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Find My Dental Career School!
Dental Licensing
Various degrees in dental medicine can lead to becoming a Dentist (DDH) or
Dental Hygienist/Dental Assistant. Commonly recognized dental degrees include
Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) and Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD). Bachelor
degrees can also lead to a dental profession.
Licensure for dentists is regulated by the State Board of Dental Examiners.
The state boards come together nationally through the American Association of
Dental Examiners. Helping set standards is the American Dental Association (ADA).
Every state has similar strict requirements for someone to become a dentist.
Some requirements include graduation from an ADA accredited dental school and
a series of written exams.
Earning a Dental Hygiene Education
A dental hygienist is a licensed preventive oral health professional who provides educational, clinical,
and therapeutic services to the public. In order to become prepared to perform these services,
the dental hygienist requires a thorough educational background.
Admission requirements and prerequisites vary from institution to institution, but generally include
many of the following:
High school diploma or GED
18 year age minimum
High school courses in mathematics, chemistry, biology, English
Minimum “C” average in high school
College entrance test scores
Depending on the institution, prerequisite courses in chemistry, English, speech, psychology and sociology
Also depending on the institution, a personal interview, dexterity test, and/or essay
Dental hygiene education is a minimum of 2 years, but can be as long as 4 years.
2 year programs offer a certificate or associate degree
4 year programs offer a baccalaureate degree
Master’s level programs are offered for those interested in education, research, or administration
Most accredited dental hygiene programs require an average of 1,948 clock hours of curriculum. These include
585 clock hours of supervised clinical dental hygiene instruction.
General education courses including English, speech, psychology and sociology
basic science courses including general chemistry, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, nutrition, and pharmacology
dental science courses including dental anatomy, head and neck anatomy, oral embryology and histology, oral pathology, radiography, periodontology, pain control and dental materials
dental hygiene science courses including oral health education and preventive counseling, patient management, clinical dental hygiene, community dental health, medical and dental emergencies including basic life support, and legal and ethical aspects of dental hygiene practice
supervised instruction in pre-clinical and clinical practice
Find My Dental Hygienist Career College!
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