Staffing your office can be one of the most grueling tasks you'll face in your dental career. It seems to come in waves... from stability to rough waters, and then back to stability. Generation X's fly by the seat of their pants mentality has led to less loyal employees and unpredictable departures. Yet possessing a great staff can make or break your office's success.

So how do you find the perfect dental hygienist?

It's not an easy task. Hygienist come in all types. Some are easy going, some are detail orientated, some are super friendly and some aren't any of these things. Finding the right dental hygienist for your office means sifting through a lot of resumes and performing a lot of interviews.

Are you asking the right questions when you interview? Here is a good source: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-interview-questions-and-best-answers-2061225.

As a practitioner, I would be less concerned about the actual questions and more concerned about how they answer them. The vibe you get in the interview will be the same vibe your patients get when they're receiving treatment from your hire.  What's your first impression? You're patients will likely feel the same way. Is initiating a conversation difficult? Your patients are probably more like you than you think, and many will form the same opinion as you have.

Training a dental hygienist to do what you want is a relatively easy chore. Finding the right hygienist to train is the trick. Look for someone who is energetic, someone who has a fresh look at their job (years of cleaning can wear some hygienist down). Are they excited about starting at your office, or are you just a paycheck to them? Have they done any research and looked you up online? 

Using a niche dental staffing agency can be a good idea.

There are resources available that can save you time when finding the dental staff you need. Giant job boards can be overwhelming and full of candidates that you don't want. Use a dedicated dental source when trying to find the best staff.  They have valuable industry expertise, can often find you the person your looking for faster, the process can be less of a burden and ultimately staffing agencies can save you money.

We wish you luck as you search for the best. Remember, don't hire the first candidate that you interview. Treasures come to those who are patient.

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