What does a dental assistant vs hygienist do?

Diff: Hygienest=more schooling. Work more on their own. They do the cleanings, work on your gums, given instructions for care, apply fluoride, have a license and get more $. Assistant is mostly helping providers (dentist/hygienest) getting supplies, seating patients, charting, instructions, impressions, much more...Less $, less school/training.

Totally different: Dental assistants help the dentist. They set up the rooms, clean up, help during the procedures, place the fillings, do front office stuff, call patients, and basically help to keep the flow and day to day business and schedule moving. A dental hygienist cleans teeth, as well as helping out with some of the assistants' job. The hygienist mainly focuses on cleaning teeth.

Job description: A dental assistant may or may not attend a special program to learn how to assist a dentist in providing treatment. A dental hygienist must attend additional training to be qualified to clean teeth and make assessments whether a patient requires additional diagnosis and treatment by a dentist beyond cleaning.