Healthcare
Dental Hygienist
Dental hygienists clean teeth, take X-rays, and educate patients on oral health. It offers strong pay and flexibility for a relatively short training path.
Median salary (BLS)
$81,000
10th–90th percentile (BLS)
$60k – $105k
Job outlook
+9% (faster than average)
AI exposure
Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $93,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.
Plan a path to Dental Hygienist
Education
Typical entry: Associate degree
Associate degree in dental hygiene plus licensure.
Plan my path to this →How to qualify
EstimateLicense requiredCost to qualify
$8,200–$23,000
Time to qualify
2.2 yr
Renewal
$75/yr
- 1
Associate degree (community college)
DegreeTwo years at in-district rates — average published tuition & fees ≈ $4,050/yr, plus ~$1,200/yr books & supplies.
$8,000–$22,000 · 2 years source
- 2
National & state licensure
LicenseA national board/registry exam plus a state license application (the NCLEX pattern). Exact exam and fees depend on the role and state.
$200–$1,000 · 2 months · varies by state · renews every 2 yr source
Estimated typical U.S. route for "Dental Hygienist" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.
Typical progression
Junior Dental Hygienist
Entry / Junior
$60,000
~2 yrs to advance
Dental Hygienist
Established
$81,000
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Dental Hygienist
Senior
$93,000
Key skills
A typical day
- •Clean and examine teeth
- •Take X-rays
- •Educate patients
Fields of study
Dental Hygiene · Health Sciences
Top colleges for Healthcare
Explore all- Johns Hopkins University7% admit · $93,000 grad pay
- Harvard University4% admit · $119,000 grad pay
- University of Michigan18% admit · $87,000 grad pay
- Duke University6% admit · $105,000 grad pay
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill19% admit · $73,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.
Related careers
Other careers from this field of study
Mapped by field-of-study code (Dental Hygiene, Health Sciences), not by job-title guessing.