Professional Identity as a Dental Hygienist

The creation of a professional identity is a continuous, dynamic process that is based on the perception of others developing a generalized consensus about a person in a professional setting (Howey & Yoon, 2022). Many people in the public and within different healthcare groups do not understand the entire scope of practice of dental hygienists, and it hinders their collaborative role and identity, which can affect their quality of care for clients. In Alberta, dental hygienists are self-regulated primary healthcare professionals and work intra- and inter-professionally with dentists and other healthcare providers who deal with dental care.

The College of Registered Dental Hygienists of Alberta (CRDHA) governs dental hygienists’ regulation, standards of practice, ethics, and continuing competencies. The Dental Hygienists Association of Alberta (DHAA) and the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA) are the associations that represent Alberta dental hygienists’ interests. The CDHA strongly advocates for dental hygienists to provide a high standard of preventive and therapeutic oral health care, as well as the promotion of oral health to all Canadians.

As a member of the CRDHA and CDHA, my professional identity is guided by my obligations to my governing body. I adhere to practice standards and ethics while delivering high-quality dental hygiene care. I value meeting my client’s oral health care needs while being respectful, kind, and sensitive toward people’s cultures, socioeconomic status, religions, politics, genders, physical and mental capabilities, and ideas.

As my professional role is transitioning from a clinical practitioner to an educator at a post-secondary education level, I am passionate about eliciting change in the university setting to increase the scope and standards of practice for dental hygienists through curriculum and teaching. I want to be known for being competent, knowledgeable, and effective in my clinical skills, as well as in my promotion of oral health needs for all Canadians. I believe in effectively communicating to educate and inform the public and other health care providers.

As a clinical dental hygienist, I interact mostly in private practice with professionals in dental care such as dentists. Dental hygienists follow the collaborative practice model to work together as an oral health team, each putting forth their knowledge towards the client’s best oral health (Darby et al., 2020).

As the role of a dental hygienist is expanding more towards being independent practitioners, there is a greater need for interprofessional collaboration with other healthcare providers in the Canadian healthcare system (Howey & Yoon, 2022). Oral health care is increasingly becoming a part of maintaining an overall standard of health and well-being, so dental hygienists must continue to develop and expand their connections. My audit named other types of specialty dentists, oral surgeons, physiotherapists, massage therapists, speech-language pathologists, family physicians, pediatricians, nurses, and nurse aids but the possible interaction with other professions can be greater.

Dental hygienists must be more proactive in working with other healthcare professionals to positively enhance client care and practice efficiency. They must continue to develop long-term relations that establish trust and mutual understanding with other health care professionals. However, there is still a general lack of confidence, value and worth in dental hygienists and how they can contribute as primary healthcare workers as part of an oral care team which makes some hesitant about collaboration (Howey & Yoon, 2022).

After reflecting on my social media audit, I wish to have a greater professional digital presence. My only connection with my online professional identity was through a Google search, and it was my name on the University of Alberta directory page.

Many social media platforms, such as Twitter, can be used professionally to interact with members of the public or other healthcare fields. I want to use social media in a purposeful way in terms of communication, education, collaboration, and networking with others. As a dental hygienist, it can be used for better role clarification, recognition of similarities, knowledge, and practice with other professionals in a collegial and respectful manner. I use LinkedIn and Twitter now to help in the cultivation of my professional identity.

As social media is becoming the prominent and primary way of mass communicating to the public, it is now strongly tied to someone’s social and professional identity. Social media is becoming unavoidable as societies transition between the virtual and real worlds for communication. The consequences and relevancy of posting on social media must be considered by all healthcare professionals.

My professional identity is dynamic and changing and does not only define who I am professionally now but also how I want to be perceived in the future.

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References

Darby, M. L., Walsh, M. M., Bowen, D. M., & Pieren, J. A. (2020). Dental hygiene: Theory and

practice. Elsevier/Saunders.

Howey, M. L., & Yoon, M. N. (2022). Insights in interprofessional education: Dental hygiene

students’ suggestions for collaboration. Canadian Journal of Dental Hygiene, 56(1), 9–

12.