Dental Hygiene Education in Washington State

Washington was rated in U.S News’ 2021 survey as the best state to live and work. The main reason was that the high salaries available were not as offset by the high cost of living as in other states. Dental Hygienists enjoy excellent salary potential in WA, and a robust job outlook. [Seguir leyendo en español]

The Employment Security Department projects an increase from a 2018 employment level of 7,020 dental hygienists to 8,460 by 2028. That represents an annual growth rate of 21%. [You can find information on Dental Assistant schools here.]

What Are the Prerequisites for Studying Dental Hygiene in Washington?

To be licensed as a dental hygienist in Washington, you must complete an accredited academic training program. The ten programs are available in the state offer associate degrees and four-year bachelor’s degrees. Either one is acceptable for eventual licensing.

Check out the enrollment information and prerequisites before applying to any program. Due to the competitive nature of admissions, you need to meet the requirements at a minimum, but it’s best to go above them.  

The dental hygiene curriculum is tough, so schools list prerequisite courses applicants must complete being prepared for the program. The courses you need to take vary by school but are similar. The prerequisites for Shoreline Community College include:

·        English composition

·        Communication studies

·        General psychology

·        Quantitative reasoning

·        Organic and biochemistry

·        Anatomy and physiology I and II

·        Microbiology

·        Nutrition

The school requires that you pass these courses with a GPA of 2.5 or higher. When considering applicants, Shoreline weights your grades in these courses at 50%. Work and educational and work experience account for the other 50%.

Other schools include additional requirements for applicants. Eastern Washington University in Spokane, for instance, requires applicants to complete an observation period, which can be done at the school’s clinic. You must also go through an interview process, but only if you get to the final round of admissions.

With a limited number of approved dental hygiene programs in the state, you must meet or exceed the prerequisites for any Washington school to which you apply. 

Dental Hygienist Licensing Requirements in Washington

To become a dental hygienist in Washington, you must have completed a CODA-accredited dental hygienist program, complete seven hours of AIDS education, and have earned passing scores in the National Board Dental Hygiene Exam, the State’s Drug and Law exam, the WREB, CRDTS or NERB clinical exam, the WREB anesthesia exam and the WREB restorative exam.

You will need to complete education in expanded functions at a Secretary of Health-approved program, or at the CODA-accredited school on your application. Expanded functions include anesthesia, restorative, and nitrous oxide. You must also complete must complete approved clinical examinations in basic hygiene, anesthesia, and restorative.

Licensure by credential is also available by meeting the above requirements, being licensed in a qualifying state that is verified by the state board, and being currently in practice (within the past year).

To renew your license, you will have to demonstrate the completion of 15 hours of continuing education with each renewal cycle. You must also maintain current basic life support (BLS) for the healthcare provider card as part of this requirement.

Dental Hygienist Salaries

The average salary for Dental Hygienists in the state in 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was $97,360, or $46.81 per hour, although the top 10% of earners were making around $123,170 annually. The state has two populations, and therefore employment concentrations in the areas of Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue and, on the border with Oregon, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro. Whether they’re employed in dentists’ offices, community health agencies, hospitals, or schools, in Washington State, dental hygienists can only work under the general supervision of a licensed dentist.

Area	Total Employed	Mean Hourly Wage	Mean Annual Salary
Bellingham, WA	150	$43.65	$90,800
Bremerton-Silverdale, WA	170	$47.79	$99,400
Kennewick-Richland, WA	240	$44.00	$91,510
Lewiston, ID-WA	50	$38.48	$80,050
Longview, WA	80	$48.78	$101,470
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	110	$44.98	$93,570
Olympia-Tumwater, WA	220	$46.23	$96,160
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	2,510	$36.72	$76,390
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	3,140	$44.19	$91,910
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	560	$39.93	$83,060
Walla Walla, WA	40	$41.39	$86,090
Wenatchee, WA	60	$43.32	$90,110
Yakima, WA	140	$42.71	$88,850

Well-known Dental Hygienist Programs

There are 23 educational dental hygiene programs/majors in the state. Of those, 12 dental hygiene programs (and 9 dental assistant programs) are accredited by the American Dental Association’s (ADA) Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). There are currently 10 CODA-accredited dental hygiene schools in Washington State including Seattle and Spokane, and those institutions naturally include both types of dental programs.

Spokane, WA

Eastern Washington University offers B.S. and M.S. degrees in dental hygiene at their campus at 310 N Riverpoint Blvd, Spokane, WA 99202. Admission requirements include an AS degree in DH, completion of the Dental Hygiene National Board examination or its Canadian equivalent, or the U.S. or Canadian dental hygiene license. The application process is highly competitive: the average science GPA of accepted applicants for the last 3 years averaged 3.80. This science GPA accounts for 50% of the application value, with another 20% in cumulative GPA in other coursework. EWU also offers online courses. Prospective e-learners: test your prospects here for online success.

Kirkland, WA

Lake Washington Institute of Technology has a 120-credit Bachelor of Applied Science BAS program for dental hygienists (plus 57 prerequisite credits) at their campus at 11605 132nd Avenue NE, Kirkland, WA 98034 (admissions tel. 425-739-8300). The total LWITech-estimated cost for the entire program, including tuition, fees, books, and supplies comes to $39,182. Students need not be low-income however to qualify for certain types of financial assistance. Apply for those by completing the FAFSA application (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

Clinical Experience Clinical experience is provided at the Lake Washington Institute of Technology Dental Clinic under the supervision of licensed dentists and licensed dental hygienists.

Vancouver, WA

Clark College – Dental Hygiene offers a 180-credit, Bachelor of Applied Science BAS Degree at their campus at 2232, 2302 E Reserve St, Vancouver, WA 98661. This is a competitive application process: of the 98 applicants who qualified for the class that started in the Fall of 2016, only 25 were accepted. Prerequisites include a minimum applicable AND science GPA of 2.60+, and students must earn a C (2.0) or higher in each preliminary required course.

Dental Hygienist Schools in Washington

Seattle Central College, a state college located in the Capitol Hill part of Seattle, and with a total enrollment of 7,639, offers a BAS degree. After 95 credits, students receive an AAS-T degree in Allied Health and can then continue for the BAS. 2015 undergraduate in-state tuition was $3,893, with out-of-state tuition at $9,083. Pima Medical Institute, Seattle Campus (800-477-PIMA), located in the Northgate area of Seattle, offers a 90-credit, 23-month AS Degree (total tuition costs came to $10,950 in 2011). A Dental Hygiene degree prepares students to enter the healthcare workforce as Dental Hygienists who are competent in the provision of safe, ethical, and effective dental hygiene care. Seattle Community College has a CODA-accredited, 4-year BAS program at their Allied Health Division, 1200 12th Avenue S, Suite 202, Seattle, WA 98144 (call admissions at 206.934.4347).

The Bridge BASDH program

The Bridge BASDH program is for licensed dental hygienists who earned their dental hygiene degree/certificate in Washington State in 1973 or after from a college that is/was accredited by the local accrediting Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities. The Bridge BASDH is fully online and does not require a clinical component other than teaching observations.

College Listings

Related Links

How to Become a Dentist in Washington

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