ODHA Website > Students > Registering with the CDHO

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The College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO) is the regulatory body for dental hygiene in the province of Ontario. CDHO regulates the practice of dental hygiene in the interest of the overall health and safety of the public of Ontario.

To practice dental hygiene in the province of Ontario, a person must be registered with the CDHO. Only registrants of the CDHO can legally use the title “dental hygienist”, or a variation or abbreviation in Ontario.

Click here, for more information about registering with the CDHO

Click here to view the ODHA’s step by step guide to getting registered to practice in Ontario, including identifying your board exam date and obtaining your professional liability (malpractice) insurance. 

Educational Requirements

CDHO is responsible for ensuring that an applicant meets all the requirements prior to being permitted to enter practice as a dental hygienist in Ontario. An applicant must:

  1. Have successfully completed a program in dental hygiene that is equivalent to a full-time program of two years and which, at the time of the applicant’s graduation, was accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada or by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation, or
    ii. subject to subsection (2), successfully completed a program in dental hygiene that the Registration Committee considers to be substantially equivalent to a program referred to in subparagraph i.
  2. The applicant must be the holder of a certificate issued by the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board or, if he or she was never eligible to sit for the National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination but otherwise meets the registration requirements, must have successfully completed the written competency evaluation set or approved by the Registration Committee.
  3. Subsequent to having met the requirement in paragraph 2, the applicant must have successfully completed a clinical competency evaluation set or approved by the Registration Committee, unless the applicant has successfully completed a program referred to in subparagraph 1 i
FDHRC Exam preparation

For more information about the exam, see the Federation of Dental Hygiene Regulators of Canada.

Also, RDHEDU.com offers special rates on some of their courses for ODHA student members

Importance of Malpractice (Liability) Insurance

ODHA has the best malpractice insurance that goes beyond the requirements set out in CDHO By-laws. Included with student membership is FREE malpractice insurance valid for the remainder of the calendar year in which you graduate. Contact the ODHA office after you have been notified you have successfully passed the NDHCB exam and are ready to apply to the CDHO for your insurance policy information.