What It Takes To Become A Dental Hygienist In Canada

If you have a passion for oral health, a career as a dental hygienist is the thing for you. You will be responsible for preventing oral disease and promoting oral health in the community. You will work alongside dentists and other health-care professionals to sensitize the public and patients about dental oral health. Note that today’s patient not only expects to be treated when they visit a dental clinic but also to be taken through how to maintain proper dental hygiene to prevent recurrence or exacerbation of the problem. So, what does it take to become a dental hygienist?

Education and Exams

You first need to get a bachelor’s degree or a diploma from a dental hygiene school. The university or college you pick for the degree/diploma should have Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada accreditation. Only top schools are under the National Association of Career Colleges (NACC).

You can always get funding from the provincial government for the course. As an example, the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) offers zero-interest loans while studying. You could also get a loan from a financial institution.
To join the ranks of the over 20,000 dental hygienists, you must pass the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board (NDHCB) – administered written exam and the college-administered entry-to-practice exam. APLUS Institute is very proud of it’s Dental Hygiene Program graduates high NDHCB exam pass rates.

Registration and Continuous Professional Development

Once you receive your APLUS Institute Dental Hygiene Diploma, you will need to be registered with the relevant regulatory authority in your province or territory to practice as a dental hygienist. As an example, the regulator in Ontario is the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO) and the relevant laws are set out in the Regulated Health Professions Act of 1991 (RHPA) and the Dental Hygiene Act of 1991 (DHA).

Once you have been registered, you still have to complete a number of professional development initiatives for quality assurance. These are mandatory in some provinces such as the Ontario Quality Assurance Program which is an initiative of the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO).

Acquisition of Relevant Skills

During the course of your studies and in your professional life, important skills for a dental hygienist include ability to assess and record the overall oral condition of your clients (charting), administration of local anaesthesia, ability to perform intra-oral radiology, ability to apply dental sealants and to administer fluoride, ability to provide scaling and root planning, and skills in oral disease prevention.

You may also be called upon to size and quality bands for dental braces, to remove braces and other oral appliances, and to take impressions for the construction of mouth guards and casts. Dental hygienists can even self-initiate treatment in Ontario and perform minor procedures like curettage surrounding tissues.

Acquisition of People Skills

You need people skills to thrive as a dental hygienist. APLUS Institute places a high value on supporting your development of these skills. These are skills you will not learn in most dental schools in Canada, and they include client communication and motivation skills, process and outcome evaluation skills, and oral care intervention planning and implementation skills.