Dental Hygiene - Dental Hygiene AS Degree

Cost: $23,197
Length: 102 weeks
Working 6 months later: 90%

Program names and program descriptions appear here in English, because that is the only language the federal and state records publish them in. Occupation titles are translated where O*NET publishes a Spanish name. Everything else on this page is translated.

What happened to people who took this

People enrolled: 34

Small group — treat with caution

Finished the program: 78%Based on 23 peopleTypical California program: 85% of 1,951 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Working 6 months later: 90%Typical California program: 69% of 1,690 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Earnings in one quarter after: $17,632A single quarter of earnings, roughly three months, not a yearly salary. Do not compare it directly with the yearly pay shown for the occupation.Typical California program: $10,900 of 1,339 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.

The job this trains for

This describes the jobs people do, not the classes this program teaches. It comes from the U.S. Department of Labor, which asks people already doing the work. The Department publishes it in English only, so the job names and the sentences below stay in English on this page.

Where California publishes a separate figure for Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County), it appears beneath the statewide one. Statewide stays the headline: people who train here do not necessarily work here.

Dental Hygienists

Job ads may call this: Hygienist · Dental Hygienist · Licensed Dental Hygienist · Pediatric Dental Hygienist

Some of what people in this job do. The Department rates how important each one is, and they appear in that order.

Record and review patient medical histories.
Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.
Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.
Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.

Show 4 more things this job involves

Provide clinical services or health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients or the general public.
Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.
Expose and develop x-ray film.
Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills.

What this pays in Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County)

Each bar runs from the lowest-paid tenth to the highest-paid tenth. The darker middle is where half the people are, and the line is the median.

Area	The lowest-paid tenth earn under	Half earn under	The highest-paid tenth earn over
Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County)	$109,872	$134,256	$149,676
Across California	$104,948	$128,427	$156,173

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) beside the same figures for the whole state. A region can sit well below or above the statewide spread, and the statewide number is the one most often quoted — so where they differ, the local row is the one that describes the work near this program.

Typical pay in California: $128,427per yearSanta Cruz-Watsonville MSA: $130,575
Projected openings: 17,950Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA: 120
Projected change: +10.7%
Usually needs: Associate's degree

Getting in

Experience needed first: None
Training after you are hired: None

No earlier job experience is expected, and new hires are not put through a long training period. For work like this, a program is usually the way in.

These are the federal government's answers for the occupation, not rules this provider sets. California publishes the same two answers for every one of these jobs.

Program details

This program provides in-person instruction only.

The Associate in Science in Dental Hygiene prepares students to be eligible to take the state and national licensing examinations. A dental hygienist is a person who is trained and licensed to provide dental hygiene therapy, expose dental x-rays, and provide preventative services, usually under the supervision of a dentist. The dental hygiene profession demands a high level of ethics, professionalism, critical thinking, and manual dexterity. The dental hygiene program at Cabrillo College is affiliated with the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco. This Associate in Science degree requires completion of a 24 unit general education pattern. Completing the program prerequisites and additional graduation requirements will meet most areas of the Cabrillo College general education pattern. Visit Cabrillo Colleges general education page for additional information. Due to the rigorous academic nature of the dental hygiene program it is advisable to complete the general education requirements for the Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene before entering the program. The dental hygiene program follows the academic policies and procedures listed in the Cabrillo College catalog and the dental hygiene student policy handbook.

Someone else may be able to pay for this

This program was on California's Eligible Training Provider List when the state last reported it to the U.S. Department of Labor (2026-09-18). Programs on that list can be paid for through an Individual Training Account. Listings are renewed periodically and can lapse, so a program listed when the state last reported may not be listed today. Ask before you rely on it.

Ask before you enroll, not after

The order the rules set out starts at the center rather than at the school. Before a center can find somebody eligible for training services it has to gather enough to decide, at a minimum through an interview, evaluation or assessment and career planning. Referring a person to the provider they have chosen and setting up the account both come after that, and both are the center's to do — the account is a payment agreement with the training provider, and it is the provider that is paid through it. So the call belongs before enrolling and before paying. Anyone who has already done either should still ask, and ask what it means for them.

The place to ask is an America's Job Center of California

Capitola Career Center - America`s Job Center of California (AJCC)Affiliate site
Phone: 831-464-6286
2045 40th AvenueSuite BCapitola, CA 95010about 5.5 miles away
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm
Has a veterans' representative
SCCOE - Suenos Youth Program ServicesAffiliate site
Phone: 831-466-5672
229 Green Valley RoadSequoia SchoolsFreedom, CA 95019about 6.9 miles away
Hours: Monday-Friday 9a.m.-5p.m.
Santa Cruz County, Workforce, Watsonville Career CenterComprehensive center
Phone: 831-763-8933
500 Westridge DriveCounty of Santa Cruz, South County Government CenterWatsonville, CA 95076about 7.9 miles away
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm Closed 12:00 noon - 1pm

At a comprehensive center all the required partner programs can be reached; an affiliate site offers some of them. Distances are straight-line, so the drive is longer. Call before you travel: opening hours here are as the federal directory published them, and the state notes its own staff are not present at every location.

Find a center anywhere in California, and check what is on the list today:
CareerOneStop — American Job Center Finder (U.S. DOL) · California EDD — Office Locator · California EDD — Eligible Training Provider List

How this gets paid for, and what to ask →

Whether a person can have a program paid for is decided by their local workforce development board and the America's Job Center staff who interview them — not by this site, and not by the training provider. California has 45 local workforce development areas and each sets its own policies, so the answer can differ between two people in neighboring counties. Nothing here is a promise of funding or a determination of eligibility.

The rules cited here, and the state and federal sites linked to, are published in English.

How this site gets its figures, and what they do not tell you →