Where in Texas Can I Enroll in a Dental Hygienist Program?

Becoming a dental hygienist is a popular career choice that requires completing relevant programs at higher education institutions. In this article, some of the school options for dental hygienist students in Houston to help you decide where you might want to study in the area.

What You Need to Know

Both 2-year and 4-year public schools in Texas offer training options for aspiring dental hygienists. You could earn an associate's degree that would prepare you for a dental hygiene career. This program would require you to take general education courses along with your dental hygienist training, and it would take two years to complete. You could also consider enrolling in a certificate program or a bachelor's degree program. Both require preliminary general education classes and take about four years total to complete.

Dental Hygiene Certificate Programs in Texas

University of Texas Health Sciences Center (UT Health) at Houston

On UT Health's Houston campus, the School of Dentistry administers both a dental hygiene certificate and degree program. You must complete 34 credit hours of college classes, including physiology, computer science, nutrition, sociology and psychology before you apply to the certificate program. Once accepted, you take 17 credit hours a semester and study topics like dental radiology, head anatomy, oral pathology and dental emergencies. Clinical practice courses are included in the required curriculum.

• Program Name: Dental hygiene certificate
• Program Length: 2 years after prerequisites are met
• Tuition & Fees: $10,331 per year in-state, $33,977 per year out-of-state (2018-2019)
• Prerequisites: 34 credits of specific English, general science and social science courses, 2.5 GPA in those courses
• Requirements: Health Science Reasoning Test (beginning Fall 2014)
• School Type: 4-year, public; 5,335 students (717 undergraduate)

Dental Hygiene Associate Degrees in Texas

Amarillo College

Located at the 42-acre West campus of Amarillo College, the dental hygiene associate degree program prepares you to take state exams in the field after graduation. A total of 72 credit hours are needed to earn the degree. In the program, you study periodontology, orofacial anatomy, pharmacology and preventative dental care. The curriculum also includes 4 hands-on work experience courses.

• Program Name: Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene
• Program Length: 2 years
• Tuition & Fees: $2,136 per year in-district, $3,168 per year in-state, $4,704 per year out-of-state (2018-2019)
• Requirements: Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) and ACCUPLACER or ACT/SAT/TAKS scores, 18 years old at program completion, immunizations, 2 dental office observations, CPR certification, criminal background check
• School Type: 2-year, public; 9,854 students (all undergraduate)

El Paso Community College

El Paso Community College offers a dental hygiene program leading to an Associate of Applied Science degree. Along with traditional classroom courses, the program also includes clinical education. Classes in the program include diet and nutrition, human development, medical terminology and dental hygiene care. You may also gain actual experience providing patients with supervised dental services at the Rio Grande Border Health Clinic.

• Program Name: Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene
• Program Length: 2 years
• Tuition & Fees: $3,010 per year in-state, $4,858 per year out-of-state (2018-2019)
• Requirements: Placement assessment test, professional level CPR certification, physical exam, TB test, immunizations
• School Type: 2-year, public; 28,819 students (all undergraduate)

Dental Hygienist Bachelor's Degrees in Texas

Texas A&M Health Science Center

Texas A&M Health Science Center in Dallas is home to the Baylor College of Dentistry and the Caruth School of Dental Hygiene. The bachelor's degree in dental hygiene is the only one of its kind in North Dallas offered at a dental school. While pursing the degree, you attend classes that focus on oral radiology, ethics, pediatric dentistry, local anesthesia and biomedical sciences. Advanced clinical courses in the program require you to perform fluoride treatments, apply sealants and provide other dental care to patients in addition to participating in a mock board exam.

• Program Name: Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene
• Program Length: 2 years after prerequisites are met
• Tuition & Fees: $11,870 per year in-state, $37,495 per year out-of-state (2018-2019 for parent institution Texas A&M University)
• Prerequisites: 60 credits of general college coursework
• Requirements: Texas Success Initiative (TSI), ACT, SAT or equivalent exams, observation of a dental hygienist
• School Type: 4-year, public; 68,679 students at parent institution (53,743 undergraduate)

University of Texas Health Sciences Center (UT Health) at Houston

The bachelor's degree dental hygiene program at UT Health at Houston includes advanced clinical practice opportunities and classes covering dental practice management, community health, pharmacology and dental materials. You must first complete 62 credit hours of general education classes before you can qualify for admittance. Acceptance is highly competitive, and only 40 students are admitted into the certificate and bachelor's program in the fall of each school year.

• Program Name: Bachelor's degree in dental hygiene
• Program Length: 2 years after prerequisites are met
• Tuition & Fees: $10,331 per year in-state, $33,977 per year out-of-state (2018-2019)
• Prerequisites: 62 credits of specific English, general and social science courses, 2.5 GPA
• Requirements: Health Science Reasoning Test (beginning Fall 2014)
• School Type: 4-year, public; 5,335 students (717 undergraduate)

Overall, for associate's degree programs in dental hygiene in Houston you may want to consider enrolling at Amarillo College or El Paso Community College, while a bachelor's program in the field is offered at Texas A&M Health Science Center and both a bachelor's degree program and a certificate program are offered by the University of Texas Health Sciences Center.