Our Beginnings

The Taft College Dental Hygiene Program was founded in 1993 in conjunction with the UCLA School of Dentistry as the first new dental hygiene program in twenty years in California. The funding for this program came from the Taft College Foundation, Kern County Dental Community. The Program is accredited by the American Dental Association and is now providing preventive dental services to the people of the surrounding communities and special needs organizations.

The Dental Hygiene Program

The program itself is a two-year full-time course of study culminating is an Associate Degree in Science in Dental Hygiene. The program is designed to prepare students to provide preventive, educational, and therapeutic services the foster total health through the promotion of optimal oral health. Students are required to first take the written National Board Examination at the end of their second year of the program. Upon graduation, students qualify to take the clinical State Board Dental Hygiene Examination. A license to practice Dental Hygiene is issued to the student after successful completion of the California Board. To learn more about the Taft College campus, go to the Taft College Home Page.