dental hygienist

American  

[den-tl hahy-jee-nist, hahy-jen-ist] / ˈdɛn tl haɪˈdʒi nɪst, haɪˈdʒɛn ɪst /

noun

• dental hygienists
  plural

1. a person who is trained and licensed to clean teeth, take dental x-rays, and provide related dental services and care, usually under the supervision of a dentist.

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dental hygienist British  

noun

1. Also called: oral hygienist. a dentist's assistant skilled in dental hygiene

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dental hygienists
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dental hygienist

First recorded in 1920–25; dental hygiene + -ist

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dental hygienist

"We have figures that suggest only about 17% of the UK population is aware of mouth cancer," said dental hygienist Alison Brown from the charity.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2025

Charlotte Angeles, a dental hygienist in Westchester, said she loved that her son’s TK included more structured instructional time, which included centers with worksheets to practice his letters and numbers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2024

After he divorced Jerry Hall, the model and ex-wife of Mick Jagger, in the summer of 2022, he became engaged to Ann Lesley Smith, a retired dental hygienist, in the spring of 2023.

From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2024

Carol worked as a dental hygienist and real estate agent, and Jon was the general manager of Chicago’s Union League Club.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2024

As the daughter of a dental hygienist, I was interested in his key chain ornament and asked him where he got it.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

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