Dental Hygiene Education Requirements

Dental hygienists receive two-to-four years of training, are licensed professionals, and require continuing education credits for licensure renewal. 

An accredited dental hygiene program provides an average of 1,948 hours of curriculum, including 585 hours of supervised clinical instruction:

• General education courses (speech, psychology, sociology)
  
• Basic science courses (chemistry, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, nutrition, pharmacology)
  
• Dental science courses (dental anatomy, head and neck anatomy, oral embryology & histology, oral pathology, radiography, periodontology, pain control, dental materials)
  
• Dental hygiene science courses (oral health education & preventive counseling, patient management, clinical dental  hygiene, community dental health, medical & dental emergencies including basic life support, legal & ethical aspects of dental hygiene practice)
  
• Supervised instruction in pre-clinical and clinical practice