Working as a registered dental hygienist has both its perks and its downsides. They say that once you’ve gone through your RDH program, completed your licensing requirements and registered with a dental association, you’re ready to enter the real world. Of course, that “real world” is full of surprises. Here, five dental hygienists tell us about their adventures in job hunting and working for the first time as fully licensed oral health care professionals.

Work is changing. It’s true for professionals in every sector. Businesses are hiring freelancers and consultants instead of full-time workers. People are leaving corporate jobs and starting their own small businesses. The Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences reports that 60 million Americans will be self-employed by 2020. In every sector, people are offering their talents and skills directly to businesses and individuals.

People outside of dentistry are often surprised to learn that many dental professionals don’t have full time, permanent jobs. But registered dental hygienists (RDHs) and dental assistants know the truth. Permanent positions in dental hygiene and dental assisting aren’t always available, and many dental professionals aren’t interested in staying in one place. Whether by necessity or by choice, RDHs have pieced together work schedules through dental temp agencies for decades.

They grew up in the 1990s and the 2000s, and sometimes they get a bad rap. But now that the United States’ millennials are adults, the working world is welcoming them with open arms. Businesses everywhere are seeing the benefits of working with—and getting to know—the newest generation of US workers.

Over sixty years have passed since Alan Turing first proposed what is now known as the Turing Test (a test of a computer’s ability to emulate a human in a conversation). A lot has happened in the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning since that time.

A career in dental hygiene puts you in a position to help others while working in a growing, lucrative field. Working as an oral healthcare professional is a great choice for many reasons, but it’s not for everyone. Before spending the money, time and effort to become a registered dental hygienist (RDH), it’s important to know as much as possible about the job. Here are a few things to consider before jumping into an RDH training program.

If you’re a dental hygienist, dental assistant or dental auxiliary professional, a dental staffing agency may seem like the obvious place to find work. It’s fraught with problems, though, and those problems can get in the way of your profits. Fortunately, there is an alternative. Cloud Dentistry is a cloud-based dental staffing platform that outshines any agency. Here’s why you should consider making the switch from the agency to the cloud.

Dental hygienist and dental assistant jobs are about more than just assisting the dentist; these professionals focus on helping people. That may be one reason these careers (and others, such as dental nursing) are so popular—those who work in dentistry are true helpers. Of course, to really make a difference, you need a job.

Dentistry is one of those in-demand fields that will always be important. People will always need help keeping their mouths healthy. As science tells us more about the importance of oral hygiene and cosmetic dentistry becomes more popular, the need for outstanding dental professionals will keep growing. Add to that an aging population that will need more dental care in the next few years. The outlook for dentistry is extremely bright.

This is part 1/2 of our miniseries on agile dental staffing

It seems like every industry has been making a shift toward agile employment. This shift is a response to economic conditions, a sharing-economy culture and the preferences of the newest generation of workers. Business owners know the importance of keeping up, and dentistry is no different. That’s why dental practice owners are looking to new tools to increase agility in their employment practices.