Dental Hygienist Schools
As a professor or instructor of dental hygienist classes at one of the 332 accredited dental hygienist schools in the country, you play a significant role in shaping the future of this growing field. The graphs, statistics and analysis below outline the current state and the future direction of academia in dental hygienist, which encompasses dental hygienist training at the following levels:
- Dental Hygienist Certificate
- Associates degree in Dental Hygienist
- Bachelors degree in Dental Hygienist
- Masters degree in Dental Hygienist
Statistics
Professional Trends
National Employment growth for Dental hygienists
| 166,380 | 168,600 | 173,090 | 173,900 | 177,520 |
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|
- Dark Yellow: Actual Values
177,520 dental hygienists were working in the US in the year 2010. Between 2006 and 2010, the number of dental hygienists has grown by 7%.
And the growth for all careers between the years 2006 and 2010 was 1%. This trend is expected to continue over the next 7 years.
National Salary percentiles for Dental hygienists
10th percentile |
$45,000 |
25th percentile |
$55,930 |
50th percentile |
$68,250 |
75th percentile |
$81,340 |
90th percentile |
$93,820 |
The median yearly salary earned by dental hygienists, in 2010, was $68,250. This is 1% more than the national median salary for all professions, which was $68,155 per year.
National Median Salary Growth For Dental Hygienist
| $62,800 | $64,740 | $66,570 | $67,340 | $68,250 |
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|
- Light Blue: Salaries
There has been a 9% growth in dental hygienists' salaries from 2006 to 2010.
Educational Trends
National Dental Hygienist Student enrollment growth by degree
| 5,132 | 5,257 | 5,504 | 5,421 | 5,472 |
| 1,410 | 1,510 | 1,507 | 1,737 | 1,806 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 13 | 19 | 37 | 33 |
| 203 | 139 | 187 | 168 | 255 |
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|
- Yellow: Associate's Degree in Dental Hygienist
- Blue: Bachelor's Degree in Dental Hygienist
- Red: Doctorates Degree in Dental Hygienist
- Light blue: Master's Degree in Dental Hygienist
- Grey: Certificate in Dental Hygienist
We are seeing a rapid change in the career outlook for dental hygienists. However, the story on the educational front is quite different. In the year 2006 there were 6,756 students who graduated from dental hygienist degree programs across the country, while in the year 2010, there were 7,566 students graduating from dental hygienist schools.
This represents a 12% change in the number of graduates. This growth in the number of students graduating from dental hygienist courses is less than the change nationally for students graduating from institutions for higher education in general, which has been a 12% growth from 2006 to 2010.
Dental Hygienist Programs offered Nationwide
associate |
262 |
bachelor |
67 |
master |
8 |
doctor |
0 |
Certificate |
17 |
| Total | 354 |
The number of schools offering dental hygienist programs has decreased. In the year 2006, there were 307 dental hygienist schools in the US. And in the year 2010, there were 332 schools.