FAQs

YES, the Dental Hygiene Program offered at the VCDH has been granted Accreditation by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada.

Students that graduate from an Accredited Dental Hygiene Program in Canada automatically will be granted permission to write the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board Exam with the NDHCB.  Since VCDH is an accredited institution with the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada this allows students to write their board exam up to four months prior to the completion of the program.

Once the student successfully passes the National Examination, they can apply for their license with the College of Dental Hygienist’s of British Columbia or the province of choice.

In addition, because VCDH is an accredited institution it allows the students to also write the National Board examination in the USA.

A Non Accredited Institution graduate must successfully pass the National Board exam (written) and also complete a practical examination held by the College of Dental Hygienists of British Columbia. There are additional fees associated with completing the practical exam.

Yes, there is a fee associated with writing the NDHCB exam and is the full responsibility of the student separate of the fees payable to the VCDH for the dental hygiene program.

The Dental Hygiene Program offered at the VCDH is only 18 months (76 weeks) in duration.

VCDH does not take summer vacations off. The Dental Hygiene program consists of four semesters with only one week off in between. Students find this system to work best for their needs. The advantages to this is that students can complete their program up to 6 months earlier than other programs, students do not forget how to study in between time off and the graduate can commence their career sooner.

Upon successfully completing the program offered at the VCDH, the graduate will receive an Official Diploma from the dental hygiene program.

The dental hygiene program runs continuous for the 18 months. There are one week breaks given in between the 4 semesters to the students, therefore 3 weeks in total. If the program runs during the Christmas holidays, then the students will be given the time off in and around Christmas and New Year’s. Students prefer this continuous program because they believe that if they have committed themselves to studying, then they would rather go straight thru the program and finish so that they can commence their career as a dental hygienist sooner.

The total program cost is $56,075.00. This includes everything from tuition, textbooks, insurance, instruments and clinical fees.

Tuition refund policy compliance standards

1. If the Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene Inc. receives tuition from the student, or a person on behalf of the student, the institution will refund the student, or the person who paid on behalf of the student, the tuition that was paid in relation to the Dental Hygiene Diploma in which the student is enrolled if:
   1. the institution receives a notice of withdrawal from the student no later than seven days after the effective contract date and before the contract start date;
   2. the student, or the student’s parent or legal guardian, signs the student enrolment contract seven days or less before the contract start date and the institution receives a notice of withdrawal from the student between the date the student, or the student’s parent or legal guardian, signed thestudent enrolment contract and the contract start date; or
   3. the student does not attend a work experience component and theinstitution does not provide all of the hours of instruction of the workexperience component within 30 days of the contract enddate.
2. The Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene Inc. will refund the tuition for the Dental Hygiene Diploma and all related fees paid by the student or a person onbehalf of the student enrolled in the program if the student is enrolled in the program without having met the admission requirements and did not misrepresent his or her knowledge or skills when applying for admission.
3. If a student does not attend any of the first 30% of the hours of instruction to be provided during the contract term, the Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene Inc. may retain up to 50% of the tuition paid under the student enrolment contract unless the program is provided solely through distance education.
4. Unless the Dental Hygiene Diploma is provided solely through distance education, if the Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene Inc. receives a notice of withdrawal from a student:
   1. more than seven days after the effective contract date and
   1. at least 30 days before the contract start date, the institution mayretain up to 10% of the tuition due under the student enrolment contract, to a maximum of $1,000.
   2. less than 30 days before the contract start date, the institution may retain up to 20% of the tuition due under the student enrolment contract, to a maximum of $1,300.
   2. after the contract start date
   1. and up to and including 10% of the hours of instruction to be provided during the contract term have been provided, the institution may retain up to 30% of the tuition due under the student enrolment contract.
   2. and after 10% but before 30% of the hours of instruction to be provided during the contract term have been provided, the institution may retain up to 50% of the tuition due under the student enrolment contract.
5. Unless the Dental Hygiene Diploma is provided solely through distance education, if the Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene Inc. provides a notice of if the Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene Inc. provides the Dental HygieneDiploma solely through distance education and the institution receives a student’s notice of withdrawal or the institution delivers a notice of dismissal to the student and
1. the student has completed and received an evaluation of his or her performance for up to 30% of the hours of instruction to be provided during the contract term, the institution may retain up to 30% of the tuition due under the student enrolment contract, or
2. the student has completed and received an evaluation of his or herperformance for more than 30% but less than 50% of the program, theinstitution may retain up to 50% of the tuition due under the student enrolment contract.
6. The Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene Inc. will refund fees charged for course materials paid for but not received if the student provides a notice of withdrawal to the institution or the institution provides a notice of dismissal to the student.
7. Refunds required under this policy will be paid to the student, or a person who paid the tuition or fees on behalf of the student, within 30 days:
1. of the date the Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene Inc. receives a student’s notice of withdrawal,
2. of the date The Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene Inc. provides a notice of dismissal to the student,
3. of the date that the registrar provides noticeto the Vancouver College ofDental Hygiene Inc. that the institution is not complying with section 1(c) or 2 of this policy, or
4. after the first 30% of the hours of instruction if section 3 of this policy applies.
8. If an international student delivers a copy of a refusal of a study permit to the Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene Inc., sections 1(a), 1(b), 4, 7 and 8 of this policy apply as if the copy of the refusalwere a notice of withdrawal, unless:
1. the international student requests an additional letter of acceptance forthe same program that was the subject of the refusal of a study permit,
2. or the Dental Hygiene Diploma is provided solely through distanceeducation

