Dental Hygiene
Portland Community College
Public · Community college
A dental hygiene route with hands-on patient care.
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Three useful next steps
Map your prerequisite plan ↗
Use your intended application year's checklist, including course equivalencies and recency.
Review the separate selection process ↗
Check college and program deadlines, transcripts and required selection events.
Ask PCC to reconcile the cost ↗
Ask which total and optional expenses apply to your cohort.
PLAN YOUR PATH
Preparation, time and schedule
Before you apply
Plan science, nutrition, math, writing and required social-science/communication courses with PCC. C grades or better are required; pass/no-pass is not accepted. Check transfer equivalencies and microbiology recency. Chemistry and math rules differ by application year, so use the checklist for your intended intake.
Your complete timeline
Two years of full-time professional study follow prerequisites and competitive selection. PCC lists 20 fall-entry places. Preparation and application timing can extend the route beyond two calendar years.
Plan around the schedule
Clinical study is at the Vanport Building. The cost schedule includes a first-year summer term. Ask for weekly class/clinic hours and off-site commitments. The 2027 selection process also has mandatory orientation, testing and interview dates.
Application and selection
For fall 2027, PCC lists January 2-April 16, 2027 for program applications, March 17 for PCC general admission and March 21 for prerequisite completion. Check exact times and document deadlines on the official page. College admission is not program admission.
Details checked September 15, 2026. Confirm current requirements with the provider.
Questions to take to an advisor
What is the current total for instruments, exams, clinical fees and tuition?
- Which application year's chemistry and math rules apply to me?
- What are the clinic hours, summer attendance and travel commitments?
- Which cost total applies to me, including prerequisite study?
Published program length is not a personal completion estimate. Transfer credits, prerequisites, selection and course availability can change the timeline.
After the program
Graduation, board examinations and licensure are separate steps. Ask PCC which current requirements apply to your intended practice. Dental assisting and dental hygiene are different education and work routes.
Cost and outcomes
Two provider estimates conflict
PCC's headline gives $23,000-$25,000 excluding prerequisites; its itemized total is $35,368+ including optional expenses. These remain unresolved. Request a current written budget identifying tuition, fees, kits, books, health requirements, exams, licensing and optional items. Add prerequisites, travel and living costs separately.
Open the cost planner →Exact-program earnings are not separately identified.
Published related-field data; not an exact-program or campus-specific outcome.
Related-field graduate earnings
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions · Associate degree
Portland Community College. Graduating cohorts: 2016-2020. This published field group (CIP 51.06) can combine several programs and campuses. We selected it as related context; it is not a verified result for this exact program.
- $59,550 median annual earnings 1 year after graduation
Amounts are in 2023 dollars. Census PSEO covers graduates meeting its earnings and employment-attachment rules; it excludes noncompleters and many self-employed or low-attachment workers. These are historical outcomes, not starting-pay estimates or a forecast.
Census PSEO Oregon data, 2026 Q2 (CSV download) ↗
Population, methods and limitations ↗ · Checked September 16, 2026