Home Dental Hygienist Resume template
Dental Hygienist resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what dental hygienists actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most dental hygienists should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Registered Dental Hygienist with experience in private and community dental settings. Skilled in preventive care, patient assessment, and oral health education. Committed to delivering gentle, evidence-based treatment that supports long-term oral health.
Key skills
- Patient care and support
- Clinical assessment and treatment
- Infection control and hygiene
- Health education and advice
- Scaling and root planning
- Fluoride application and sealants
- Dental radiography
- Dentally
- Cliniko
- Dentrix
- Planmeca Romexis
- Intraoral scanner
- Attention to detail
- Empathy and interpersonal care
Experience: example bullet points
- Performed scaling, root planning, and polishing for up to 12 patients daily, maintaining a calm and efficient chairside manner.
- Conducted comprehensive oral assessments and took radiographs using Planmeca Romexis, identifying early signs of decay and gum disease.
- Applied fluoride treatments and fissure sealants, helping to prevent invasive restorative work in a community clinic setting.
- Educated patients on brushing, flossing, and dietary choices, leading to improved plaque control at recall visits.
- Maintained strict infection control protocols, ensuring compliance with AHPRA and Dental Board of Australia standards.
Education
Diploma of Dental Hygiene or Bachelor of Oral Health, leading to registration with the Dental Board of Australia (AHPRA).
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- AHPRA
- Dental Board of Australia
- Infection control
- Radiography
- Scaling and root planning
- Fluoride application
- Sealants
- Intraoral scanning
- Dentally
- Cliniko
- Dentrix
- Planmeca Romexis
- Patient education
- Oral health assessment
- Preventive care
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.