A photo of a dentist pointing to a patient's xray of their teeth, with the patient reclined on the chair

DENTAL HYGIENE

Committed to Patient Care

Do you enjoy working with people? Helping others attain health? Like working on-one? Want to earn enough money in 3-4 days/week to support yourself and your family?

Our Dental Hygiene Program fits this description! This is an exciting career opportunity and one of the highest paid jobs with an Associates Degree in California!

If you enjoy science classes, this may be the career for you. For more information, please contact our program technician at 619-216-6665 X4862.

Learn More. Earn More.

Our Dental Hygiene Program provides education and experience, to prepare graduates for licensing as dental hygienists. Accepted students will begin each fall semester and continue for two years. Students generally have classes five (5) days per week. Procedures include yet are not limited to oral health assessments, taking x-rays, dental health education, removal of soft and hard deposits from teeth, and adjunct therapeutic services such as sealants, fluorides, and antimicrobials.

Degree Available

Become a Dental Hygiene Student

Become a Dental Hygiene Clinic Patient

The Dental Hygiene Clinic at the Higher Education Center at National City serves as an educational facility to support the clinical learning needs of the students enrolled in the Dental Hygiene Program. Under the supervision of licensed dentists (DDS/DMD) and registered dental hygienists (RDH), the dental hygiene students provide oral health care education and dental hygiene services (teeth cleaning and x-rays) to the general public along with the Southwestern College community, including students, faculty, and staff.

The Dental Hygiene Clinic is a teaching facility, therefore, care/treatment is offered only to individuals that meet the appropriate patient criteria for student learning; not all patients will qualify to receive dental hygiene services: 

Patients must: 

  • Be free of medical or dental conditions that would make treatment hazardous to patient or operator. 
  • Have oral and behavioral conditions that are considered acceptable for student learning. 
  • Have interest in learning preventive oral hygiene techniques. 
  • Cooperate in keeping clinic appointments on time.

The clinic supervisor reserves the right to refuse or discontinue treatment when indicated. For a complete understanding of patient's rights and responsibilities, please refer to the Patient’s Bill of Rights document at bottom of page.

Clinic Schedule 

As a college program and teaching facility, the Dental Hygiene Clinic operates on a semester system based on the Southwestern College academic calendar: 

Semester Dates
Fall Late August – December
Spring Late January – May
Summer June – July 11

The clinic is closed on all major holidays and also for Winter Break, Spring Break and part of the summer months.

Click here to view the Southwestern College Academic Calendar

Please be advised that the Dental Hygiene Clinic has no receptionist. Messages left of the clinic phone are checked daily. Students schedule their own appointments, however keep in mind that students also have lecture courses to attend. 

We appreciate your patience in awaiting a response for clinic services.

For information on how and where to obtain low cost dental service in San Diego county call 2-1-1 San Diego.  2-1-1 is a free, 24 hour confidential phone service to obtain information on a wide variety of services available in San Diego County.  Visit 2-1-1 San Diego.

Cesar Chavez Building

Career Center Counseling Appointment

Get help choosing your classes, developing your Student Education Plan (SEP), or polishing your resume

Current Catalog

Get the specifics

Related Occupations

Learn more.