A.A.S. in Dental Hygiene

About this field

Dental hygienists are licensed professionals who work in dental offices. Dental hygienists focus on several areas of oral care, including cleaning teeth, conducting screening procedures for a variety of dental conditions, taking and developing dental x-rays, making impressions of patients’ teeth, educating patients about good oral health and more. The dental hygiene program at Valdosta State University trains students to be professional dental hygienists and leads to an Associate of Applied Science degree.

The Valdosta State Difference

The dental hygiene program at Valdosta State is offered in cooperation with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. Students take academic core courses at Valdosta State, then are directed to apply for admission to Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, which offers the clinical training portion of the program. Students in the joint program graduate with an Associate of Applied Science degree from Valdosta State. To obtain a license to practice dental hygiene, graduates of the program must pass the Dental Hygiene National Board and the Central Regional Dental Testing Service clinical exam.

What You'll Learn

Students in the dental hygiene program at Valdosta State take core courses in areas such as English, mathematics, chemistry, history, political science, sociology, psychology, biology and workplace communication. During the clinical training portion of the program at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, students focus on areas including tooth anatomy and root morphology, periodontology, oral embryology and histology, head and neck anatomy and more. Upon graduation and a passing score on the national board exam, students are prepared to enter the field of dentistry as licensed dental hygienists.