Can an army dental assistant be certified as a dental hygienist?

I'm trying to find out if an Army dental assistant (68E) can be certified as a civillian dental hygienist. If so, how? what are the requirements?

Can an army dental assistant be certified as a dental hygienist?
No, you have to go to college to take the classes just like a civilian would. You CAN do this on active duty and the Army will pay for it with tuition assistance. Also an ASSISTANT and a Hygienist are far from the same thing. You will learn a lot of hands on information working with the Army Dentist so you will have an advantage over someone in the civilian world who has never had your on the job training, but each state requires you to be certified just like a nurse would be to work as an assistant or hygienist in a civilian dental office.
Reply:Check with your career counselor - most military posts have someone who can help you convert your military training to civilian certification. He or she will be able to tell you what can be directly converted (for example, my AIT training in Journalism was converted directly to college credit) or where you might need some additional military or civilian education. He or she will also be able to help you get that certification if it is possible while serving on active duty.





The advice about checking with the dentist you work with may or may not be valid. If that dentist is career military, he or she may not be familiar with what is needed as a civilian.

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