Learn about the types of people who become dental hygienists. This page goes into detail about the employment, gender, and ethnic ratios of the workplace.
Employment Type Mix, 2024
64% of dental hygienists work in full-time roles while 36% work part-time.
Gender Mix By Career Interest, 2024
This graph shows the distribution of females and males that are interested in becoming a dental hygienist. Four or five star ratings on CareerExplorer indicate interest.
More women than men are interested in becoming dental hygienists at a ratio of 1.14 to 1.
Actual Gender Mix, 2024
96% of dental hygienists are female and 4% are male.
Gender Bias, 2024
This is one of the most compelling statistics we collect. Gender bias shows the difference between gender interest in being a dental hygienist and the actual gender mix of people in the career.
If there is a significant difference, then it means there is a gender imbalance between those interested in becoming a dental hygienist and those who end up becoming one.
In this case there are significantly more men interested in becoming a dental hygienist than those actually working as one. It is hard to pinpoint the exact reasons why, but there are likely various forces at play, from changing interests over time to societal norms and biases.
Ethnic Mix, 2019
The largest ethnic group of dental hygienists are White, making up 70% of the population. The next highest segments are Other and Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish, making up 7% and 7% respectively.