Apply by February 1, 2025, to join the PPSC Dental Hygiene Program! Please note: submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance.
Be sure to follow all application instructions—incomplete or inaccurate applications will not be considered.
Students interested in applying to the PPSC Dental Hygiene Program need to complete ALLthe following steps (1-8) to be considered for admission.
If you are already enrolled at PPSC, you do not need to repeat this step.
If you have previously submitted your official transcripts to PPSC, you do not need to repeat this step. If you have not previously taken courses at another college or university, skip this step.
General Education
ENG 1021 – English Composition
COM 1260 – Communication in Healthcare
PSY 1001 – General Psychology I
SOC 1001 – Intro to Sociology I
HWE 1050 – Human Nutrition
Science
CHE 1009 – General, Organic & Biochemistry
BIO 2101 Human Anatomy and Physiology I with Lab
BIO 2102 Human Anatomy & Physiology II with Lab
BIO 2104 Microbiology with Lab
Note: All science courses must be completed within 7 years of application to the Dental
Hygiene program.
***A minimum of 3 out of 4 science and 2 out of 5 Gen Ed prerequisite courses MUST
be completed at the time of application to the Dental Hygiene program. A minimum of
19 credits of pre-requisite coursework and/or 24 credits of DEA coursework must be
completed at the time of the application, with the remainder to be completed at the
minimum satisfactory level (a “C” or higher) at the conclusion of the Spring 2025
semester. Accepted applicants who do not have all pre-require coursework completed
at the time of application will be granted a conditional acceptance with the requirement
of having to successfully complete the remainder of the pre-requisite coursework before
enrolling in the dental hygiene (DEH) courses. Unsuccessful completion of the remainder
of the pre-requisite courses will disqualify the candidate from enrolling in the dental
hygiene courses and the student will be dropped from the program, even if they have
been conditionally accepted. Please refer to the Admissions Criteria document for
minimum requirements.
The individual Performance Profile provides the Total Score, Reading Score, and Math Score, each of which must be at or above the current national mean for a total combined minimum score of 64 or higher. Applicants may take the TEAS exam a maximum of 2 times in the 12 months prior to dental hygiene application submission. The student must submit their TEAS Individual Performance Profile score sheet to ADEA DHCAS with their application.
The ADTH provides a Combined Score, Reading Comprehension, Language Usage, Perceptual Ability, Biology, and General Chemistry cores, each of which must be at or above the current national mean for a total combined minimum score of 340 or higher. Applicants may take the ADTH exam a maximum of 2 times in the 12 months prior to dental hygiene application submission. The student must submit their ADTH score sheet to ADEA DHCAS with their application.
Note: Only one exam is required.
This includes ALL required documentation and $50 payment at the American Dental Education Association Dental Hygiene Centralized Application Service (ADEA DHCAS).
This form will be provided to you during the information session. It should be saved with your first initial, last name, form title, and year
(example; T_Molar_DHApplicationInformationSession_2025).
The observation form should document 8 hours of dental hygiene clinical observation and should be saved with your first initial, last name, observation form, and year (example; T_Molar_ObservationForm_2025).
A link to provide a letter of recommendation will be provided in the application portal.
Do not ask for physical letters of recommendation. Further instructions will be provided in the application portal.
Applicants who have completed steps 1-8 will have their application reviewed and ranked using a standard rubric. PPSC staff will review the anonymous/blinded Admissions Essays of the top ranking (15 Priority Admission and 30 General Admission) candidates to fill the 30 admitted spots and 10 alternate candidate spots. The application deadline is February 1, 2025. The ADEA DHCAS will NOT accept any additional application materials after the deadline. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure their application is complete and accurate upon submission. The ADEA DHCAS and/or PPSC Dental Hygiene Program are not responsible for misplaced or incomplete application materials.
Notification letters will be sent to applicants via email, approximately 6 weeks after the application deadline. The status of an application can be viewed by logging into the ADEA DHCAS account. Pay close attention to the DHCAS website for updates on the status of the application process and dates for emailing notifications, etc.
Candidates accepted to the program will be required to provide additional documentation within two weeks of the provisional acceptance notification. Failure to provide the requested information within the specified period will result in the candidate being dropped from the program and the spot will be given to an alternate candidate. No exceptions will be granted.
All decisions made by the PPSC Dental Hygiene Program Admissions Committee are final.
The ADEA DHCAS/PPSC Dental Hygiene Program employs a selective admission process. Applicants meeting all admission criteria are ranked on a 100-point system. Admission to the program is considered based on specific criteria such as grade point average (GPA) in pre-requisite courses, average scores on either the Admissions Test for Dental Hygiene (ATDH) or the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS), written admissions essay, letters of recommendations from a dental hygiene professional and previous faculty, and demographic/life experiences. Top ranking candidates are offered acceptance to the program. There are two admissions tracks; 1) Ten spots are allocated for a priority admission process for existing or previous dental assisting certificate and/or dental assisting associate degree students from a CODA accredited program that meet the minimum requirements, 2) Twenty spots are allocated to a general admission process for any other interested student that meets the minimum requirements.
