Reference check questions for dental hygienists

At a routine visit, the hygienist spends more time with the patient than anyone else in the office. Their periodontal charting becomes the record the dentist diagnoses from and an insurer may ask to see. Their medical history review is where a new medication or a dangerous blood pressure reading is caught. And the way they explain home care decides whether the patient’s gums are any better at the next visit.

A license tells you the candidate met the state’s requirements. It cannot tell you whether their probing depths matched what the dentist found, whether they ran on time, or whether patients trusted their recommendations. The dentist who did exams on the candidate’s patients can, and so can the offices where the candidate temped, if you ask them about specific patients and days rather than for a general impression.

Who to ask

• A dentist who did exams on the candidate’s patients, who could compare the candidate’s findings with their own.
• An office manager, for the hygiene schedule, cancellations, recall appointments and reliability.
• Another hygienist or an assistant who shared rooms with them, for infection control and teamwork.
• For a new graduate, clinical faculty from their dental hygiene program, who watched them treat patients in the program clinic.

Questions to ask, by competency

Choose the competencies that matter most for the position and two or three questions from each. Ask every reference the same set, and when an answer is a rating, ask for the example behind it.

Periodontal assessment

The dentist diagnoses from the hygienist’s findings. Probing depths, bleeding points and notes that do not match the mouth lead to missed disease, or to treatment the patient did not need.

1. How closely did the candidate’s periodontal charting match what you found at the exam? Can you recall a time it did not?
2. How did the candidate decide when to recommend scaling and root planing rather than a routine cleaning, and how did they explain it to the patient?
3. Where would you place the candidate’s instrumentation and thoroughness, compared with other hygienists who have worked in your office? (rating)

Medical history and patient safety

Hygienists treat patients who take blood thinners, live with heart conditions or have other histories that call for a change of plan. The review before treatment is where those risks are caught.

1. How carefully did the candidate review medical histories and medication changes before treatment? Can you think of a time it changed the plan for the visit?
2. What did the candidate do when a patient’s blood pressure reading was too high to treat that day?
3. If the candidate gave local anesthesia in your office, how carefully did they check the history and record the drug and amount?

Patient education and recommendations

A hygienist’s effect lasts only as long as the patient’s home care does, and patients often decide whether to accept recommended treatment from what the hygienist tells them.

1. How did the candidate talk with patients about gum disease and home care? Did you see it change what a patient did?
2. Have you seen the candidate push treatment a patient did not need, or hold back from recommending treatment they did need?

Schedule and teamwork

Hygiene schedules are tight, and a hygienist who runs behind backs up the dentist’s exams and every patient after them.

1. How did the candidate keep to a full hygiene schedule, and what gave when they ran behind?
2. How did the candidate work with the dentist on exams, and with assistants on room turnover and sterilization?
3. If the candidate temped for you, how quickly did they adapt to your charting, protocols and team?

Close the reference

End every reference the same way: ask whether they would hire or work with the candidate again and why, what support would help the candidate do their best work, and whether there is anything else you should know. The general question bank explains why the first of these matters most.

Checks a reference does not replace

• The license. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that every state requires dental hygienists to be licensed and that requirements vary by state. Confirm the license, its expiration date and any public action with the state dental board that issued it.
• Any separate permit the duties need. Where your state requires a permit or certificate for a duty such as giving local anesthesia, confirm the candidate holds it before you assign the duty.
• The federal exclusion list, if the practice bills Medicaid or another federal health care program. The HHS Office of Inspector General advises checking its List of Excluded Individuals/Entities before employing someone and periodically after that.

Warning signs to follow up

• A dentist reference mentions charting that did not match the exam, or calculus left behind, and cannot say it improved.
• A reference praises the candidate’s production numbers but cannot describe their patient care.
• Every reference is from a one-day temporary placement, so nobody saw the candidate’s work over time.
• The candidate often ran late enough to push back the dentist’s exams, and more than one reference describes it as a pattern.

One warning sign is a reason to ask another question, not a verdict. Reference check red flags covers how to check a concern fairly.

Questions to leave out

Ask only about the work. Before an offer, the EEOC’s guidance says an employer may not ask a third party, such as a former employer, any question it could not ask the candidate directly. Leave out health, medical leave, age, family plans and other protected characteristics. What to leave out has the full list.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the requirements that apply to your organization, and in your state, with your counsel or HR policy office.