Dental Hygiene Program Requirements

The Dental Hygiene Program is a competitive program with selective admission requirements. A limited number of students are admitted to the Dental Hygiene Program. The college catalog describes the minimum requirements for admission to the program (effective for Fall 2010 admission), as follows:

• High school or college Algebra I and Algebra II, “B-” or greater
• BIO-33 and BIO-34 (equivalent to college anatomy & physiology 1 and 2,) “B-” or greater in both
• CHM-15 (equivalent to college inorganic & organic chemistry,) “B-” or greater
• ENG-11 (equivalent to college English composition 1), “B-” or greater
• Earn a composite score of 70 or greater on the TEAS exam
• Overall GPA must be 3.0+ to be considered for admission to dental hygiene
• Attend one mandatory health science admissions information session (call Admissions at 508-678-2811 x2947 to sign up; seating is limited)

The following chart indicates the factors that determine the competitiveness of an application:

Students applying to BCC with a GED or successful performance on an ATB test rather than with a high school diploma will need to take the required courses at BCC before being considered for admission to the program.

Meeting these minimum criteria places the applicant in the selection pool but does not guarantee admission to the Dental Hygiene Program. Final selection will be based on the applicant pool and space available.

Most successful candidates have excelled in previous lab science and math courses in high school and/or college and have taken math and science courses above the minimum required to be considered for admission. The following BCC courses are particularly recommended: BIO-39, BIO-20 and CHM-16, Many students admitted to the program have already successfully completed many of its required general and elective courses.