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Dental Hygiene
Program at a glance
Learn the vital skills to become a self-regulated health professional. A large part of your training will include hands-on clinical practice. Students work with clients from the community on-site in Canadore's dental lab, where they offer free cleanings as they put their theory into practice. Graduates are in high demand, finding employment in dental offices, hospitals, and research institutes.
Note: Graduates of this program are eligible to write the National Dental Hygiene Certification examination. For more information visit www.ndhcb.ca.
Free Dental Services
Find out what services the Canadore College Dental Hygiene Clinic provides
Interprofessional Education at Canadore College
Program Prerequisites
OSSD or equivalent Grade 12 Compulsory English ENG4C or ENG4U. Gr 11 or 12. Gr 11 or 12 Math (M) (C) or (U), (MCF 3M, MBF 3C, MCR 3U, MAP 4C, MCT 4C, MCB 4U, MGA 4U MDM 4U). Biology (C) or (U), (SBI 3C, SBI 3U, SBI 4U) and one of the following two(2) sciences: Chemistry: Gr 11 or 12 (C) or (U), (SCH 3U,SCH 4U, SCH 4C); Physics: Gr 11 or 12 (C) or (U), (SPH 3U, SPH 4U, SPH 4C
Applicants must also take the Health Occupation Aptitude Exam. These results will be used for scoring applicants in conjunction with their pre-requisite course marks.
Other Requirements
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.
SELECTION PROCEDURE:
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.
Additional Requirements
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.
Semester One:
DHP100 Preclinical Theory I
DHP110 Preclinical Dental Hygiene Practice I
DHP111 Oral Anatomy
DHP112 Dental Hygiene Profession
DHP113 Head and Neck Anatomy
DHP118 Materials for Dental Hygiene Practice
DHP115 Microbiology for Dental Hygienists
STS130 Student Success for DH
IAP100 Anatomy and Physiology
Semester Two:
DHP120 Preclinical Dental Hygiene Practice II
DHP121 Preclinical Theory II
DHP125 Oral Histology and Embryology
DHP124 Principles of Radiography
DHP123 Oral Health Education
DHP126 Professional Communication and Dental Computer Software
HUM200 Group Dynamics
IAP120 Anatomy and Physiology
Semester Three:
DHP230 Dental Hygiene Clinical Practice I
DHP234 Advanced Radiography
DHP231 Pharmacology for the Dental Hygienist
DHP232 Dental Hygiene Assessment of the Medically compromised client
DHP237 Periodontics I
DHP238 Advanced Clinical Materials
DHP235 Dietary Counselling for the Dental Hygienist
PSY112 Human Development for Health Educators I
Semester Four:
DHP240 Dental Hygiene Clinical Practice II
DHP247 Periodontics II
DHP245 Ethics for the Dental Hygienist
DHP249 Oral Pathology
PSY222 Human Development for Health Educators II
DHP241 Oral Health Care in Canada
DHP246 Foundations of Community Practice
DHP243 Dental Hygiene Management of Diverse Populations
Semester Five:
DHP350 Dental Hygiene Clinical Practice III
DHP352 Orthodontics and other Specialties
DHP353 Evidence Based Decision Making
CAP110 Collaborating Across the Professions
DHP354 Interprofessional Project Planning
DHP355 Statistics and Introduction to Research and Health Informatics
Semester Six:
DHP360 Dental Hygiene Clinical Consolidation
HGE216 Cultural Diversity from a Health Care Perspective
DHP365 Professional Dental Hygiene Practice and Jurisprudence
DHP362 Dental Hygiene as a Business
DHP363 Health Policy and Advocacy for the Dental Hygienist
DHP361 Business for the Health Care Practitioner
- Clinic ownership
- Community health services
- Hospitals
- Collective living centers
- Research and teaching institutes
- Insurance companies
- Oral anatomy
- Principles of radiography
- Microbiology
- Periodontics
- Pharmacology
- Orthodontics for dental hygienists
Dental Hygiene Programs in Ontario’s Colleges
Q: What is required to become a dental hygienist?
Q: What credential is earned by completing the Dental Hygiene program?
Q: How long is the Dental Hygiene program offered by Ontario’s colleges?
Q: Why has the length of the Dental Hygiene program changed?
