Dental Hygienist

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

yardsman

New Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2009
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Hello everyone,

I hope this is the right place to ask this question. I am considering applying for a hygienist program, but notice that there are 2 year associate and 4 year bachelor's degrees available. Is there a major difference between the two, i.e. job opportunity, pay scale, duties?

I googled the question, all I could find was somebody saying 4 year just had more classes, but I wanted to check with a more knowledgeable base :D

Thanks for any help

Members don't see this ad.
 
they are paid the same. they get the same title, licence etc.... do the 2 year. experience is the ultimate decider of job opportunities. do the 2 year.
 
You may want to double check this, since this is just gathered knowledge.

The associates and bachelors programs will both allow you to do the same thing within a Dental office. There also is really no pay difference between the two. The advantage of Bachelors is 1) You have a bachelors degree..lol 2) If you would ever like to teach dental hygiene or do other work outside of the office then it will allow you to advance and do that.

In a way its kind of the same as nursing. Bachelors will let you do more management type of jobs, but both can perform same task that applies with "nursing".
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I am a RDH with a Bachelors degree. I am glad to have chosen the 4 yr over the 2 yr, but as posted previously, the pay is the same.
However, I am going to be a dentist when I grow up and the path is way shorter starting with a Bachelors. So, I think only you can determine the amount of education you want, but remember life's path may change direction down the road.
 
Thank you everyone for the helpful replies.

I'll definitely give it more thought. I thought 2-year would be best, but I know that I want to keep that DDS pathway open, in case I want to try for it a few years down the line.
 
Top