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Dental Hygiene Major

Dental Hygiene

2,782 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
114 Master's Degrees Annually
#118 in Popularity

Types of Degrees Dental Hygiene Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many dental hygiene/hygienist graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Associate Degree 5,512
Bachelor’s Degree 2,388
Basic Certificate 327
Master’s Degree 89
Undergraduate Certificate 67
Graduate Certificate 2

What Dental Hygiene Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to dental hygiene and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Dental Hygiene Majors

Dental Hygiene majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

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  • Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Skills for Dental Hygiene Majors

When studying dental hygiene, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

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  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.

Abilities for Dental Hygiene Majors

As a dental hygiene major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Dental Hygiene Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with dental hygiene:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Dental Hygienists 19.7% $74,820
Health Specialties Professors 25.9% $97,370

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Dental Hygiene?

2,388 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
95% Percent Women
34% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This major is dominated by women with about 95% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of dental hygiene majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 194
Black or African American 106
Hispanic or Latino 409
White 1,487
International Students 28
Other Races/Ethnicities 164

Geographic Diversity

Dental Hygiene appeals to people across the globe. About 1.2% of those with this major are international students.

Some careers associated with dental hygiene require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for dental hygiene careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 1.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 53.9%
Bachelor’s Degree 18.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. 0.5%
Master’s Degree 12.6%
Doctoral Degree 8.7%
Post-Doctoral Training 6.7%

Online Dental Hygiene Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 8 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 7 0
Associate’s Degree 291 4
Bachelor’s Degree 1 1
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 17 4
Post-Master’s 2 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to dental hygiene.

Major Number of Grads
Dental Assisting/Assistant 16,340
Dental Laboratory Technology/Technician 243
Other Dental Services & Allied Professions 72

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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