Please Note: If written notice of withdrawal is received by the institution, or a student is dismissed/released, there will be no refund of any kind given to the students for the entirety of the books and or equipment unless yet to be received at which point the student would be entitled to a 100% refund

The VCDH only accepts bank drafts for additional fees and allows personal cheques for tuition payments.

There are no hidden fees at the VCDH. We believe that the student should know what their financial situation is well in advance so that they can prepare themselves for the financial commitment of the dental hygiene program.

Applicants must fill out an application form and complete a mandatory pre-admission exam.
Applicants who achieve 70% or above on the mandatory pre-admission exam will be granted a pre-admission interview.
All pre-admission interview applicants are evaluated on their communication skills, critical thinking skills and professional demeanor.

No! The admission process is FREE!

The Pre-admission examination is a multiple choice examination. It includes biology questions, spatial relation questions and a written component.

Spatial relation type questions can be found in the DAT books that Dentists may study from prior to getting accepted into the dentistry program. The section on basic biology is equivalent to Grade 12 science which is offered in most high schools.

There are 54 students that are accepted into the Dental Hygiene Program.

When the students participate in the theory portion of the program, all students are taught together to ensure consistency in a lecture format. Whereas, whenever there is clinical or hands on component, the students are split up into two groups of 27 students. In the clinic, there is a 1 to 6 teacher to student ratio.

The VCDH clinic environment has 27 dental chairs to ensure that each student has use of their own dental chair during their clinical studies. In addition the students have an additional 5 dental chairs for their Radiology labs (X-ray). 

There are six University pre-requisites that are required prior to entering into the dental hygiene program offered at the VCDH. They are as follows:

6 Chemistry with Lab credits
6 First Year Human Anatomy and Physiology with Lab credits
6 First Year Psychology credits
6 First Year English credits
3 First Year Statistics credits
3 Elective credits

The VCDH has no preference as to where your credits are achieved as long as they are University transfer courses.

The Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene has 27 fully operational dental chairs which includes 3 digital radiographic units within the clinic. There are an additional 8 Radiology Rooms for Student to practice Radiology.

The Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene requires that applicants have completed their First Year University Credits with a passing grade.
To be considered a passing grade, the grade achieved must be recognized as a prerequisite for another course as defined on the institution's transcript.
Overall academic strength will be reviewed in determining an applicants' acceptance into the program.

Once the student is enrolled into the Dental Hygiene Program, they must achieve a 65% average in order to be successful in their program. In addition the Radiology Lab component must be successfully passed by achieving 70%.

The Dental Hygiene standards at VCDH have been set high so that our graduates are well prepared for the National Board examination.

The success rate of VCDH students on the National Board Examination is above the national average. VCDH is proud of this achievement!

In addition, VCDH wants to ensure that the graduate is competent and feels comfortable when they complete the program and commence working as a dental hygienist. 

There are many provinces and or states that require the students to have their first year university transfer courses. If a student attends the dental hygiene program at the TCDHA in Ontario, then the student is not required to take their first year university transfer courses prior to applying. In Ontario, the Dental Hygiene Programs are considered direct entry programs, meaning that the applicant can apply directly from high school and does not need any pre-requisites.

The student would attend the dental hygiene program and once successfully completing the program would be offered an official diploma from the accredited program. The individual would then be required to write the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board Exam and pass.

The graduate could register within Ontario to get their Dental Hygiene Registration or they could return to their province or state and apply for their dental hygiene registration in the province that they would like to practice.

Does Ontario offer the Local Anesthetic course?

No. In Ontario, local anesthetic in not a course that is required to be taken since dental hygienists in Ontario cannot practice this procedure. Therefore, if the graduate is returning to a province that this is a requirement, then the student would still be allowed to register and practice in the province. However, they would be given a certain period of time (approximately 2 years ) to complete a local anesthetic course.

Call Today to speak to one of our Admission Coordinators (604) 215-7611 or toll free at 1-800-457-3189