Southwestern College in Chula Vista, Ca. is a 2 year public California Community College located approximately 10 miles from downtown San Diego. Students who apply to the Southwestern College dental hygiene program are expected to be proficient in multiple areas. Those area include Mathematics, sociology, psychology, nutrition, life sciences, reading comprehension, and effective communication. Because of this, all prerequisites are geared towards these educational disciplines. There are a total of 35 units which must be completed before being eligible to apply for the dental hygiene program at Southwestern College. All prerequisites must have been completed within 5 years of the dental hygiene application date. As of 2016, “In Progress” classes will not be accepted.
Although a Math class is not part of the prerequisites, an assessment test must be taken to show the equivalent competency of SWC’s Math 70 (Elementary Algebra), or MATH 60 with a grade “C” or better must be taken. Current prerequisites as of 2016 for the dental hygiene program:
The dental hygiene program at Southwestern College accepts 36 students per year. The program begins in the summer term, and is a 2 year program. The period for accepting applications is the beginning of January to the end of February. Southwestern College verifies all applications by the end of March for the upcoming Summer program. Okay, HERE’S THE IMPORTANT PART: The applicants are chosen BASED ON WHEN THE COMPLETED APPLICATION WAS RECEIVED (POSTMARKED DATE). So, what does this mean? Get all your ducks in a row early, so you can get your completed application in on the first day applications are accepted. Now, since the dental hygiene program at Southwestern College is so competitive, it’s a safe bet to assume there will be lots of potential students applying on the first day. If more students apply than there are spots (more than 36 students apply), there will be a “tie-breaker”. The tie-breaker is the GPA of the students’ science classes.
The same criteria is used to select 15 alternate students, in case any of the 36 chosen students aren’t able to begin the program. So, the take-away: for the best chances of being accepted, make sure your science GPA is high. And get your application in at the earliest possible time!
The dental hygiene program at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, Ca is estimated to cost between $12,000 to $13,000. The highest expense comes at the start of the first semester. This is when the instructional supplies and dental hygiene kit must be purchased. The dental hygiene kit is mandatory at all the dental hygiene schools in California, not just Southwestern College. Then, of course, are the super-expensive books, tuition at $46 per unit, and uniforms. The Financial Aid office at Southwestern College has lots of information regarding grants, scholarships, and other ways to offset the costs of the dental hygiene program.
The dental hygiene staff at Southwestern College recommends that students not work more than 20 hours per week. This is because the dental hygiene program is so demanding. Like most other careers, if it was easy everyone would be doing it. I’ve talked to plenty of students who have done whatever they have to in order to attend a dental hygiene program at one of the California Community Colleges. The Cerritos College dental hygiene program has similar costs, except their dental hygiene kit is more expensive. The program at Southwestern College is also a bit less expensive than comparable programs, such as the Cypress College dental hygiene school.
Southwestern College 619-421-6700 900 Otay Lakes Rd. Chula Vista, CA 91910
Health careers are booming nowadays, even recession-proof during these times of crisis. Health careers are stable and respected jobs, and dentists are no different. If you wanted a sure bright future and stable income, then becoming a dental hygienist or dentist is one of the best careers out there for you—and you can only be a dental hygienist if you get your schooling from accredited dental hygiene schools around the United States of America.
The dental hygienist’s job is to ensure the health and hygiene of their patient’s teeth and gums. This can be done through regular check up, using many procedures and teaching the patients how to better take care of their teeth and gums against disease.
According to United States’ Bureau of Labor Statistics, the dental hygienist career will grow to 36% in the next eight years. A hygienist practicing in the US earns an average of US $76,570 a year in 2012, and is expected to increase steadily over the years. Some are members of dental offices, hospitals, and clinics, while others have their own practices. Moreover, the dental work mostly has part time or flexible schedule basis.
What are the educational requirements to become a dental hygienist? Of course, a respected profession like this requires successful completion of an accredited dental hygiene school in the US. Some states, such as Florida and others, also allow foreign trained dentists, making it an appeal career option for many foreigners.
Training will take around two years to complete, and it requires one to submit a high school diploma and must have passed the college entrance test score. As of this year, there are 313 accredited dental hygiene schools in the United States. They train students with the necessary health science subjects such as microbiology, nutrition, anatomy and chemistry; as well as dental health related subjects like periodontology, dental radiology, clinical dental hygiene, etc.
After completion of the course you are required to take a written exam by the National Dental Exams of the American Dental Association.
Some of the responsibilities of the dental hygienist are taking and developing the patient’s dental X-ray, teaching dental patients regarding good oral hygiene and nutrition, creating the patient’s teeth molds for evaluation and treatment, applying sealants and fluorides to the teeth and other preventive materials, administering of anesthetics when needed, and preparing the clinical and laboratory diagnostic test to be used by the dentist for interpretation.
The job demands skills and good training to be able to do these duties and responsibilities. To become a dental hygienist you need to study and train to get an associate’s degree and after attaining that you have to pass a licensing board examination in order to be qualified to be a dental hygienist. And if you want to further your career either in research work , in teaching , in public and school dental health programs or clinical practice you must continue your education in order to obtain a bachelor’s and master’s degree in dental hygiene. Further studies and specialization will help you get promoted and increase your salary.
The dental hygienist salary depends on these several factors: location, experience, education, and employment setting. A dental hygienist receives a salary ranging from $59,345 to $71,080 and it could even go up to $80,000 or more annually. Location affects the salary of the dental hygienist. Salary are much higher in areas where cost of living is higher like the urban areas, while in rural areas where cost of living is lower salary received is also lower. Starting pay for dental hygienist is $37,000 to $40,000 annually since they have lesser experience compared to those who have five to seven years of experience who would receive $60,000. And as the years of experience grows to eight to ten years salary would also increase to as much as $100,000. Dental hygienist employed in hospitals receives lesser pay then those who work in a private offices or clinics.
Demand for dental hygienist is great in hospitals, private dental offices, dental schools, public health clinics, and programs concerning dental hygiene education. Aside from these job opportunities, there are also other career opportunities that are open to them like, in the field of research, in the field of business with companies that provides dental-related equipments and materials and in the field of education as teachers in dental schools.
Work schedules for dental hygienist vary and are very flexible. You could practice full-time, from nine to five daily or part-time weekends or evening’s only .Some part-timers work for two to three days a week depending on their schedule or preferences. Some also receives commission based salary where they are paid according to the specific job they were asked to do. This arrangement allows them to work for two or more dental offices.
Being a Dental hygienist is an exciting and demanding job and financial opportunity is good at the same time it gives you satisfaction in being able to help people have confidence with their smile.