Do dental hygienists order things like toothpaste and other equipment?
Yes, the hygienist order what they need for their prophy patients, the office orders what they need and the assistants usually order their dental materials. In most offices it is the way I’ve described, although every office is different, I know of several others that have one hygienist that does all of the ordering for the hygienist and the assistants. This is done by asking the assistants what they are out of or what do they need. In all of the offices I know of, the front office always takes care of their own since their supplies are on a totally different spectrum from what the hygienist and assistants needs are. As for the responder who is a certified assistant with x ray experience/training that could save her doctor a lot. It doesn’t matter what training or how much experience you may have to be given the authority to do the ordering. Your doctor is going to give that authority to the person that he trust, who is familiar with the materials he likes to use and who knows what it
