Advice for the New Dental Hygiene Student
Starting dental hygiene school this semester? CONGRATULATIONS! Getting into dental hygiene school is tough, and we’re proud of you for making it! Now, we want to warn you. Sometimes, the first few days of school is overwhelming. Learning about the clinic flow, the requirements needed to pass clinic, and the science course load on top of clinic can be overwhelming at times. However, you can get through these first few difficult weeks and make it through the rest of the two years! We’ve rounded up some of the best advice for the new RDH student and made a list to hopefully help make this first little bit a tiny easier.
“If you’re interested in joining SADHA, do it! You’ll learn some new leadership techniques, get to know different people in your class that you may not have originally, and have something different for your resume. I felt too insecure to run or be part of the leadership, which now I’m not sure why I was.”
“These first few days can be a lot. I remember the 1st semester of school being the most difficult. It gets easier as you get to know your professors, have patients lined up to come, and feel more comfortable with the flow of clinic.”
“Your professors and instructors are there to help you. Ask them for help!”
“Get really good at Google Calendars. Having each assignment on some sort of calendar keeps everything straight. Nothing is worse than showing up to class and realized you forgot to finish a paper that was due that day.”
“Watch videos to help with instrumentation. The Hygiene Edge ones are awesome.”
“Don’t worry about boards and clinicals in the 1st semester. Take it one day at a time and you’ll get to that point. As of right now, just study your classes, which are all on boards anyway, and you’ll be prepping for it in a round about way.”