32111 Dental hygienists and dental therapists

What this occupation covers

Dental hygienists provide dental hygiene treatment and services related to oral health promotion and disease and mouth injury prevention. They are employed in a variety of settings including dentists' offices, hospitals, private clinics, educational institutions, public health agencies or they may be self-employed. Dental therapists provide limited restorative dental treatment in addition to dental hygiene services. They are employed by the federal government and the provincial governments to provide services in rural and remote communities.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 15 main duties for this code.

• Conduct patient screening and oral health assessments, including taking vital signs and documenting patient medical and health history
• Take dental impressions
• Take and develop X-rays
• Perform preventative dental procedures such as teeth cleaning, scaling, gum stimulation and fluoride and sealant applications
• Provide oral care instructions such as oral hygiene procedures, strategies to maintain and improve oral health and on the impact of nutrition on oral health
• Consult with dentists on patient care
• May perform restorative and orthodontic procedures under the direction of a dentist
• May supervise dental assistants in their health care functions.
• May participate in community- or school-based oral health initiatives such as oral screening.
• Perform routine dental check-ups, oral cancer examinations and emergency dental examinations
• Perform preventative dental procedures such as teeth cleaning, gum stimulation and fluoride and sealant applications
• Perform routine teeth restorations and uncomplicated extractions and provide post extraction oral care instructions
• Refer patients to other dental professionals for care beyond the scope of the dental therapist
• Provide oral health promotion activities
• May supervise dental assistants in their health care functions

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 3 of its 15 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 33100 Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants
• 32112 Dental technologists and technicians
• 31110 Dentists
• 32110 Denturists

Excluded from this code

• Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants (See 33100 Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants)
• Dental technologists and technicians (See 32112 Dental technologists and technicians)
• Dentists (See 31110 Dentists)
• Denturists (See 32110 Denturists)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

community dental hygienist · dental hygiene technician · dental hygienist · dental hygienist technician · dental nurse · dental therapist · expanded duty dental hygienist · expanded duty dental nurse · licensed dental therapist · orthodontic hygienist · periodontal hygienist · registered dental hygienist · registered dental therapist · restorative dental hygienist

Employment requirements

• Completion of a two- to three- year college dental hygiene program, approved by the governing board within the province or territory of residence, is usually required for dental hygienists.
• Dental therapists are required to complete a two- to three- year college diploma from an approved dental institution program.
• Licensing by the appropriate provincial or territorial regulatory body is required for dental hygienists.
• Licensure is required for dental therapists in Saskatchewan, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.