Purpose : This study examines dental hygienists’ emotional labor, job satisfaction, and turnover intention and defines how this emotional labor affects job satisfaction and turnover intention in hospitals. Methods : Among the dental hygienists currently working for the dental department in hospitals and clinics located in Busan, South Korea, 216 dental hygienists who understood the purpose of this research and agreed to participate were instructed to answer a self-administered questionnaire from April 1 to April 30, 2019. A statistical analysis was subsequently conducted on the responses using the SPSS Win 23.0 program. Results : Emotional labor and job satisfaction showed a negative relationship; thus, as emotional labor was low, job satisfaction was high. Moreover, emotional labor and turnover intention were found to be positively correlated, while job satisfaction and turnover intention were shown to be negatively related (p<0.01). Conclusion : The present study demonstrated that the emotional labor of dental hygienists affects job satisfaction and turnover intention. The results suggests that through systematic organization and human resource management, hospitals should design and implement in practice programs to increase dental hygienists’ job satisfaction. In addition, these hospitals should secure compensation systems that are motivating enough to enhance the severe emotional labor of dental hygienists to decrease turnover intention. As another method to lower turnover intention, dental hygienists may attempt to resolve emotional disharmony with their own problem-solving methods; however, it is necessary to develop and support organizational culture for the improvement of their working environment.