Dental hygienist in Canada: your Express Entry path, step by step

Your way into the Express Entry pool

Every invitation needs a profile in the Express Entry pool. You would usually qualify through:

• Federal Skilled Worker. Experience must be in a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 job; this one is TEER 2.
• Canadian Experience Class. For skilled work experience already gained in Canada.

The healthcare draws

These draws rank only people with recent experience in one of the 37 listed health and social services jobs. The panel above shows the latest one and its cut-off. You need at least 12 months of full-time work (or the same part-time) in this occupation within the last 3 years. The months do not have to be in a row, and the work must match the NOC description of the job.

Getting licensed

The NOC says dental hygienists need a licence from the provincial or territorial regulator; dental therapists need one only in Saskatchewan, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

• Credential evaluation first: the Federation of Dental Hygiene Regulators of Canada (FDHRC) evaluates your education and decides whether you may sit the entry-to-practice exams. In Ontario, the College of Dental Hygienists accepts that evaluation.
• The exams: the National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination (written) and the Canadian Performance Exam in Dental Hygiene (clinical), both run by FDHRC. Ontario adds its own jurisprudence exam, and other provinces have their own rules.
• Dentists trained abroad: a dental degree does not make you a dental hygienist; in Ontario you will likely need a dental hygiene program.

What dental hygienists earn

The panel above shows Job Bank's median hourly wage for this occupation across Canada, with pay by province and region on Job Bank.