If you want to find out more about the different dental hygienist programs offered by the different schools across your state, the first port of call would be to start looking through the ADA’s (American Dental Hygienist’s Association) website. This site has an extensive list of schools in your area and all over the USA.
In general, obtaining an associate’s degree will allow you to begin your career as a dental hygienist in private dental practices across the country as long as it comes from an accredited dental school.
However, you can also pursue a bachelor’s or master’s degree to open more doors in your career path. It can give you better options for teaching, researching at the institutions or working in public health programs. There are 4 year bachelor’s degrees available at many colleges. These tend to give you better job prospects.
The associate’s degree takes two years to obtain by attending a community college or vocational school. These are standard if you’ll be working in a dental clinic. You need to have at least a high school diploma (or equivalent, such as GED) and sufficient college entrance exam scores. In some institutions, having studied additional courses may be a prerequisite – you will need to contact them to get further details.
The typical course outline will vary depending on the school and will have a fair mix of clinical laboratory as well as class time. Dental hygienist programs will include many areas of study, from subjects like Speech, English, Psychology, Chemistry, Biology, Sociology, Nutrition, Anatomy, Physiology, Radiography, Pharmacology, Periodontology, Clinical Dental Hygiene, Microbiology and Histology.
Students will be taught the the fundamental skills necessary from plaque removal on the patient’s teeth to the prevention of cavity causing deposits. Students will also learn how to perform assessments for oral health and the examination of mouth, tongue, teeth and gum abnormalities and spotting for other signs of oral disease. They will furthermore learn how to educate patients on proper dental care.
Combined Associate Degrees
Many schools also have combined associate degrees which is something you should seriously consider obtaining, since it will pay itself off in the long run. One option is to focus on Children’s oral health care whilst undertaking your dental hygiene program. This would give you a combined degree in both dental therapy and dental hygiene. This combination will really improve your job prospects once you graduate.
Requirements for Entry
Different schools will have different entrance requirements, but in general they tend to require you to be 18 years or older, with a diploma or GED, some high school core classes, a C average at minimum and acceptable college entrance exams. Having studied chemistry, math, biology and English during high school is also a requirement for entry. You will also have to have completed a year of college prior to entering most dental hygiene programs.
The completion of the program is required before you can get your first job. The BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) reports that there are 301 dental hygiene programs in the USA accredited by the Commission of Dental Accreditation.
What’s Next?
Upon completion of your course, you will need to obtain one more thing before you are legally allowed to practice – a licensure certification by the state. Getting a license in most states will involve taking a regional clinical and written exam as well as the National Board Dental Hygiene Exam. Depending on which state you plan to work in, you might be also required to pass a legal examination for dental hygiene practice. Upon completion of these exams, you will gain the title of an RDH (registered dental hygienist).
For further information on dental hygienist programs, remember to check out http://www.adha.org/.