Careers
Apply to the Dental Hygiene Program at Pierce College
If you are interested in applying to the Dental Hygiene program at Pierce College, you must complete an admissions test and a separate application process in addition to your Pierce College application. Our program uses the uses the Dental Hygiene Centralized Application System (DHCAS) and the Admissions Test for Dental Hygiene (ATDH). Learn more about the Dental Hygiene application process.
Entry-Level Dental Hygiene Degree and Licensure
Not yet a dental hygienist? Our entry-level dental hygiene program is for you!
Our program is nationally recognized for consistently graduating compassionate, skilled and intellectually strong dental hygienists. Our faculty strive for a friendly academic environment that supports and encourages students to perform their best. We balance the curriculum to help students develop the skills needed to be competent, successful and safe.
Our students learn the practice of dental hygiene in our Dental Hygiene Clinic and classrooms under the close supervision of the BASDH faculty. BASDH students and their patients benefit from the most current and best dental hygiene instruction and technologies, including electronic health records with digital radiography and computer-assisted anesthesia.
Bridge BASDH Degree
Already a dental hygienist? Are you looking to advance your education and pursue a bachelor degree in dental hygiene? Our Bridge BASDH Program is for you!
The Bridge BASDH program is for licensed dental hygienists who earned their dental hygiene degree/certificate in Washington State in 1973 or after from a college that is/was accredited by the local accrediting Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities. The Bridge BASDH is fully online and does not require a clinical component other than teaching observations. Access to a dental hygiene, dental assisting or dental school will be required.
To learn more about this opportunity, please see the Bridge BASDH page.
Course Maps
About the Program
We offer free informational sessions twice a year in summer and fall quarters. Check the Information Sessions page for announcements of upcoming information sessions.
Our Mission
The Pierce College Dental Hygiene Program prepares learners for the privilege and responsibility to practice in the profession of Dental Hygiene. This preparation focuses on essential competencies for the successful practice of the profession, inspires life-long learning, and promotes service to the community.
Our Program Goals and Outcomes
- Students will successfully meet the essential competencies and student outcomes as outlined in the Pierce College Dental Hygiene Student Handbook titled Competencies for Dental Hygiene, the Pierce College Course Outcomes and syllabi objectives.
- Graduates will be eligible for didactic and clinical dental hygiene licensing examinations. *Notice of State Licensure Eligibility Outside of WA
- Graduates will be prepared to provide quality and evidence-based, patient-centered dental hygiene services.
- Graduates will be prepared to successfully demonstrate the Five Pierce College Core Abilities.
- Using current Standards of Care, clients/consumers will be satisfied with rendered dental hygiene healthcare services.
- Faculty will regularly review curriculum and use evidence-based research as a basis for curricular changes/revisions.
- Faculty will commit to professional development to enhance dental hygiene academic quality, to promote and foster health, and to provide a comprehensive educational environment for successful student learning.
- Faculty, staff, and students will practice collaboratively, collegially, and professionally while interacting with affiliates, healthcare professionals, healthcare teams, and community constituents and organizations.
- The curriculum will provide an academic basis which facilitates articulation with other educational programs and from which graduates may progress toward additional academic advancement.
Get Started
Apply to the Program
See the Is Dental Hygiene for Me? page to learn more about how to get started with the Dental Hygiene program.
To schedule a Pierce College tour or attend a Getting Started at Pierce College session, see the Campus Visits page.