Q: Why has the curriculum of the Dental Hygiene program changed from what was offered in the past?
Q: What are the advantages of the new curriculum?
Q: What is required to become a dental hygienist?
A: Dental hygiene is a regulated health profession in Canada; therefore to become a dental hygienist, one must demonstrate one’s knowledge and abilities (competencies) in Dental Hygiene in order to be registered to practise. Specific competencies and standards of performance have been set by the regulating bodies as the “entry-to-practice standard”.
In order to earn registration to professionally practise as a dental hygienist, one must first of all successfully complete a Dental Hygiene program that is accredited by the Commission on Dental Hygiene Accreditation Canada (CDAC). Once a student has completed the program, s/he must then write the National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination that is administered three times a year by the National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination Board.
Q: What credential is earned by completing the Dental Hygiene program?
A: Completion of Dental Hygiene earns an Ontario College Diploma
Q: How long is the Dental Hygiene program offered by Ontario’s colleges?
A: Dental Hygiene is a 6-semester program. Each college determines how the six academic semesters are scheduled in relation to the calendar year at that college. Some are offering the program over three years with a full semester of vacation each year. Others have compressed the duration by shortening or removing periods of vacation to enable quicker completion of the program in less than three years. Check with an individual college to determine how it schedules the Dental Hygiene program.
Q: Why has the length of the Dental Hygiene program changed?
A: For students entering the program in September 2011 and thereafter, the Dental Hygiene program length is 6 semesters --or levels -- to accommodate additions and adjustments to the curriculum necessitated by changes to the Entry to Practice Competencies and Standards and the provincial College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario’s (CDHO’s) Standards of Practice (January 2011). Progression through the curriculum is scheduled according to stages or levels that align with traditional 2-semester academic years. The 6 semesters may be scheduled over 3 academic years with the traditional 1-semester vacation each year or they may be scheduled in a compressed version to enable completion in less than 3 years. Each college’s schedule of progression through the curriculum semesters or levels is determined locally.
Q: Why has the curriculum of the Dental Hygiene program changed from what was offered in the past?
A: The curriculum has been extended to accommodate revised learning outcomes and elements of performance that will prepare students to meet the revised (2010) national Entry to Practice Competencies and Standards and the provincial College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario’s (CDHO’s) Standards of Practice (January 2011).
Q: What are the advantages of the new curriculum?
A: The new curriculum will ensure community college programs maintain their accredited status (from 2013 on) with the Commission on Dental Hygiene Accreditation Canada (CDAC) and that graduates are prepared adequately for the National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination.
Q: If I complete the new program, will I be eligible to practise Dental Hygiene anywhere in Ontario? In Canada?
A: When you graduate from an accredited school and pass the National Dental Hygiene Certification exam, you are then able to become registered to practise in Ontario. Graduating from an accredited program and having the NDCHBE will be recognized by other jurisdictions in Canada for purposes of registration.
Q: If I decide to move to another college in Ontario part way through my program, will my credits be recognized by the other college? By colleges in other provinces in Canada?
A: Upon successful completion of each 2-semester stage (or segment) of the program, (traditionally, each 2-semester stage was identified as year 1, year 2 or year 3 of a program), it is anticipated that you will have met the learning outcomes of that stage of the program at other Ontario community colleges offering Dental Hygiene and you may be able to transfer directly into the next stage (year) if the receiving college has space for enrolment at the stage a transfer student would be seeking
Note: Upon application for transfer with credit for previous learning from a Dental Hygiene program at another Ontario college, the destination college will assess the applicant’s credits on a case-by-case basis. Enrolment capacity will also be a determining factor in considering applications for transfer.
Note: The scheduling within a calendar year of the corresponding stage (year) in another college may vary from the annual scheduling in your college of origin. It is important to check compatibility of the annual scheduling of the Dental Hygiene semesters if you are contemplating application for a transfer to another college.
In the case of transfer to a Dental Hygiene program offered by a college in another province, that destination college will assess credits on a case-by-case basis.
Q: Will Dental Hygienists who are currently registered have to re-qualify under the new Competencies and Standards of Practice?
A: No, they will be able to continue practising. Some community colleges may offer courses through part-time study that cover portions of the revised curriculum that would be relevant for practising Dental Hygienists.
