The purpose of this study was to examine what factors determined the image of dental hygienists. The subjects in this study were 396 patients and caregivers who visited 14 dental institutes in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. After a survey was conducted, the following findings were given: 1. As for what factors had a decisive impact on the image of dental hygienists, friendliness(4.53) ranked first. 2. The image of dental hygienists was decided by five different kinds of factors, which included institutional, subjective, work-related, formal and media factors. Those factors made a 57.827% prediction of the image of dental hygienists. 3. The relationship of their general characteristics to the decisive factors of dental hygienist image was as follows: 1) By age(pE0.01), marital status(pE0.01), education(pE0.01), occupation(pE0.001), were under the significantly different influence of the formal factor(pE0.01). 2) As to the type of dental institutes they visited, the subjective factor exercised a significantly different influence on the groups(pE0.01). 3) Regarding the frequency of visiting dental institutes, the institutional and work-related factors had a significantly different impact on the groups(pE0.05). 4) Concerning the experience of the caregivers, the work-related factor exercised a significantly different influence on the groups(pE0.05). 5) As to connections between their general characteristics and the decisive factors of dental hygienist image in different areas, the subjective factor mostly had the strongest impact, and the formal factor was least influential.