Dental Hygiene Major

[kwade567]

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Hi. My name is Kelly, I am a senior in high school and I had a few questions about dentistry. I want to be a dentist in the future so I have been weighing my options about where to go to college and what to major in. I plan on going to a 4 year university and then a dental school right after. Would it be better to major in dental hygiene or a science major (i.e. biochemistry, molecular biology, etc)? I have a friend who is a dental hygienist, and she said that it would be better to get a bachelors in a science field rather than DH. She also said that by getting a bachelors in DH won't give me all the courses that I need for dental school, and that I would only be able to become a dental hygienest versus an actual dentist.

Please comment all your opinions, thank you!!

 

[Kkae]

Hi, your friend is right about DH not equipping you with all the pre-reqs for dental school. However, DH programs are different and some may cover the pre-reqs so I would suggest you do your homework to see if DH programs close to you or ones you would consider applying to covers the pre-reqs.
Even if the DH programs do not cover all the pre-reqs and you are really genuinely interested in pursuing this, you could do that and then do the pre-reqs while in the program.
Keep in mind that you do not HAVE TO be a science major in college to apply to dental school, though it is helpful. The important thing is that you do the pre-requisites and can defend your choice in major at an interview. You will also need to score well on the DAT, esp. the science areas.

All in all I would suggest that you figure out what you're interested in and do that, all while keeping in mind that you will be applying to dental school so the pre-requisites are a must.

Hope this helps.