A hygiene assistant or dental hygienist works in a dental office, working one-on-one with a patient to prep them for dental procedures. The job requires excellent interpersonal skills to help ease the anxiety that many feel when visiting the dentist. As a hygiene assistant, your duties include cleaning patients’ teeth before seeing one of the dentists and teaching them techniques to better clean them at home. The minimum qualifications for this career are an associate degree and licensure from your state’s Board of Dental Examiners. You can also get certification from the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) to better your chances of obtaining employment.