What does it take to become a dental hygienist? ?
Friday, April 30th, 2010 at
3:22 pm
I am a junior in high school and i keep obsessing at what i want to do for the future as my career. I was also looking into being a dentist but i also want to know what does it take to become a dental hygienist? what does it take to become one? How much school is it? I like science A lot but im not a good math student. Which is better a dentist or a dental hygienist? also is there anything i should know like what do i have to do after college and stuff?
Please help me!!!
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Filed under: Continuing Dental Education Courses
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It takes 2, 3 or 4 years to be a DH. Depending on which college you go to. Community colleges teach it 2 years and a few four year colleges have a 3 year and a 4 year program. You get an AS or a BS in hygiene. The only difference is that to work for the government you have to have a BS. But it makes much more sense to get an AS (2 years).
First go to http://www.ada.org and look up all the colleges in your state that have DH program. Then look at the college’s websites and read about what you need to get in. There are many requirements to get in. You cant just apply nowadays, you have to have many things done before you can apply. It is very hard to get into a program.
Also you want to make sure there are enough jobs in your state. Im in MA and I just graduated from DH program and I cant find a job right now. There are too many hygienists and not enough jobs in MA right now.
So look online and see how many job openings there are right now.
Nursing is also a good profession and more jobs available all over the US. I kind of wish I had just done the nursing program instead because I would be working fulltime right now if I had.