I want to take dental hygiene in college but I heard theres lots of competition to get in. What kind of marks would I need to get in? Is there any dental hygiene students that can tell me how they did in highschool? thanks
2007-02-27 14:04:04 · 4 answers · asked by Randy 1 in Health ➔ Dental
It's a post grad degree, and it's incredibly competitive here in CA.
2007-02-27 14:32:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dental Hygiene IS NOT a post graduate program. (although it can be if you want to earn a Masters in dental hygiene but, not needed to practice.) You can either earn a Certificate in Dental Hygiene or a Bachelor's degree in Dental Hygiene. Depends on if you have the required classes for the Bachelor's degree. You can practice dental hygiene without a bachelors degree. All that is needed is graduation from an accredited program And you must pass written and clinical board tests. This gives you the letters you see at the end of of name. Ex: Jane Doe, RDH. The RDH is Registered Dental Hygienist.
The dental hygiene program itself (after pre-requisite classes needed to apply) can either be 2 or 3 years long. The one I did was 2 years long But, we did not take summers off. There was another I looked into that was 3 years long with summers off. You take dental hygiene at either a community college or a university. Depends on what you are looking for. The universities offer dental hygiene in their dental schools with exposure to dentists, specialists, dental students, etc. I had classes with dental students and we worked together in clinic. Most community colleges have a long wait list. I found that Universities had a much shorter wait list and with my experience none at all, actually had to choose between two universities. ( but, they consider your overall performance Before, you apply with your pre-requisite classes ) In other words, do good in all of your classes. I already had a bachelor's degree before I even considered hygiene. By no means do you need a degree to apply to hygiene school. Just the pre-requisites.
By the time I applied for hygiene, high school was really not considered for me because of my degree. When I was done I ended up with a second bachelor's degree. All I can say is do well in your classes. Take science & math classes. (bio, micro, chem.) Look into the college/university you want to go to for their dental hygiene pre-requisites. Not all are the same. Also go and visit the program director. They will be happy to help you with what classes to take and can show you around. You can meet others already in the program. Good Luck!
2007-02-27 23:05:59 · answer #2 · answered by coaster14 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
its a graduate program....you have to get a 4 year degree first. YOur acceptance to tograduate school will be based ib yur college grades
2007-02-27 22:07:57 · answer #3 · answered by xxxexsatcyxxx 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most likely you'll need nothing less than a 3.5 GPA.
2007-02-27 22:08:29 · answer #4 · answered by cartiphilus 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