Entry-Level Track

Foothill College Dental Hygiene program has been accredited from the inception of the program in 1964. The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) is nationally recognized by the United States Department of Education as the sole agency to accredit dental and dental-related education programs conducted at the post-secondary level. CODA's mission is to serve the oral health care needs of the public through the development and administration of standards that foster continuous quality improvement of dental and dental related educational programs. The last CODA accreditation site visit for Foothill College Dental Hygiene Program was 2018, with the status: "approval without reporting requirements". The next accreditation site visit will be in 2026.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of dental hygienists is projected to grow 9 percent from 2023 to 2033, much faster than the average for all occupations.  This projected growth ranks dental hygienists among the fastest growing occupations, in response to increasing demand for dental care, and the greater use of dental hygienists.

Enrollment Fee: $31 per unit; this quarterly fee is paid by all students.

Upper Division Course Fee: addional $56 per unit; this quarterly fee is paid by students who enroll in all upper-division courses that are part of an approved Baccalaureate Degree Program.

Approx. tuition and fees: $9,200 (two years of Dental Hygiene Core Courses)

Approx. additional expenses: $10,000 (uniforms, textbooks, the dental hygiene instrument kit, national board exam fee, clinical exam fee and other miscellaneous fees). See the estimated expenses breakdown.

For the most current fees, please see Student Fees and Tuition.

Scholarship and Financial Aid Programs are available at Foothill College. Call 650.949.7245 or see foothill.edu/financialaid.

The Dental Hygiene Program includes two years of dental hygiene coursework, with two short summer sessions. Prior to entering the Dental Hygiene program, completion of general education requirements and prerequisites are required to be accepted to the program. The general education and prerequisite courses may be completed at Foothill College, or another accredited college. Please refer to the Dental Hygiene curriculum sheet for an outline of the required courses.

Since 2018 Foothill College has awarded students with the Bachelor of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene upon successful completion of all courses and program requirements. We are no longer offer the Associate Science Degree. 

Please use the Transfer Equivalency System (TES) as a tool to help you assess which credits earned from previous college-level regionally accredited institutions will transfer to Foothill College. It is important to note that this TES is used as an initial tool for providing you with an unofficial transfer evaluation and does not replace an official transcript evaluation, so it is strongly advised to meet with a counselor to help determine how your transfer credits apply to your degree plan. Courses not listed, must be petitioned through our Counseling Department.

If an applicant has completed a single chemistry course that includes a Survey of Inorganic, Organic, and Biochemistry with labs, and this course satisfies both CHEM 30A and 30B requirements, they should enter the same grade for both CHEM 30A and CHEM 30B on the application.

For example, if the applicant completed CHEM 410 at Skyline College, they should enter their grades as follows:

• • • Grade A in CHEM 410 → enter CHEM 30A = A and CHEM 30B = A (8 points total)

    • Grade B in CHEM 410 → enter CHEM 30A = B and CHEM 30B = B (6 points total)

    • Grade C in CHEM 410 → enter CHEM 30A = C and CHEM 30B = C (4 points total)

This grading method ensures consistency with how points are awarded for applicants who complete CHEM 30A and 30B as separate quarter or semester courses.

Below is a chart listing the institutions from which a single chemistry course is accepted as equivalent to both CHEM 30A and CHEM 30B.

Yes, students may earn credit for AP Tests (ENGL 1A, Psychology and Statistics) with a score of 3, 4, or 5.

A grade can be filled out as 5=A, 4=B, and 3=C

 A wet lab is required for ALL science prerequisite courses; online labs are NOT accepted. Exception: The DCA-20-88 waiver, which temporarily permitted online laboratory instruction for dental hygiene prerequisites, was in effect from July 13, 2020, to March 31, 2022. Coursework in anatomy, physiology, chemistry, biochemistry, and microbiology completed with online labs during this period will be accepted. Online labs completed outside of this timeframe will not be accepted.

Yes, the highest grade earned will be considered for admission purposes and should be reported on the application.

Beginning Summer 2025, students can fulfill or waive their BS general education requirements using ONE of the following options by: 

1. Completing our local Foothill GE pattern
2. Fully completing one of these transfer GE patterns at Foothill College:
   1. 1. CSU GE-Breadth (GE patterns for Summer 2025 only)
      2. IGETC (GE patterns for Summer 2025 only)
      3. Cal-GETC (effective starting Fall 2025)
3. Having earned an Associate Degree or Associate Degree for Transfer from a California Community College (CCC).
4. Holding a previously awarded Bachelor's degree from an institutionally accredited institution.
5. Obtaining GE reciprocity from one of the 9 participating CCCs in the “Region 4 GE Reciprocity Program Certification.”
6. Obtaining GE reciprocity from ANY CCC. 
7. Obtaining a full GE certification from another CCC, verifying completion of a transfer GE pattern.

Please schedule an appointment to see a Foothill counselor through our Counseling Department to help determine how your transfer credits apply to your degree plan.

Foreign degrees or coursework cannot be used to satisfy program prerequisites or transfer General Education (GE) patterns. The only exception is that foreign coursework may be considered for the local Foothill GE pattern through a formal course substitution process. Please see a Foothill counselor for assistance. 

Previous coursework should be evaluated by a counselor to verify that you have met all pre-requisites and general education requirements for the program. General Education requirements for the Bachelor's Degree in Dental Hygiene do not have a recency requirement attached to them; however, the required science courses for the Dental Hygiene Program must be taken within six years of the current application. The information and content learned in sciences courses such as anatomy and physiology, nutrition, and microbiology are critical to the practice of dental hygiene.

Application is opened from October 1 through February 1 each year. It's recommended that you read the application instructions carefullly before fill in the application.

It is highly recommended that all prerequisite courses be completed prior to applying. While a limited number (1–3) of prerequisites may be in progress at the time of application, this may reduce the applicant’s chances of acceptance into the program. All in-progress courses must be successfully completed by the end of the spring term, as all prerequisites must be fulfilled before beginning the Dental Hygiene program in the summer term.

No, the Dental Hygiene program is a full-time program of study for two years. Students typically enroll in 14 to 21 units per quarter.

The Dental Hygiene program holds classes Monday through Friday. While the hours each day may vary from quarter to quarter, generally the courses run from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There are some online/hybrid courses in the program. There are occasional evening activities.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Dental Hygiene (BS-DH) is a 2+2 program: two years of prerequisite courses, including the required general education, science courses and social sciences courses; then following an application and acceptance to the dental hygiene program, there are two years of dental hygiene core courses and upper division general education. The BS-DH degree requires completion of approved general education patterns. Completion of the pre-program courses and general education do not guarantee admission to the dental hygiene program. It is strongly recommended that students meet with a counselor to create an education plan.