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Dental Hygienist
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Build my resume As a dental hygienist, it can be a challenge to determine what to include in your career docs, from how to highlight your accomplishments within the dental office when creating a cover letter to how to properly format your resume to attract the attention of a recruiter or hiring manager.
We’ve evaluated hundreds of dental hygienist resumes from all experience levels and responsibilities. We learned what works to help you get more interviews in 2026 and created seven dental hygienist resume samples to help you build a resume that wows.
Why this resume works
- On your dental hygienist resume, numbers make a difference because they provide evidence for your claims. Try listing the number of patients you treated on a daily basis; this will inform the hiring manager of the patient volume you’ve managed and will assure them you can handle a fast-paced environment while not compromising the quality of care.
Why this resume works
- Highlight any leadership or training roles in your registered dental hygienist resume. Recruiters will take notice of your collaboration and leadership skills, making your resume stand out from the crowd. Also, enusre to list any specific skills on your resume (i.e. patient populations, specialized dental services/technologies) that you possess that match the job description.
Why this resume works
- Capitalize on your customer service and community engagement skills, highlighting your contributions to improving oral health awareness. Use your dental hygienist cover letter to demonstrate that even though you lack paid work experience, you’ve been making the most of the time and are coming in with relevant skills.
Why this resume works
- Hiring managers want to see how you supported patients, ensuring their safety and comfort while simultaneously securing patient satisfaction. So be sure to include patient care and front office responsibilities where applicable in your dental hygienist assistant resume.
Why this resume works
- Providing age-appropriate dental care while simultaneously having the ability to communicate with adults is important to get across in your pediatric dental hygienist resume. If applicable, list any patient populations that require specialized or unique training (i.e. autistic children with sensory issues) as unique specializations.
View more pediatric dental hygienist resumes >
Why this resume works
- Including diverse experiences in your dental hygiene instructor resume showcases adaptability and versatility, positioning you as a well-rounded candidate for dental hygiene instruction and clinical roles. Moreover, mentioning achievements in improving patient understanding of oral health and other result-driven outcomes will give you an edge over other applicants.
Why this resume works
- Your entry-level dental hygienist resume should have a clear resume objective that indicates foundational skills and experience in your dental practice training as well as your goals and how you will support the dental office. Hiring managers want to see your enthusiasm through your resume’s objective.
View more entry-level dental hygienist resumes >
Related resume guides
How to Write a Dental Hygienist Resume
When you apply to a dental clinic or medical health center job, your resume will lock eyes with an ATS system before meeting with a human employer. That’s why it needs to be detail-oriented and full of the right keywords.
A strong dental hygienist resume should follow a simple structure that is widely accepted by most dental employers. You should include your SWE and licensing sections while also ensuring bullet points are properly quantified. Below, we’ll cover:
- Tips for crafting a dental hygienist career objective/summary
- Clinical skills that you must include
- How you can use metrics to show your work’s impact
How to pick the right resume format
As someone who enables patients to smile confidently, your resume should do the same for you. Using a cluttered or untidy format will make employers grind their teeth before they even consider you for an interview.
Below, we’ve listed some tips to help you ensure your dental hygienist resume is at its best:
- Resume Length: One page is plenty. Don’t drill into the nitty-gritty of everything that you’ve done. Just add enough to spark interest in employers to learn more about you.
- Reverse-chronological format: Let recruiters see your latest achievements and work first by listing all work experiences in reverse order, starting from your most recent job.
- Bullet points: Including 4–5 bullet points for each role is enough if they’re quantified and display real-world impacts. We’re talking about improving the clinic’s patient care-level impact.
How do you write a resume summary or objective for dental hygienists?
Depending on your work experience, you can either use a career summary or a resume objective. Entry-level applicants or those changing careers should use an objective, while experienced candidates can take advantage of a summary.
A dental hygienist career objective/summary will have similarities, mainly:
- Being a paragraph with 3–4 lines
- Including the best clinical skills
- Mentioning your potential contribution
Career objective example:
Dental hygiene graduate with 80+ clinical rotation hours (internships) across general and community clinics. Ready to apply my training in radiography, periodontal assessment, and patient education to improve The Chicago Dental Studio’s services.
Career summary example:
Licensed dental hygienist with 14 years of experience in general and pediatric practices. Skilled in FMX, anesthesia delivery, and Dentrix charting, I maintained a 97% patient satisfaction score and reduced x-ray retakes by 20% at Downtown Dental. I aim to join the Dentistrie West Loop clinic and help its patients receive professional, high-quality dental services.
How to quantify your impact
This is the time to shine brighter than your patient’s teeth after a fresh dental cleaning session. Numbers are going to be your best friends in this section, so unleash as many of them as you can in your bullet points.
Some examples include:
- Identified and alerted patients on early signs of oral health issues, enabling 94% of them to improve oral hygiene.
- Handled all patient records on Dentrix, lowering monthly paperwork discrepancies by 37%.
- Evaluated clinical findings and guided patients accordingly, boosting annual satisfaction rates by 8%.
How to showcase your skills
It’s great to have advanced dentistry skills, but don’t let it stop you from mentioning your patient communication talents. Try having a mix of clinical and patient care skills. To give you a headstart, we’ll give an example of a rich skillset:
- Dentrix
- Guru Dental
- CAESY Cloud
- Dental Radiography
- Patient Anxiety Management
- Treatment Planning
- OSHA Compliance
- Oral Prophylaxis
Add education and certifications
Education is one of the most important parts of any dental hygienist’s resume. ATS systems are designed to review this section first to confirm you meet state standards before reviewing your skills or experience.
To get it right on your first try, ensure you get these details covered:
- Dentistry Degree (bachelor’s, master’s, or associate’s)
- Name of the Institution
- Graduation Date
- Location
- Relevant Courses (optional)
These are the basics of getting your education section right. You can also follow the example below to understand how to format this part of the resume:
Example
Bachelor of Science
Dental Hygiene
Ohio State University
2010-2014
Columbus, OH
What certifications should dental hygienists include (RDH, CPR)?
It’s best to include credible certifications like a Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH) to prove you have proper training and authority to treat patients. Also, if you’re short on space, you can include your license(s) under this section.
Here are a few more certs that you can add:
Key takeaways
- Be concise and straightforward using a one-page resume and include all work experiences in reverse chronological order.
- Your state license and educational background are non-negotiable. Not adding them will remove you from the competition instantly.
- Have a mix of soft and clinical skills and tailor them as per the job description. Directly mention skills included in the listing.
Dental Hygienist Resume FAQs
When writing your dental hygienist resume, remember that numbers matter the most. Add the number of patients you helped, procedures you were part of, and emphasize your impact. Also, highlight your proficiency in using modern dental software and specialization (orthodontics, endodontics, pediatric dentistry, etc) in the skills section. Include any certifications/licenses where you’ve upskilled or explored another branch in dentistry to broaden your scope of employment.
While most dentists have patient communication and treatment planning skills, here are some advanced skills specific to dental hygienists:
✅ Dentrix
✅ Oral Prophylaxis
✅ Soft Tissue Management
✅ Laser Periodontal Therapy
✅ Detailed Radiographic Imaging
An associate degree such as Associate Science in Dental Hygiene would greatly complement your qualifications. Follow this up with your years of experience in a relevant role, ensuring that you use quantified bullet points to highlight your accomplishments. Finally, a set of relevant skills will ensure you don’t miss out on the job because you don’t meet employers’ expectations.
Your dental hygienist should include a strong dental work experience that proves your passion for treating patients and communication skills. It’s also important to list licenses and certificates directly mentioned in the job description.
