About every six months, most people get reacquainted with this person, the dental hygienist in their dentist's office.

More information American Dental Hygenists' Association 211 E. Chicago Ave. Suite 1814 Chicago, Ill. 60611 (800) 735-5121 Monroe Community College Department of Dental Hygiene 1000 East Henrietta Road Rochester, NY 14623 (716) 292-5000 ext. 5240

Hygienist's handle duties such as taking patient health histories, performing oral cancer and blood pressure screenings, cleaning teeth, taking and processing x-rays, and even placing and removing temporary fillings.

They also provide patients with information and guidelines for proper oral health and administer preventative treatment, such as flouride.

More and more dental hygienists are handling tasks previously done by a dentist, allowing dentists to concentrate on higher-profit procedures such as root canals and more complex fillings.

Dayanara Trevino, of the American Dental Hygienists' Association, says "more hygienists are working in areas such as research, administration, consumer advocacy and consulting as well.''

According to the ADHA, licensure is granted on a state-by-state basis. In nearly every state a prospective hygienist must graduate from an accredited dental hygiene program and pass both the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination and a regional or state clinical board exam.

Dental hygiene college programs are a minimum of two years, the associate's degree being most common, but some are four years or more. Trevino says bachelor's or master's level programs are offered for those interested in education, research or administration. Statistics from the ADA show that approximately 97 percent of students in dental hygiene programs for the 1996-97 school year were women.

It is one of the fastest growing careers, with jobs in the field expected to grow between 20 and 30 percent in the next several years as many dental hygienists handle more duties formerly done by the dentists.

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, more than half of all hygienists worked less than 35 hours per week in 1996. A great number of dental hygienists work in private dental offices, but also can be found in hospitals, clinics and community health agencies.

A readership survey by RDH magazine found the national average yearly salary for full-time dental hygienists was $34,076 last year. The American Dental Association reported the average hourly wage to be $25.20.