Ten spots are allocated for a priority admission process for existing or previous dental assisting certificate and/or dental assisting associate degree students from a CODA accredited program that meet the minimum requirements. The top ranked 15 candidates under the priority admission criteria have their anonymous/blinded Admissions Essay evaluated by the Admissions Committee utilizing a standardized evaluation rubric. The Admissions Committee consists of the program director, 1 program faculty, and 1 non-dental personnel. The top 10 ranked dental assisting certificate and/or dental assisting associate degree applicants are extended a letter of acceptance. In case of having more qualified dental assisting certificate and/or dental assisting associate degree candidates apply, the top 10 ranked applicants are admitted, and the remainder are placed in the general admission pool of candidates and follow the general admission process. In case of not having 10 qualified dental assisting applicants, unclaimed priority seats are released to the general admission pool.
Twenty spots are allocated to a general admission process for any other interested applicants that meet the minimum requirements. The top ranked 30 candidates have their anonymous/blinded Admissions Essay evaluated by the Admissions Committee utilizing a standardized evaluation rubric. The Admissions Committee consists of the program director, 1 program faculty, and 1 non-dental personnel. The Admissions Essay score is combined with the previously tabulated candidate ranking score to determine the overall ranking. The 20 top ranked applicants are extended a letter of acceptance, and the remaining 10 applicants placed on an alternate candidate list.
Priority Admission: Dental Assisting CODA accredited program students or graduates (10 spots)
General Admission: 20 spots
| Application Deadline | February 1st |
| Pre-requisite GPA (30 points possible) |
Science (minimum 3/4 courses & must be completed within 7 years of application) 20 points maximum
Gen. Ed = (minimum 2/4) 10 pionts maximum
|
| Prior Education Credit (10 points possible) |
For Priority Admission:
10 points For General Admission: ≥ 19 credits of pre-requisites @ application time = spring semester·
10 points |
| Load/semester (15 points possible) |
Cumulative GPA for ≥12 credits per semester (15 points maximum):
Cumulative GPA for ≤11 credits per semester (13 points maximum):
|
| Admissions Test (20 points possible) |
Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS)
OR Admissions Test for Dental Hygiene (ATDH)
|
| Demographic/ Life Experience (5 points possible) |
|
| Dental Hygiene Observation/Attestation letter (5 points possible) |
8 hours of dental hygiene clinical observation OR letter of attestation from dental employer. |
| Written essay (5 points possible) |
Average based on grading rubric from program director, 1 faculty member & 1 non-dental faculty or administrative support. |
| Colorado Resident (5 points possible) |
5 points awarded to Colorado residents. |
| Letters of recommendation (5 points possible) |
Two letters of recommendation fromprofessors/instructors and/or managers/employers. |
| Total Points Possible: 100 | 100 possible points |
Competitive ranking is based on a maximum of 100 points. In the rare case of multiple applicants with an identical number of points, selection is randomized.
For example: If there is one spot left to fill and there are three applicants that are all competitively ranked with the same number of points, these three applicants are randomized. The first applicant randomly drawn will fill the open spot. The remaining two applicants may have the option of becoming an alternate position holder for the Dental Hygiene Program if the opportunity arises.
A letter of provisional acceptance is e-mailed to all candidates that are provisionally accepted into the Dental Hygiene Program. Candidates that are provisionally accepted will receive a packet along with the e-mail of provisional acceptance. The packet will include the following:
Due to the clinical nature of dental hygiene work, all PPSC Dental Hygiene Program students are highly encouraged to be up to date with their immunizations and infectious diseases test. Candidates who are admitted to the PPSC Dental Hygiene Program will be required to show proof of recommended vaccination and tests. Noncompliance might disqualify the student from participating in Community Outreach Projects required for graduation. Further information on submitting the required documentation will be provided in the acceptance letter. The below list identifies the minimum vaccines and tests:
This form must show proof of all immunizations recommended by the PPSC Dental Hygiene Program as well as documentation of a negative TB test. The forms MUST be completed and signed by the candidate’s healthcare provider.
Note: Final acceptance into the PPSC Dental Hygiene Program is dependent upon completion of and timely submission of the above documentation. No exceptions will be granted.
Students are expected to participate fully in activities required by the Program. See the Essentials Skills and Functional Abilities for Dental Hygiene Students.
Students requesting reasonable accommodations should contact the Office of Accessibility Services. It is recommended that students set up their initial appointment with Accessibility Services prior to starting the Dental Hygiene Program. Accommodations may only be provided when the student provides the Accommodations Form from the Office of Accessibility Services to his or her individual faculty.
A candidate for the Dental Hygiene program must have abilities and skills in six categories: observation, communication, motor, intellectual, behavioral/social, and environmental. Reasonable accommodation for persons with documented disabilities will be considered on an individual basis. A candidate must be able to perform in an independent manner. The following skills are required with or without accommodation.