Utah Dental Hygiene Programs
If you are excited to begin work as a dental hygienist in Utah, your next step is to pick a school where you can get the education you need to launch that career. Check out the list below to find colleges and universities in Utah which are offering an accredited dental hygiene program.
| Institute | Address | Website | Program |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dixie State University | 225 South 700 East Taylor Health Science Building St. George, UT 84770 | www.dixie.edu | AAS BS |
| Fortis College-Salt Lake City | 3949 South 700 East, Suite 150 Salt Lake City, UT 84107 | www.fortis.edu | AS |
| Salt Lake Community College, Jordan Campus | 3941 West Wights Fort Road HTC 110B West Jordan, UT 84088 | www.slcc.edu | AS/AAS |
| Utah College of Dental Hygiene | 1176 S. 1480 West Orem, UT 84058 | www.ucdh.edu | BS-DH |
| Utah Valley University | 800 West University Parkway Orem, UT 84058 | www.uvu.edu | AAS |
| Weber State University | 3891 Stadium Way, Dept. 3920 Ogden, UT 84408 | www.weber.edu | AS |
License Requirements
If you decide to move forward with your plan to become a dental hygienist in Utah, here are the licensing requirements:
- Pay the $60 application fee.
- Provide the relevant documentation to prove your identity.
- Pass a CPR course and provide a copy of your current certification. Alternately, the Board will accept BCLS course certification.
- Take and pass a course in dental hygiene which is accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation. Have your official transcripts mailed from the school directly to the Board.
- Take and pass the National Board Examination and have your scores sent over.
- Pass a clinical exam from WREB, CITA, CDCA, CRDTS or SRTA. Once you do, have the scores sent to the Board by the agency that administered your test.
- Fulfill any additional relevant requirements pertaining to local anesthesia.
Dental Hygienist Salary in Utah
If the majestic landscapes and the high liveability of Utah call to you, you may very well want to launch a career in dental hygiene in the state. But how much money will you make, and what opportunities will you find?
If you want answers to career demand questions such as these, the best source to check is always the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In 2018, the BLS investigated salaries and other employment data for dental hygienists all across the United States. They discovered that in Utah, there were 2,860 dental hygienists, and that their annual mean wage was $69,490.
That means that on average, Utah dental hygienists are earning less than some of their counterparts in other parts of the country; the nationwide mean is actually $73,440.
How does this measure up to Utah’s cost of living? Well, Utah does admittedly cost more to live in than a lot of other states. This is true regardless of whether you are in Salt Lake City or you are elsewhere in the state, like down in St. George. Even though St. George is in the middle of desert, it is pricier than other rural areas because it is a tourist magnet (Zion and Bryce are right here).
You will earn more if you are working in the Salt Lake area, where the mean annual wage is $71,660. So you should head there for the most abundant opportunities and higher wages. But if you are drawn to the desert, the natural beauty of Utah’s southwest may be worth it. With the field of dental hygiene growing at a rate of 20%, many opportunities should spring up throughout the state in the coming years.
| Area Name | Employment | Hourly mean wage | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Utah nonmetropolitan area | 90 | $32.45 | $67,490 |
| Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area | 80 | $32.86 | $68,340 |
| Logan, UT | 90 | $30.86 | $64,190 |
| Ogden, Clearfield, UT | 630 | $33.91 | $70,530 |
| Provo, Orem | 520 | $31.29 | $65,090 |
| Salt Lake City | 1270 | $34.53 | $71,830 |
| St. George | 200 | $32.40 | $67,390 |
Living in Utah
Looking for a unique state to start your career as a dental hygienist? One which you may want to look into is Utah. Utah is the 13th largest state geographically, but it is the 10th least densely populated. Around 80% of the state’s population resides in the capital of Salt Lake City. The entire state is regarded as one of the most livable nationwide for reasons relating to economic and lifestyle factors. In fact, Utah has the least income inequality of any state nationwide!
Geologically, Utah is incredibly diverse, with many distinct sub-regions which each offer different scenery. Arches, Zion, and Bryce National Parks are all located here—three incredibly unique desert parks which are all actually part of the same immense geological feature (which also happens to include the Grand Canyon, though that is in Arizona).
Other parks in Utah to explore include Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. You will be hard-pressed to find stunning rock formations to compete with those in Utah’s parks anywhere else in the country.