Dental Hygienist Salary

A dental hygienist salary, sometimes referred to as an oral hygienist, has the potential to make on average $71,530. However, the estimated dental hygienist salary for dental hygienists belonging in the lowest 10% of paid professionals within the field make an estimated $47,880 ($23.02 per hour) or less. Meanwhile, in the highest 10% of paid professionals within the field, the estimated dental hygienist salary raises to $96,690 ($46.49 per hour) with a possible increase. According to a study done from 2013, the mean of dental hygienist salaries was $71,530 per year ($34.39 per hour) from the 192,330 dental hygienists that took part in the study.

Dental hygienist salary increases based on a variety of factors, one of which may be their geographical location or what kind of facility they’re working out of. For example, the dental hygienist’s salary will be significantly higher if they were working in areas like Santa Cruz, Vallejo, San Francisco and Los Angeles which are estimated to be the highest paying cities for a dental hygienist salary. These dental hygienist salaries will be much higher than those working out of Canada for example.

A dental hygienist salary may depend and vary however on the following factors;

• Experience – average of $95,000 per year. Raises with the level of experience.
• Industry – a dentist’s office is the typical sought after industry for graduates which will earn them a dental hygienist salary of $71,860 per year.
• Location – since 2013, Columbia has been deemed the highest paying state for dental hygienist salaries with an average of $93,940. Runner up states include Washington and California. However, California has a higher demand for dental hygienists. California also has the four highest paying metropolitan areas.

When we look at the healthcare industry, dental hygienists are being paid more than most other careers within the industry. For example, a dental hygienist salary is more than that of a pharmacy technicians, dental assistants and medical assistants. With that being said, a dental hygienist salary is far less than that of a dentist, pharmacist or family physician.