Dental Hygienists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 27% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 73% of the time, stays with people.
Administer oral hygiene care to patients. Assess patient oral hygiene problems or needs and maintain health records. Advise patients on oral health maintenance and disease prevention. May provide advanced care such as providing fluoride treatment or administering topical anesthesia.
222,740 people do this job in the US. $98,100 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on7 h
- A person checks AI's work4 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people29 h
Dental Hygienists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 7 hours, 4 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 29 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Run the recall system (about 7 h); Chart decay and disease (about 2 h, a person checks); Take and review medical histories (about 2 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 0%
- 27%
- 0%
- 16%
- 57%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 27% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 3%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 27%. Today's estimate: 27%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 364th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 16 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0069% to 0.0097% (released February and March 2025); 0.017% to 0.013% (August 2025 to February 2026); none to 0.011% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0069% | 569 of 708 | 1 of 16 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0097% | 511 of 703 | 1 of 16 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.017% | 387 of 655 | 1 of 16 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.012% | 448 of 672 | 1 of 16 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.013% | 451 of 677 | 1 of 16 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 16 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 364 of 447 | 1 of 16 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 83% of this job's working time as physical work. For 6% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 6% in a purpose-built cell. 0.06 of 3, the 563rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 17%
- No robot shown 76%
- In a purpose-built cell 6%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
73% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Scale and clean teeth, the hands-on work, 20%
- Maintain and sterilize instruments, the hands-on work, 12%
- Give oral health education and care, the in-person work, 9%
- Probe for gum disease, the hands-on work, 8%
- Attend continuing education, the in-person work, 6%
- Take dental x-rays, the hands-on work, 5%
What becomes checking the machine
9% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 18% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Chart decay and disease, severe if wrong, 5%
- Take and review medical histories, severe if wrong, 4%
What to learn
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- The hands-on craft. About 57% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
- Running AI inside the business systems. About 27% of the time is work inside business systems, which a model can do only once it is connected: knowing the systems well enough to set that up and watch it.
- The conversations. About 16% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 16 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.Scaling at the chair.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 20% | 29 min17 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Maintain patient recall system.Entries and reminders in the system.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 18% | 50 min25 min to 1.3 h | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments.By hand.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Steelco ATS / M-ATS Self-Driving Robot Transfer System and R-APPIT packing robot (SteelcoBelimed) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 29 min17 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Provide clinical services or health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients or the general public.Teaching the patient at the chair, with some care by hand.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | In person 70%, hands-on 30% | Stays with people |
| Record and review patient medical histories.Asking the patient and entering the answers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 8% | 13 min4 min to 21 min | Systems 50%, in person 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.Probing at the chair.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 13 min4 min to 17 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills.Courses only the hygienist can do for themselves.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 6% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Expose and develop x-ray film.Positioning and exposing at the chair.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 13 min8 min to 17 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.Entries in the chart for the dentist.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 10 min4 min to 15 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.By hand and eye at the chair.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 7 min3 min to 10 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Apply fluorides or other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay.Painting fluoride on the teeth.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 7 min4 min to 10 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Administer local anesthetic agents.Injection at the chair.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 1.0% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Dental Hygienists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 27% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 27% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Dental Hygienists come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Run the recall system (100% of the task's time now); Chart decay and disease (100% of the task's time now); and Take and review medical histories (50% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Dental Hygienists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Scale and clean teeth; Maintain and sterilize instruments; and Give oral health education and care. Together such tasks are about 69% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Dental Hygienists learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are judgment where errors are severe; the hands-on craft; and signing off under your license. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 73% of the working time stays with people, 9% becomes checking a model's work and 18% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Dental Hygienists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks, the 364th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 16 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Dental Hygienists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 83% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 6% of the working time. Its index is 0.06 of 3. One example: Steelco ATS / M-ATS Self-Driving Robot Transfer System and R-APPIT packing robot for "maintain and sterilize instruments". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 16 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
The full personal report is $19, to print or save as a PDF: every task with when it comes within reach, which ones your description names, the parts of your description the task list does not cover, what stays with you, what becomes checking the machine and what to learn.