Dental Hygiene Degree

Begin your career as a dental hygienist

Career options

Dental Hygienist

Harper College's Dental Hygiene Program is a full-time, six-semester career program leading to an Associate of Applied Science degree.

Harper College is a great place to begin your career in dental hygiene. You'll get hands-on experience working in the Dental Hygiene Clinic, which is equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Practice your skills on patients who come to the clinic for dental hygiene care.

In 2025,100% of the graduates of Harper’s Dental Hygiene Program passed both the American Dental Association’s National Board Dental Hygiene Examination and the American Board of Dental Examiners (ADEX)'s Clinical Board Examination.

This is a limited-enrollment program. Please review this program's admission criteria and process.

A.A.S. degree program plan

This 81-credit hour program prepares the graduate to be a dental hygienist. The dental hygienist is a highly skilled primary care oral health professional with the knowledge and skills to recognize, prevent and treat oral diseases and conditions. As an integral member of the oral health care team, the dental hygienist collaboratively practices evidence-based comprehensive dental hygiene care with the ultimate goal of improving oral health as an essential component of total health. The dental hygienist must have a strong foundation in biomedical science and demonstrate clinical competency including effective communication and interpersonal skills, and professional and ethical behavior. The dental hygienist must also have the ability to evaluate and utilize emerging technologies and apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to address current and future issues in oral health care.

This degree prepares the graduate for employment as a clinician in a variety of health care settings including solo, group and specialty dental practices, public health clinics, hospitals, and long-term care facilities. With additional education, employment opportunities are available in the corporate sector in sales and as educational specialists, in academia, research, and health care management.

The Associate in Applied Science degree in Dental Hygiene qualifies the graduate to complete the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination, the clinical board examination, and apply for Illinois licensure as a registered dental hygienist.

This program meets the Illinois Board of Dentistry guidelines, is approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, and is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association.

Because of the nature of clinical experience and individualized instruction required in this program and specialized technology and the equipment necessary to offer this program, a higher tuition rate is assessed for career specific courses. These include courses with the prefix DHY. Students pay 1.5 the regular rate of tuition.

Dental Hygiene is a limited enrollment program. For admission requirements, please contact the Admissions Outreach Office at 847.925.6700 or visit harpercollege.edu.

Students who apply for this limited enrollment program are obligated to meet the current admission requirements and follow program curriculum as defined at the time of acceptance to the program.

Upon admission to the Dental Hygiene program, the mathematics requirement is met.

Program Requirements

Dental Hygiene is a limited enrollment program. For admission requirements, please contact the Admissions Outreach Office at 847.925.6700 or visit harpercollege.edu.

Students who apply for this limited enrollment program are obligated to meet the current admission requirements and follow program curriculum as defined at the time of acceptance to the program.

Upon admission to the Dental Hygiene program, the mathematics requirement is met.

Program Requirements (Hours required: 81)
Number	Course Title	Credits
Prerequisites
BIO 230	Microbiology ¹	4
BIO 260	Human Anatomy ²	4
BIO 261	Human Physiology ²	4
CHM 100	Chemistry for the Health Sciences ²	4
ENG 101	Composition I	3
PSY 101	Introduction to Psychology ⁺	3
SOC 101	Introduction to Sociology ⁺	3
	Hours	25
First Semester
A grade of C or better in all DHY courses is required for all students.
DHY 100	Introduction to Dental Hygiene Fundamentals	1
	Hours	1
Second Semester
A grade of C or better in all DHY courses is required for all students.
DHY 101	Dental Hygiene Principles I	2
DHY 105	Dental Hygiene Preclinic Lab	2
DHY 106	Oral Health Assessment	1
DHY 108	Medical Emergencies In Dentistry	0.5
DHY 111	Dental Radiology I	2
DHY 113	Dental Radiology Laboratory	1
DHY 116	Periodontology I	1
DHY 159	Head and Neck Anatomy	3
DHY 161	Oral and Dental Anatomy	2
	Hours	14.5
Third Semester
A grade of C or better in all DHY courses is required for all students.
DHY 121	Dental Hygiene Principles II	1
DHY 123	Dental Hygiene Clinic I	2
DHY 125	Oral Health Strategies	1
DHY 190	General and Oral Pathology	2
DHY 200	Periodontology II	1
DHY 202	Dental Radiology II	1
DHY 269	Dental Materials for the Dental Hygienist	1
DHY 270	Dental Materials Laboratory Techniques for the Dental Hygienist	1
SPE 215	Intercultural Communication	3
	Hours	13
Fourth Semester
A grade of C or better in all DHY courses is required for all students.
DHY 119	Oral Health Management of Special Needs Populations	1
DHY 151	Dental Hygiene Principles III	1
DHY 153	Dental Hygiene Clinic II	2
DHY 203	Dental Radiology III	0.5
DHY 240	Dental Pharmacology for the Dental Hygienist	2
	Hours	6.5
Fifth Semester
A grade of C or better in all DHY courses is required for all students.
DHY 205	Dental Radiology IV	0.5
DHY 230	Dental Pain and Anxiety Management	1
DHY 232	Dental Pain and Anxiety Management Lab	1
DHY 235	Dental Scientific Literature	1
DHY 250	Dental Hygiene Principles IV	1
DHY 251	Dental Hygiene Clinic III	3
DHY 253	Periodontology III	2
DHY 255	Dental Hygiene Advanced Periodontology Clinic	1
	Hours	10.5
Sixth Semester
A grade of C or better in all DHY courses is required for all students.
DHY 130	Nutrition for Oral Health	1
DHY 201	Ethics, Jurisprudence and Transition to Professional Practice	2
DHY 207	Dental Radiology V	0.5
DHY 220	Community Oral Health	3
DHY 260	Dental Hygiene Principles V	1
DHY 262	Dental Hygiene Clinic IV	3
	Hours	10.5
	Total Hours	81

