The dental hygiene care means all integrated preventive and treatment services administered to a patient by a dental hygienist. It is following dental care, which refers to the services performed by the dentist. These educational and clinical services must be followed by patient´s home dental care. There can be only success if the patient does understand the need for cooperation in daily brushing procedures, proper diet, and regular appointments.

Dental hygiene has been studied and the scope of practice has developed from Dr. Fones´ original concept. Alfred Fones was an American dentist. He is probably the founder of the profession of dental hygiene, starting in 1906. He trained his chairside assistant, his cousin, to clean teeth and do other preventive treatments on children. Irene M. Newman was the world´s first dental hygienist, she received the first license as a dental hygienist and she became the first president of the Connecticut Dental Hygienists Association. In 1913. Fones established the first school of dental hygiene. For teaching aids, Fones took extracted teeth from his practice, made a modelling compound with calculus and stains. Despite the first classes were held in garage behind Fones´ office, the school had university teachers from Harvard, professors from Yale, and local dentists were among instructors. In 1915, 27 students graduated from the first class. They started to work in school district and played a major part in reducing dental caries in students by 75 percent.

The public has become increasingly aware of the need for dental hygiene care and the importance of oral health instruction.

Performance of a dental hygienist job is defined according to Law No. 96/2004 Sb. The dental hygienist must fill the goals in service to the patient and in cooperation with the dentist create dental hygiene care programme.

Professional organization represents the views of a profession relevant to education, practice, and research in that profession. It has a great effect on dental hygiene because it addresses issues of personal growth, education, access to care, quality assurance, manpower, legislation and cooperation with other professionals.

Asociace dentálních hygienistek České republiky (ADH), Dental Hygienists Association in the Czech Republic, was found on 23rd May, 2000. A founder and the first president of ADH was Czech-American Alice B. Laurent, an American dental hygienist who moved to the Czech Republic. She has been working for this association for 4 years. In that time ADH became a member of European Dental Hygienists Federation (EDHF). A dental hygienist can find this association on 9/ 1450 Šimáčkova in Prague 7, or contact it on email: info@asociace.cz.

Accreditation is a formal, voluntary nongovernmental process. A dental hygienist, student of dental hygiene or members of educational process pay annual fee and gain some benefits to their job (economic counselling, legal counselling, expert counselling, free magazines about dental hygiene, lower costs of some products or entrance fee, etc.). They needn´t be registered if they work as an employee of the dentist.

Although dental hygienists have not been required to complete examinations for practice within a specialty, some dental hygienists have learned how to practice in specialty through private study, special courses, special conferences, and personal experience.

Dental hygienists are needed in specialty areas: