Dental hygienists have several career paths available to them. For instance, dental hygienists in a clinical role assess, diagnose, plan, implement, evaluate and document treatment for prevention, intervention and control of oral diseases, while practicing in collaboration with other health professionals in a variety of settings: private dental practices, community clinics, hospitals, university dental clinics, prison facilities, nursing homes and schools. Corporate dental hygienists are employed by companies that support the oral health industry through the sale of products and services. Dental hygienists can also work in community health programs that are typically funded by government or nonprofit organizations. These positions often offer an opportunity to provide care to those who otherwise would not have access to dental care. Dental hygienists in administrative positions apply organizational skills, communicate objectives, identify and manage resources, and evaluate and modify programs of health, education and health care. Dental Hygiene educators are currently and will continue to be in great demand. Colleges and universities throughout the U. S. employ dental hygiene instructors who use educational theory and methodology to educate competent oral health care professionals. Corporations also employ educators who provide continuing education to both students in dental hygiene programs as well as licensed dental hygienists and dentists. Further information can be found here. 

The goal of the UTSD Dental Hygiene Program is to provide the student with the opportunity to develop clinical competency and proficiency in preventive and therapeutic oral health skills, and to develop the personal characteristics of a professional attitude, ethical behavior, and dedication to community service and continuing education. The program provides the student with the opportunity to develop these entry-level dental hygiene skills through completion of the two-year post-degree certificate, baccalaureate degree curriculum and a Master of Science in Dental Hygiene. The dental hygiene curriculum emphasizes the basic and dental sciences including microbiology, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, oral histology and embryology, oral pathology, and nutrition. Other components of the curriculum are designed to develop the clinical skills of the dental hygiene student to provide preventive dental health services to the public. The new Master’s program opens opportunities for dental hygienist to teach in dental hygiene programs. The program prepares graduates for positions in teaching, administration, management and oral health research.

The UTSD Dental Hygiene Program offers a fully accredited two-year program, which leads to either a certificate or Bachelor of Science Degree in dental hygiene. The Dental Hygiene Admissions Committee considers all applicants to the program and makes recommendations to the Dean for admission of thirty students into the program each fall semester. The minimum requirement for the Bachelor of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene is 128 semester hours or for a Certificate in Dental Hygiene is 100 semester hours, 66 of which must be in the required dental hygiene coursework In addition to the entry-level program, the Dental Hygiene Program also offers a RDH to BS Program for dental hygienists who have completed an associate’s degree or certificate in dental hygiene. After completing the required prerequisites, students enrolled in the UTSD RDH to BS Degree Program have an opportunity to successfully complete the distance-education curriculum and receive a Bachelor of Science degree. The minimum requirement for a non-UTSD graduate to obtain a Bachelor of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene is 128 semester hours, 30 of which must be in the required program curriculum offered at UTSD, and up to 36 semester hours transferred from an AAS Dental Hygiene Program. Graduates from UTSD will only be required to complete 12 semester hours to obtain a Bachelor of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene.

The Master of Science Dental Hygiene (MSDH) degree program is offered online to dental hygienists who have a bachelor’s degree in any field and certificate or associate degree in dental hygiene from a CODA accredited dental hygiene program. The MSDH creates opportunities for dental hygienists to teach in dental hygiene programs (especially at universities or dental schools) and prepares graduates for positions in teaching, administration, management and oral health research. The American Dental Education Association reports that the need for dental hygiene educators will be increasing in the near future. The minimum requirement for the Master of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene is 33 semester hours.

Expenses

Tuition

BSDH/Certificate Undergraduate Tuition (includes the RDH to BSDH Program)

Beginning 2024-2025, resident tuition is $187 per semester credit hour. Non-resident tuition will be $ 621 per semester credit hour. Tuition and fees are subject to change according to the actions of the Texas State Legislature or the UT System Board of Regents and changes become effective when enacted.

MSDH Graduate Tuition

Beginning 2024-2025, resident tuition is $298 per semester credit hour. Non-resident tuition will be $710 per semester credit hour. Tuition and fees are subject to change according to the actions of the Texas State Legislature or the UT System Board of Regents and changes become effective when enacted.

For the most current list of the Tuition and Fee Schedule see the Bursar's Office website.

Fees

• Instrument Rental and Sterilization Fee: $1,575 annually.
• Laboratory Fee: A laboratory fee of $20 per year is required
• Professional Liability Insurance Fee: This fee varies from year to year (currently it is $14.50).
• Information Technology Access Fee: A fee of $42 per semester.
• Simulation Fee: $175 annually.
• Technology Resource Fee: A fee $600 per semester
• Library Resource Fee: $300 annually

Dental Hygiene Course Fees

• DHCT 2103 Oral Disease Prevention I: $25 per semester
• DHCT 3303 Community Dental Health: $25 per semester
• DHBS 4303 Community Dental Health: $25 per semester
• DHCT 2107 Head and Neck Anatomy: $100 per semester
• DHBS 3107 Head and Neck Anatomy: $100 per semester
• DHBS 3506 Dental Materials, Dental Materials: $25 per semester

Instruments, Supplies and Books

Students are required to furnish the instruments, supplies, books, and equipment necessary in the various courses.

Text and supplemental materials information, including the maximum extent practicable the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and retail price information, is available on the DH Curriculum Website. 

A student is not under any obligation to purchase a textbook from a university-affiliated bookstore. The same textbook may be available from an independent retailer, including an online retailer, at a lower price that the price charged for the textbook by a university-affiliated bookstore.

Approximate costs, depending upon fluctuations in market price and changing needs in the curriculum, are as follows:

Dental Hygiene Certificate/Bachelor of Science Program

• First Year: $1365 Instruments and supplies, $1562 Books
• Second Year: $675 Instruments and supplies, $601 Books

RDH to BSDH Program

• First Year: $543 Books
• Second Year: $64 Books

MSDH Program

• First Year: $811 Books
• Second Year: $171 Books

Dental Hygiene Scholarships

The Shirah May Hall Memorial Scholarship in Dental Hygiene support scholarships to second year dental hygiene students who have demonstrated financial need, are in good standing and who have exhibited the characteristics of compassion, focus and motivation, teamwork, leadership and advocacy of the profession of dental hygiene.

The Dental Hygiene Class of 2003 Endowed Scholarship is awarded to assist a second-year dental hygiene student who has exhibited the characteristics of compassion, academic excellence (maintained an academic excellent maintain GPA of 3.0) or higher, financial need, and an outstanding dental hygiene citizen among faculty, students, and staff.

The Greater Houston Dental Hygienists’ Association Ushma Ramaiya Memorial Scholarship distributions shall be used to support scholarships to second year dental hygiene students who are in good academic standing. Preference shall be given to students who have exhibited the characteristics of compassion, focus and motivation, teamwork, leadership, and advocacy of the profession through outstanding community service.

There are several local organizations/companies that provide scholarship funding for dental hygiene students. Upon request, UTSD dental hygiene provides to the awarding organization the critical data required for selection, and the selections are made by the selection committee of the sponsoring organization. Primary factors for the award are academic performance, community service, and promise for professional growth and financial need.

Academic Standards

Attendance

Attendance at all scheduled classes, laboratories, and clinic sessions is required. The minimum attendance for which credit will be given or which will admit a student to the final examination is 90 percent of the time scheduled for instruction in that course. The margin of 10 percent absence is provided to accommodate only unavoidable absences due to illness, delayed registration, or approved causes, and it is not contemplated that this concession shall apply to other than exceptional cases.

Punctuality

Students entering a lecture or laboratory after the roll has been taken are recorded as absent for the entire period. Absence from any portion of a period is considered as absence from the full period.

Grading System

Grading System for Clinic and Clinic Relate Classes

93-100 = A
84-92 = B
75-83 = C
<75 = F

Grading System for Non-Clinic Related Classes

90-100 = A
80-89 = B
79-70 = C
<70 = F

Passing: Grades for didactic and clinic courses are letter grades. A minimum grade of C will be required in all courses and an overall average of C (2.00 GPA) must be maintained. Student organization officers must maintain a 2.00 GPA to remain in office. An acceptable level of clinical proficiency must be demonstrated in each clinic before the student will be permitted to begin the next clinic.

Failing: A grade of 69 or below or “F” designates failing work in non-clinical courses and a grade of 74 or below designates unacceptable work in clinical courses.

Incomplete: A grade of “I” may be given under rare circumstances and only upon approval by the Director of Dental Hygiene and the Evaluation and Promotion Committee. A grade of incomplete while passing or incomplete yet failing. A grade of Incomplete yet failing generally results in a Final course grade of F.

Warning: Students will receive a letter of warning at mid-semester for unsatisfactory progress in didactic, laboratory or clinical courses. Students will be expected to show sufficient improvement with a passing grade in those areas of deficiency by the end of that semester to avoid being placed on probation or considered for dismissal. In addition, the student is expected to make satisfactorily progress in the other courses in the curriculum.

Probation: Students having a semester GPA or cumulative GPA below 2.0 will be placed on probation if not dismissed from the program. Students who have been placed on probation must show acceptable improvement and satisfy the conditions of the letter placing them on probation within the following semester, or they may be dismissed for academic reasons. Students on probation become ineligible for financial aid, and are ineligible to hold Class or organization offices. Re-instatement is at the discretion of the dental hygiene program director.

Dismissal: Students will be considered for academic dismissal if they have a cumulative GPA below 2.0 at the end of any semester. Students will be considered for academic action, including dismissal, if they have one or more failing course grades in a given semester.

Appeal Process

If a student demonstrates the inability to process either didactically or clinically, he/she will be considered for dismissal from the Dental Hygiene Program by the Student Evaluation and Promotion Committee – Dental Hygiene Subcommittee. The decision will be made by the committee members at a meeting held at the end of the semester. Specific guidelines for academic dismissal are listed above.

A UTSD Dental Hygiene student may appeal any academic corrective action and/or recommendation of dismissal by an Evaluation and Promotion (“E & P”) subcommittee to the Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs, in writing, within three calendar days after receipt of notice of the academic action. The student must provide the Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs a “complete” appeal, which includes at least a written statement clearly explaining all rationale for the appeal and any additional documentation the student possesses that the student believes supports the student’s rationale for the appeal.

The Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs will refer each complete appeal to an Ad Hoc Appeal Committee (“Appeal Committee”). The Office of the Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs will assist by scheduling the meetings of the Appeal Committee.

• The Chair of the Appeal Committee will be selected and appointed by the School of Dentistry Committee on Committees and approved by the Faculty Senate (an alternate Chair will also be selected from among the faculty of the School of Dentistry). The Chair will preside over the Appeal Committee. The length of the Chair’s term will be three years. The alternate will preside over the Appeal Committee in the event that the Chair is unable to attend.
• The Appeal Committee will be made up of the chairs of each of the E & P subcommittees not involved in the academic action being appealed. Vice chairs of the E & P subcommittees may serve in this role in the event a subcommittee Chair is unable to participate. In addition, an additional member of the Appeal Committee will be selected by the Associate Dean of Student and Academic Affairs from among School of Dentistry faculty. This member of the Appeal Committee cannot be the student’s faculty advisor or a member of the E & P subcommittee making the decision being appealed.
• Each of the Appeal Committee members will have one vote. In the case of a tie vote, the Chair of the Appeal Committee will vote to break the tie.

The Appeal Committee will review the student’s written statement and documentation, if any, submitted by the student, meet with the student, the student’s faculty advisor, the Chair of the E & P subcommittee taking the academic action being appealed, and other individuals at the discretion of the Chair of the Appeal Committee. The Chair of the Appeal Committee shall submit a final recommendation to the Dean within seven calendar days of the final Appeal Committee meeting. The Dean shall consider the recommendation of the Appeal Committee, may review the materials submitted to the Appeal Committee, and may interview other individuals. At his or her discretion, the Dean may meet with the student. The student will be notified of the Dean's decision within 10 calendar days after the Dean’s receipt of the Appeal Committee recommendation. The Dean's decision regarding the academic action of the E & P subcommittee is final.

The student, upon written request to and approval in writing from the Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs, may continue academic studies while the appeal of an academic action is under review and until the student receives notification of a final decision by the Dean.

If after the appeals process is completed an academic action of dismissal is upheld, a dismissed student must immediately discontinue participating in all UTSD educational activities. All personal belongings must be removed from the UTSD facilities immediately upon following receipt of the final decision of the Dean.

Promotion and Graduation

In order to be considered for promotion and graduation, a Dental Hygiene student must have satisfactorily removed all grades of F through remediation/repeat and in addition, must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher.

Examinations

Numerous examinations are given during each course. These examinations serve as a method of instruction and provide both student and instructor the opportunity to evaluate the student's level of achievement.

The final grade in a course may include evaluation of the student in all aspects of the entire course (didactic, laboratory, professional behavior/ development, and clinical) and failure in any one aspect may result in a failing grade for the entire course.

Application Procedure

Applications are available online, here. 

The application and all supporting documents must be submitted to the UTHealth Houston Office of the Registrar by the stated deadline for each respective dental hygiene program for the year preceding expected enrollment. Application must be made on the current year’s application form. The applicant pool will be considered as a whole in admissions consideration. If the applicant was enrolled at an accredited college or university in the fall term of the application submission year, or spring term of the entering year, the applicant must submit transcript updates to the UTHealth Houston Office of the Registrar as soon as the grades are available.

Criteria for Admissions

Texas General Education Core Curriculum Requirements

Students who will be receiving their first baccalaureate degree from UTSD must successfully complete the Texas General Education Core Curriculum requirements. The core curriculum consists of 42 semester credit hours in specified component areas. The table below lists core curriculum component requirements and required semester credit hours. For further information on which courses that may be used to satisfy core curriculum requirements, please see the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Texas General Education Core Curriculum WebCenter. Applicants are also encouraged to contact the Office of the Registrar or UTSD to inquire about other courses that may satisfy Core Curriculum requirements. Pre-requisite course requirements can be found on the respective program requirement pages under Programs of Study.

Texas General Education Core Curriculum Component Areas and Required Semester Credit Hours

CSON and SOD Texas General Core Curriculum Requirements

Component Area	Required Semester Credit Hours (SCH)
Communication (laboratory time required)	6 SCH
Mathematics	3 SCH
Life and Physical Science	6 SCH
Language, Philosophy and Culture	3 SCH
Creative Arts	3 SCH
American History	6 SCH
Government/Political Science	6 SCH
Social and Behavioral Sciences	3 SCH
Component Area Option	6 SCH
TOTAL	42 SCH

*Note, workforce courses POFI and ITSC will not be accepted for Computer Science. 

TSI - Texas Success Initiative [Formerly TASP]

The Texas Success Initiative (TSI), formerly TASP, is a State program that is designed to improve student success and outcomes in college. Any student seeking to enroll in an undergraduate program at UTHealth must provide proof of successful completion of the Texas Success Initiative (or applicable exemption) prior to enrollment. Further information on specific testing requirements, testing exemptions, and college readiness, can be found here. 

Readmission Policy

A student who voluntarily withdraws or is dismissed from the dental hygiene program in good standing and subsequently applies for readmission will be considered on an individual basis by the Dental Hygiene Admissions Committee.

Requirements that govern the readmission of applicants to the dental hygiene programs are as follows:

• Must not have been out of dental hygiene school for more than five years at the time of acceptance.
• Readmitted students will be required to audit previously taken courses if more than three years old or if major course revisions have occurred since their enrollment and must complete all course requirements satisfactorily.
• An interview will be required prior to an offer of admission.

Curriculum

Credit Hours: For each semester credit hour awarded a didactic course, there is one classroom hour per week. For each semester credit hour awarded for a laboratory or clinic course, there are normally three to four laboratory hours per week.

Note: Course descriptions are intended to represent skills and knowledge that should accompany successful completion of the course and should not be construed as a guarantee or warranty by UTHealth Houston of the required level of achievement by every student.