Dental Hygiene

The Dental Hygiene program is a limited-enrollment program accepting 24 students each Fall semester. Due to the limited program capacity, a competitive, point-based admission process is used, with applicants reapplying each year if not accepted. The program does not utilize a waiting list.

The competitive admissions process awards points for the following:

• Completing the eight non-DEN courses in the curriculum that can be completed ahead of program admission
• Scores earned by taking the Admissions Test for Dental Hygiene administered by the American Dental Association
• Being a dental assistant who has graduated from a American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation (ADA CODA) program or is a Certified Dental Assistant. Zero points will be awarded for attending a non-accredited dental assisting program.
• Earning certification or licenses from select employable allied health disciplines
• Attending Wake Tech's Boot Camp for Dental Assisting and Dental Hygiene
• Completing a continuing education course offered through Wake Tech Career Services – HRD-3004CR2 Career Exploration in Dental Hygiene

All admissions requirements, including the minimum criteria and the competitive admissions process, are outlined in the admissions packet.

Anyone interested in the Dental Hygiene program must first complete a mandatory information session. Advisors will not meet with students until after the information session has been completed. Because the Dental Hygiene program is very competitive, with 80 to 160 applications received each year, we strongly recommend meeting with a Health Sciences admissions/academic advisor to discuss an academic plan.

NOTE: Administration of local anesthesia by dental hygienists is a legally allowable function in North Carolina, so students will need to be comfortable with needles and providing injections to complete the curriculum.

Health Sciences Advising
[email protected]

Admissions questions
919-866-5420
[email protected]

Ready to get started at Wake Tech? Follow these steps to begin:

• Apply to Wake Tech
• Submit official transcripts to [email protected]
• Complete the Dental Hygiene information session
• Apply for financial aid and veterans benefits, if applicable
• Once admitted, follow the steps to enroll on the New Student Checklist

The following are requirements for the Dental Hygiene program selection process:

• Meet minimum admission requirements, which includes completion of ENG-111 and CHM-130 (or equivalent)
• Complete 20 hours of job shadowing and verify that on the Dental Hygiene Job Shadowing form. Job shadowing hours need to be unpaid, so if you are working at a dental office, we suggest you shadow at a different office.
• Take the Admissions Test for Dental Hygiene (ATDH) by the application deadline. Ensure that Wake Tech is listed as a recipient of your score report.
• Submit the Dental Hygiene program application and all supporting documentation to [email protected] between August 1 and January 31.

As noted, acceptance into the Dental Hygiene program is highly competitive, so applying to the program does not guarantee acceptance. If applicants have equal point totals, the applicant with the highest score on the ATDH Perceptual Ability Score will be selected. If a tie still exists, the highest ATDH Quantitative Reasoning Score will be utilized, and finally, the ATDH Overall Score will be used to break any ties.

Students who were released from the Wake Tech Dental Hygiene program and wish to restart or students who wish to transfer into the program from another ADA CODA program must apply following the normal admissions protocol, but they also need to comply with the Restart/Transfer Student protocol.

ATTENTION: Students who are not U.S. citizens or do not have resident status may not be licensed in North Carolina. If you are on an F-1 visa or are in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, please consider carefully before applying whether to invest your time and money in the program knowing that you may not be able to work in North Carolina.

Once accepted into the program, students are required to attend a departmental orientation and complete all clinical site requirements. Failure to attend the scheduled orientation will result in forfeiture of the seat.

Orientation will review the following:

• Establishing a CastleBranch account to upload documents for review
• Signing and uploading the Dental Hygiene Department Technical Standards to CastleBranch
• Registration and payment for a criminal background check
• Submission of a completed Wake Tech physical examination form
• Immunization requirements
• American Heart Association CPR certification (Healthcare Provider course)
• Program costs, purchase of instruments and uniforms, textbooks, etc.
• Other information pertinent to beginning the program (schedules, clinic basics, student club, etc.)

Failure to meet deadlines provided at orientation for uploading documentation to CastleBranch may result in forfeiture of the seat.

If you have questions pertaining to CastleBranch or the criminal background check process, contact Clinical Compliance Administrator/Test Administrator Barbara Smith at 919-747-0105 or [email protected].