How long does it take to become a Dental Hygienist?

How long does it take to become a dental hygienist?

• Answer:

  It can take two years or less to become a dental hygienist now a days. Just look for local colleges in your area that offer associate's or certificate then you have a jump start to your career. That's not exactly true. All accredited dental hygiene programs are AT LEAST 2 years, some are 3 years. However, there is at least 1 year of pre-requisites needed before you can enter. So, realistically if you decided today that you wanted to be a dental hygienist and you signed up for pre-requisites tomorrow, you COULD be a RDH in 3 years. that's if you were accepted to the program first try and passed all your board exams first try. Most dental hygiene programs are competative to get into (especially on the west coast). Don't confuse Dental hygiene with Dental assisting. Dental assisting school can be completed in anywhere from 9 months to 2 years, but that is a totally different career path. The 2 are often mistaken for eachother, but there is a pretty big difference in pay, liability and responsibilities between the 2 jobs. Your average dental patient just lumps all the "dental gals" together and we're used to it, so no offense taken. But if you're researching career options make no mistake that the 2 terms are NOT interchangeable. It's kind of like an RN and a CNA.....similar but VERY different.   Sorry but that's also incorrect. Finishing up my junior year in High School, I will be enrolling in a dental assisting school next year. I will be there from 1-5 Mon-Thurs and assuming I pass all five exams, I will be licensed. The range of time for schooling varies.