental hygienists, like nurses, are also bound by ethical codes and state practice acts, ensuring accountability in patient care delivery.

Why Dental Hygienists Should Be at the Table in Collaborative Care

The CDC and HRSA have emphasized the link between oral and systemic health, calling for the integration of oral health into broader medical care (5, 6). Dental hygienists are trained to be that bridge.

An RDH's education and clinical experience align directly with the goals of value-based care, especially in:

• Chronic disease prevention (diabetes, cardiovascular disease)

• Maternal health and pregnancy outcomes

• Geriatric and medically complex patient care

• Health education and behavioral change counseling

• Community outreach and population health

• Ongoing continuing education requirements 

Yet unlike nurses, dental hygienists are rarely embedded in medical care teams — not because of a lack of competency, but due to outdated silos in healthcare delivery.

Hygienists are akin to registered nurses who specialize in oral health, and as such are a welcome addition to the nursing care teams and associations. A formal training program and credential as an Oral Health Nurse would make the integration of RDHs into hospitals more efficient, and provide administrators with the quality assurance they need to onboard a new providers. 

Hospital-Based Hygienists Are Leading the Way

Across the country, forward-thinking healthcare systems are already integrating dental hygienists into hospital-based care. These professionals are working in oncology units, ICUs, labor and delivery, cardiac care, and long-term care settings, delivering critical oral health services to medically fragile patients.

Research supports their role: oral care protocols led by hygienists have been shown to reduce hospital-acquired infections, improve patient outcomes, and contribute to overall care quality. Their presence improves interdisciplinary communication, helps identify systemic conditions early, and supports the work of nurses and physicians by reducing oral inflammation that can exacerbate chronic disease.

Final Thought: Parallel Training, Complementary Roles

The clinical and academic preparation of dental hygienists is on par with that of registered nurses in many respects — yet they remain one of the most underutilized professionals in medicine. Including them in collaborative care models isn’t just about oral health — it’s about enhancing whole-person care: preventing disease, reducing risk, liability and costs, improving patient safety, and improving outcomes across the board.

It's time to stop seeing dental hygienists as “support staff” and start recognizing them for what they truly are: medically trained, licensed, prevention-focused healthcare providers ready to contribute to the future of evidence-based, patient-centered care (7).

References

1. Commission on Dental Accreditation. Accreditation Standards for Dental Hygiene Education Programs. American Dental Association, 2023.
   https://coda.ada.org

2. American Dental Education Association (ADEA). Dental Hygiene Curriculum: Comparison with Allied Health Programs.
   https://www.adea.org

3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Registered Nurses and Dental Hygienists.
   https://www.bls.gov/ooh/

4. Open letter opposing Sections 77-79 of Nevada SB495 that creates an alternative pathway to licensure without CODA accredited education. American Dental Hygienists' Association. May 5, 2025. https://www.adha.org/newsroom/letter-objecting-to-nevada-sb495/

5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Oral Health Conditions and Systemic Links. CDC Division of Oral Health, 2023.
   https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/conditions

6. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Integration of Oral Health and Primary Care Practice. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014.
   https://www.hrsa.gov

7. Forrest, J.L., & Spolarich, A.E. (2013). Decision-Making in Dental Hygiene: A Critical Thinking Approach. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.