Are you interested in assuming an integral role in oral health care? Are you ready to accept responsibility as one of the 21 regulated health professions in Ontario? If so, the Dental Hygiene program at Canadore College can help you achieve your goals.

In Ontario, dental hygienists are self-regulated health professionals. The Canadore Dental Hygiene program prepares students to assume the responsibilities of the professional Dental Hygienist as defined in the Regulated Health Professions Act and the Dental Hygiene Act. The program uses the dental hygiene process of care model, and promotes the practice of treating clients as partners in care. Students learn to apply the process of care model by working with clients from the community in the onsite Canadore College dental clinic and in field placements.

The Canadore College Dental Hygiene program is accredited with the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada. For more information about accreditation visit www.cda-adc.ca.

Graduates of this program are eligible to write the National Dental Hygiene Certification examination. For more information visit www.ndhcb.ca.
If you are considering entering this dynamic profession you will require the maturity to accept the responsibility and accountability of the regulations, standards, and ethics established by the dental hygiene regulatory authority, the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario. For more information about the regulatory authority visit www.cdho.org.

Ontario Secondary School Diploma at or above the general level or its equivalent.
Grade 12 English, senior level Mathematics, senior level Biology, and one of senior level Chemistry or Physics or equivalents are required.

Mature students:
Applicants aged 19 or over without the OSSD will be considered based on their results on the College’s Mature Student Test; however, students must possess the required subjects as indicated above. Equivalencies can be used if students do not possess appropriate secondary school courses using college, university or upgrading.

Graduates of the new Ontario Secondary School Curriculum must meet the following admission criteria:
Ontario Secondary School Diploma with courses from the College (C), University (U), University/College (M), or Open (O) preparation levels.
Required courses: Grade 12 Compulsory English (ENG 4C or ENG 4U), Grade 11 or 12 (M), (C) or (U) Mathematics (MCF 3M, MBF 3C, MCR 3U, MAP 4C, MCT 4C, MCB 4U, MGA 4U, MDM 4U), Grade 11 or 12 (C) or (U) Biology (SBI 3C, SBI 3U or SBI 4U) and one of the following two sciences: Grade 11 or 12 (C) or (U) Chemistry (SCH 3U, SCH 4U or SCH 4C) or Grade 11 or 12 (C ) or (U) Physics (SPH 3U, SPH 4U or SPH 4C).

Applicants to the Dental Hygiene program who provide an official transcript documenting the required courses as outlined above are then eligible to complete the mandatory admission tests.

The Dental Hygiene program is considered to be an oversubscribed program by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and as such applicants must be applicants must be Canadian Citizens and permanent residents of Ontario.

Note that although Canadore College does not require an official police check for this program, many placement agencies do require this background check. In addition, many professional regulatory authorities also require this information and may refuse to grant a certificate of registration to practice in Ontario based on the results of this information. For more information refer to the website for the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario.

A completed Canadore College Health Centre form including medical history, immunization record, Hepatitis B vaccination, and a two-step Tuberculosis (TB) test is required. The form is provided in the online registration handbook.

Students require Standard First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training, which must be completed to be eligible for field placements. All associated costs are the responsibility of the student.

Applicants who have completed the mandatory testing and achieved the minimum mark will then be ranked using the following required subjects: Grade 12 English, Senior Math, Senior Biology, and the better of Chemistry or Physics.

Due to ongoing program improvements and changes to legislation courses are subject to change without notice.

Note: Students are responsible for providing their own dental clients for the clinical component of the program.

Registration and the Regulatory Authority
Graduates of this program are eligible to write the Canadian National Dental Hygiene Board Examination. Graduates who pass the Board Exam are then eligible to apply for a certificate of registration from the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO). The certificate of registration is required to practice dental hygiene in Ontario.