¹: This course must be taken prior to beginning DHY courses.
²: This course must be completed with a grade of C or better no earlier than five years prior to beginning the Dental Hygiene program.
+: This course meets the World Culture and Diversity graduation requirement.

Program learning outcomes

The Goals/Program Outcomes of the Dental Hygiene Program at Harper College are to:

maintain admission policies that ensure admission of a qualified student body who have the potential to achieve the program outcomes.
provide career education that prepares qualified, entry-level dental hygiene professionals who are competent to provide safe, ethical and comprehensive oral health services to a diverse population as defined by the Harper College Dental Hygiene Graduate Competencies for the Entry-Level Dental Hygienist.
maintain a contemporary program that provides a dynamic, integrated and interprofessional curriculum which reflects relevant, evidence-based dental hygiene practice.
provide quality individualized patient-centered dental hygiene care.
provide service to the Harper College and surrounding communities, and serve as a resource of oral health knowledge and education for the health care community.
promote professional growth and develop leadership in dental hygiene education by engaging in professional development activities.

Student Learning Outcomes/Graduate Competencies For The Entry-Level Dental Hygienist

Students who successfully complete this program are able to:

Patient Care

utilize the dental hygiene process of care in provision of comprehensive, quality patient care.

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

provide individualized patient educational services to promote health maintenance and disease prevention
individually and/or in collaboration with health care professionals, apply the dental hygiene process of care in planning and providing oral health related programs to the public

Professionalism and Ethics

use evidence-based research to critically evaluate the validity of foundational knowledge, information, products and/or techniques and their relevance to the practice of dental hygiene.
apply principles of ethical reasoning, ethical decision making, and critical thinking as they pertain to the academic environment, research, patient care and dental hygiene practice, and demonstrate professional responsibility as it applies to the legal and regulatory concepts in the provision and/or support of oral health care services.
perform self-assessment, monitor knowledge and performance, and take corrective action to address deficiencies.
demonstrate cultural sensitivity and the interpersonal and communication skills required for effective functioning with diverse population groups and other members of the health care team.
demonstrate professional growth by participating in professional activities and continuing education.

Program length

The dental hygiene curriculum is sequenced over six-semesters. Students complete one fall and spring semester (17 weeks each) in the first year and two eight-week summer sessions and one fall and spring semester (17 weeks each) in the second year with graduation in May.

Courses in dental hygiene, i.e., course numbers with the DHY prefix must be taken in the semester sequence published in the Catalog. SPE 215 and SOC 101 can be taken before they are scheduled in the curriculum but not after. See curriculum above.

Schedule

Dental Hygiene classes, labs and clinics are scheduled Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. and some Saturdays or evenings. General education or science classes are sometimes scheduled in the evenings as well.

Resources

For more information about dental hygienist training at Harper, contact Admission Outreach at 847.925.6700, or submit a request information form. You can also apply online.