Massachusetts Dental Hygienists’ Association

Consumers

RDH stands for Registered Dental Hygienist. Every registered dental hygienist in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is licensed through the Board of Registration in Dentistry and is accountable to the statutes, rules and regulations set forth in Massachusetts General Laws. Dental hygienists must graduate from an accredited dental hygiene program with a certificate, associate, baccalaureate or master's degree, pass the written National Board Examination and a clinical state board examination.

Dental hygienists' specialize in preventive oral health using knowledge and clinical skills to prevent, detect, and treat diseases of the oral cavity. Dental hygiene is a diverse profession; dental hygienists can work in private dental offices, hospitals and, schools; they can be educators working in colleges and universities or in corporate sales. Dental hygienists work in research discovering treatments for oral diseases, policy-making to ensure dental health for all individuals, as well as public health. As our population continues to grow the demand for access to preventive health care services will increase and the career opportunities for dental hygienists will expand even more throughout the nation.

The following oral health topics will provide you, the consumer, with information and resources about various issues related to you and your family's oral health care. Select from the category listing to link to a specific topic.

Patient Education

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Easy Instructions

Proper Brushing

Proper Flossing

Potential Problems

Oral Cancer fact sheet (478K pdf)

Periodontal Disease (60K pdf)

On-the-Job Training

Bad Breath fact sheet (452K pdf)

Diabetes fact sheet (437k pdf)

Sjörgren's Syndrome