Hello and welcome to our Dental Hygiene program website!

Here you will find information about our patient care clinic and the services we offer: http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/dental/patient-care-clinic.aspx. If you are interested to come to us for your dental hygiene care, we look forward to seeing you soon!

For students interested in a career as a Dental Hygienist, it is a wonderful career! The dental hygiene department has organized the website to guide you toward your educational and career goal. Please read the important information found under each tab on the home page and watch the informational videos. The advisement tab has a frequently-asked questions section which many students find helpful. We appreciate your interest in a career in Dental Hygiene. The faculty of this department are dedicated mentors who support the dental hygiene students in their journey to become healthcare professionals. Upon completion of the Dental Hygiene educational program, you will be eligible to take the required licensing examinations to become a licensed dental hygienist. The primary role of a dental hygienist is to focus on the prevention of oral diseases and to understand how the oral health is linked with systemic health. You can learn more about the dental hygiene profession here: http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/dental/profession.aspx

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 94% of the US Dental Hygienists are employed in the offices of dentists,¹ however, there are opportunities for employment in public health agencies, hospital based dental clinics, dental products' sales, and as dental hygiene educators. There is an opportunity for career diversity with this degree and professional license and the job outlook is very bright: it is projected that the employment of dental hygienists will grow by 11% in the decade 2020-2030, which is higher than the average of all occupations.2 Nationwide, about 15,600 openings for dental hygienists are projected each year this decade.²

An Associate degree, offered at CityTech, is the minimal educational requirement to be eligible to obtain a dental hygiene license. However, many of the CityTech dental hygiene alumni have chosen to continue their education towards baccalaureate and masters' degrees at CUNY or other academic institutions. In September 2021, the U.S. News & World Report published its rankings of the U.S. best programs in 'dental support services and allied professions' education. Nearly 1500 programs were evaluated on the 17 measures of academic performance. CityTech was listed in the top 10, demonstrating the great achievement by our Restorative Dentistry and Dental Hygiene programs.³

Please learn more about or program by reviewing all information on this site. Whether you are a current or future patient or a student considering to apply to our program, we look forward to meeting you soon!

Anna Matthews, RDH MS
Chairperson, Dental Hygiene Department

¹ https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dental-hygienists.htm#tab-6
² https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dental-hygienists.htm#tab-3
³ https://www.beckersdental.com/benchmarking/37176-top-10-colleges-for-dental-support-roles.html