There are many roles that may be attributed to a dental hygienist: a clinician, an oral health advocate, an educator, a researcher, and administrative positions. However, an all-encompassing title for a dental hygienist should be a primary care provider.

What is a primary care provider? What does a primary care provider do? And what role does a dental hygienist play as a primary heath provider? 

To answer these questions, it is pertinent to first know the definition of primary health. Primary health involves direct provision of health services, as well as facilitating access to other aspects of the health care system, including referrals and specialists. (1) Primary health services may include: prevention and treatment of common diseases and injuries, basic and emergency services, referrals to and coordination with other levels of care (such as hospitals and specialist care), primary mental health care, palliative and end-of-life care, health promotion, healthy child development, primary maternity care, and rehabilitation services. (1) It is important to remember that primary health involves all aspects of health. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize the social determinants of health: income and social status, social support networks, education and literacy, employment/working conditions, social environments, physical environments, personal health practices and coping skills, healthy child development, biology and genetic endowment, health services, gender, and culture. (2) There are fourteen competencies that are expected of the graduates of the UBC Dental Hygiene Degree Program. (3) Professionalism, communication, coordination, leadership, and collaboration support a dental hygienist in his or her ability to work with clients, other hygienists, as well as other health professionals. (3) Health promotion, advocacy, oral health education, oral disease prevention, and clinical therapy are actions dental hygienists take toward improving oral health of individuals and populations. (3) Critical thinking, policy use, research use, and scientific investigation are important tools for hygienists to keep up to date with the current evidence based knowledge to practice safely and effectively. (3)

Recognizing these competencies is critical, as dental hygienists provide services to clients on an individual basis as well as on a population basis, under this umbrella of primary care. The role of a dental hygienist is multi-faceted; it involves the preventative and therapeutic treatment of teeth and oral tissues in a clinical setting, but also involves the treatment of the client as a whole. The dental hygienist must consider the client’s social determinants of health and its effect on the client, whether it is an individual or a population. In addition, all of the above competencies must be utilized in order to facilitate optimal care for clients, and for the dental hygienist to truly fulfill the role as a primary care practitioner.

1. Health Canada [Internet]. Health Canada; 2012 [cited 2013 Nov 25]. Available from: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/prim/about-apropos-eng.php#a1

2. Public Health Agency of Canada [Internet]. Public Health Agency of Canada; 2011 [cited 2013 Nov 25]. Available from: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ph-sp/determinants/#determinants

3. UBC Dentistry. UBC Dental Hygiene Degree Program Competencies Document. 2011 August 9 [cited 2013 Nov 25]. Available from: https://secure.dentistry.ubc.ca/intranet/academicprograms/hygiene/DentalHygieneCompetenciesDocument.pdf