Coursework

Program Prerequisites

The following courses must be completed prior to applying for admission to the program. “In Progress” work for the prerequisites will not be considered during the selection process.The required prerequisites are requirements of the Dental Hygiene Board of California consistent with requirements for admission of all DH Students effective April 2022. 

Prerequisites (GPA in Pre-requisite courses needs to be 3.0 or higher)

        Prerequisite Courses: Minimum grade of C in:

  1. Course  Title Unit
    ENGL 001A or ENGL 001AH READING AND COMPOSITION or HONORS READING AND COMPOSITION 4
    PSYC 001 or PSYC 001H INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY or HONORS INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY 4
    SPCH 001 or SPCH 001H or SPCH 010 FUNDAMENTALS OF SPEECH or HONORS FUNDAMENTALS OF SPEECH or INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION 3
    SOC 001 or SOC 001H INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY or HONORS INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY 3
    INTERMEDIATE ALEGBRA or STAT 50 or STAT 50H or MATH 003 INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA or ELEMENTARY STATISTICS or HONORS ELEMENTARY STATISTICS or ALGEBRA FOR STEM 4
    U.S. HISTORY (one course)   3
    POLITICAL SCIENCE (one course)   3
    PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (2 units)   2
  2. Prerequisite Courses: Minimum grade of B in these science courses (It is recommended that they be taken within the last five years)
  3. Course Title Unit
    MICR 002 MICROBIOLOGY 4
    NUTR 011 HUMAN NUTRITION 3
    ANAT 025 HUMAN ANATOMY 4
    PYSO 001 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY 4
    CHEM 2A CHEMISTRY - GENERAL, ORGANIC AND BIOCHEMISTRY I 4
    CHEM 2B CHEMISTRY - GENERAL, ORGANIC AND BIOCHEMISTRY II 4
  4. AP scores can be used for only English and Math prerequisites
  5. In addition, all students who do not hold a previously earned Associate's Degree or higher must be eligible to receive an associate degree in dental hygiene upon completion of the program in order to be licensable in the State of California. As such you will need to complete the above course work in addition to satisfying one of the approved general educational patterns of the college to be eligible to be awarded an associate degree. See list of GE Patterns: https://pasadena.edu/academics/degrees-and-certificates/aa-degrees/degree-requirements.php
  6. 1. Local General Education Pattern or, 
    2. California State University (CSU) General Education Pattern or,
    3. Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) General Education Pattern 
  7. Students with foreign transcripts will need to complete the Foreign Transcript Evaluation process to determine which if any of the above referenced courses can be counted to meet the prerequiste requirements (Please refer to the Admissions Tab for additional details). 

Required Coursework

First (Junior) Year:

Fall Semester

First Year | 14 Units

  • ANAT 115 - Head Neck Anatomy Histology and Embryology  (3.0 units)
  • DH 101A - Fundamentals of Dental Hygiene (5.0 units)
  • DH 109 - Dental Health Education, Communication and Diversity  (2.0 units)
  • DH 117 -  Dental Morphology and Occlusion (2.0 units)
  • DH 122* -   Medical Evaluation of Dental Hygiene Patients(2 units)
Winter Semester

First Year | 4 Units

DH200A* - Directed Studies in Clinical Dental Hygiene (1 Unit) 
DH141*-  Oral Radiology (3 Units)

Spring Semester

 First Year - | 12.5 Units

  • DH 101B - Fundamentals of Dental Hygiene Theory and Practice (5.0 units)
  • DH 105 - Advanced Dental Hygiene Theory and Practice (3.0 units)
  • DH 116 - Dental Materials (2.5 units)
  • DH 108 - DH 108 - Pharmacology (2.0 units)
Summer Intercession

First Year Students | 3 units                              

  • DH 104A - Clinical Dental Hygiene Theory and Practice: Pain Control  (2.0 Units)
  • DH 200B- Advanced Techniques in Clinical Dental Hygiene (1 unit)

Second (Senior) Year

Fall Semester

 Second Year Students- 14.0 Units

  • DH 104B - Clinical Dental Hygiene Theory and Practice  (7.0 units)
  • DH 107 - Introduction to Oral Health Research (2.0 units)
  • DH 113A - Periodontics  (2.0 units)
  • DH 119A - Community Dental Health (2.0 units)
  • DH 121 - Clinical Practice in Alternative Settings (1.0 units)
Winter Semester

 Second Year Students- 1 Unit

DH201* - Dental Hygiene Skills Enhancement Lab (1 Unit)

Spring Semester

 Second Year Students- 11.0 Units

  • DH 104C -  Advanced Clinical Dental Hygiene Theory and Practice (7 units)
  • DH 111 - Current Issues in Dental Hygiene (2 units)
  • DH 113B - Advanced Periodontics ( 1 unit)
  • DH 121 - Clinical Practice in Alternative Settings (1 unit)
Summer Intercession

Summer -1.0 unit

  • DH 200C - Clinical Board Preparation** 1unit

       ***Elective for Graduates

Recommended electives:

  • DH 200C Clinical Board Preparation (1 unit, elective for graduates)*** 
  • DH 119B Community Dental Health Lab (0.5 unit)
  • DH 120 Independent Study (1 unit)

Course Resources

Use the resources below to see full course descriptions and check on the availability of courses in a given semester.

This program is designed to be completed in months.

This program will cost if completed within normal time. There may be additional costs for living expenses. These costs were accurate at the time of posting, but may have changed.

Of the students who completed this program within normal time, the typical graduate leaves with of debt.

License requirements:

For more information about graduation rates, loan repayment rates, and post-enrollment earnings about this institution and other postsecondary institutions please click here: www.collegescorecard.ed.gov.

This program has not passed standards established by the U.S. Department of Education. The Department based these standards on the amounts students borrow for enrollment in this program and their reported earnings. If in the future the program does not pass the standards, students who are then enrolled may not be able to use federal student grants or loans to pay for the program, and may have to find other ways, such as private loans, to pay for the program.