Accredited dental hygiene program
Pima Medical Institute-Phoenix
13430 N Black Canyon Hwy, Phoenix, AZ 85029
In Phoenix, AZ, Pima Medical Institute-Phoenix trains dental hygienists in an accredited program. Because the training is hands-on, many programs operate a public clinic where preventive care is priced well below a private dental office.
What matters most before you make the trip is scope. Dental hygienists are trained in preventive and gum care, so a hygiene clinic can clean your teeth thoroughly and treat gum disease, but it cannot fill a cavity, pull a tooth, or fit a crown. If something hurts, this is not the place to start.
What a Hygiene Clinic Can and Cannot Do
The work here is preventive: scaling and polishing, scaling and root planing for gum disease, X-rays, gum measurements, fluoride treatment, sealants, and hygiene instruction.
What it does not offer is anything a dentist must do: fillings, crowns, root canals, extractions, dentures, implants, or emergency treatment. If the examination finds a cavity or a broken tooth, the clinic will tell you and refer you on, but the treatment happens elsewhere. If a tooth hurts now, start somewhere else.
Fees are set by each program and are typically well under private rates, sometimes as one flat charge covering however many visits the treatment takes. Ask whether X-rays are included, because they are often billed separately. Appointments run long, two to three hours is normal, and clinics follow the academic year, so many close over the summer and between terms.
Before You Call
The patient clinic runs on its own hours and its own line, usually from a different building than the one the college address points at. Worth settling on the phone: whether the clinic is open to the public this term, and taking new patients, whether the fee covers a course of treatment or each visit separately, how long one appointment runs, and how many the treatment will take, whether they can treat you if you have not seen a dentist in years, and whether a screening or phone assessment comes first.
All of it can change with the academic term, so check again close to the day.
Common Questions
What happens at the first visit?
An examination that is more thorough than you are probably used to — it is being graded — then usually X-rays and gum measurements before any cleaning starts. Some programs use the first visit for assessment only and book the cleaning separately.
Can I use this instead of seeing a dentist at all?
Not really. A hygiene clinic maintains the teeth you have; it cannot diagnose and treat what goes wrong with them. Think of it as the cheap way to keep up preventive care, alongside a dentist you see when something needs fixing.
Can I bring my children?
Many programs treat children and some run dedicated sessions for them, but minimum ages vary and not every clinic accepts them. Children often need a shorter appointment than the student schedule assumes, so ask before booking.
Can I be turned away?
Some programs screen patients first, by phone or at a short visit, to check the case suits the students’ stage of training. Heavy deposits or advanced gum disease may be assigned to a more experienced student or referred out. It is not personal; it is a teaching schedule.
Do I need a referral?
Usually not — most programs take patients directly. What they do commonly ask for is a health history and a list of current medications, and a few need clearance from your physician for particular conditions before treatment.
Do I need insurance?
Generally not. These clinics are set up for people paying out of pocket, and the fee is usually low enough to pay directly. Insurance billing is the exception rather than the rule at a college clinic, so ask rather than assume.
Accreditation
Status: Initial Accreditation, next reviewed in 2028. Accreditation covers the teaching — curriculum, facilities and faculty — not whether a public clinic is open, what it charges, or how long the wait is.
Other Accredited Hygiene Programs in Arizona
Arizona has 8 accredited dental hygiene programs altogether. If this one is full or the wait is too long, the others are separate institutions with separate lists:
- Phoenix College — Phoenix, the same city
- Northern Arizona University — Flagstaff
- Mohave College — Kingman
- Carrington College - Mesa — Mesa
- Mesa Community College — Mesa
The full Arizona list has the rest.
Other Low-Cost Options in Arizona
- Community health center dental clinics in Arizona — where to go for anything a hygienist cannot do. Fees follow your income rather than a price list.
- Dental schools in Arizona — teaching clinics that do handle fillings, root canals, extractions and dentures at reduced cost, usually after a screening visit.
- Free and charitable dental care in Arizona — volunteer and donated-care programs, with eligibility rules and limited places.
- How sliding-scale clinics work — who qualifies for an income-based discount and how to apply for one.
Other Dental Hygiene Programs Nearby
- Carrington College - Mesa — Mesa, AZ
- Mesa Community College — Mesa, AZ
- Mohave College — Kingman, AZ
- Northern Arizona University — Flagstaff, AZ
- Phoenix College — Phoenix, AZ