Accredited dental hygiene program
Des Moines Area Community College
2006 S. Ankeny Boulevard, Ankeny, IA 50021-3993
Des Moines Area Community College is a college in Ankeny, IA with an accredited dental hygiene program. Hygiene students qualify by treating patients, so many programs open a teaching clinic to the public where a cleaning costs a fraction of the private price.
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.
Before You Call
Teaching clinics are usually in the college’s health sciences building rather than at the main campus address, and they keep their own hours and phone line. Worth settling on the phone: whether children are treated, and from what age, what to bring — identification, medication list, previous X-rays, the total fee, and whether X-rays and follow-up visits are inside it, where the clinic entrance is, and where to park, and whether the clinic closes over the summer or between terms.
Term dates move these details around, which is why a call the week before is worth more than one a month ahead.
What a Hygiene Clinic Can and Cannot Do
What a supervised hygiene clinic offers is the preventive side of dentistry — cleanings, deep cleaning, X-rays, gum health checks, fluoride, sealants, and coaching on technique.
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.
Each program sets its own price, usually well below a private practice, and some charge a single fee for the whole course of treatment. Check whether X-rays are part of it. Appointments run long, two to three hours is normal, and clinics follow the academic year, so many close over the summer and between terms.
Other Accredited Hygiene Programs in Iowa
Iowa has 6 accredited dental hygiene programs altogether. If this one is full or the wait is too long, the others are separate institutions with separate lists:
- Kirkwood Community College — Cedar Rapids
- Iowa Western Community College — Council Bluffs
- Iowa Central Community College — Fort Dodge
- Indian Hills Community College — Ottumwa
- Hawkeye Community College — Waterloo
Common Questions
What should I bring?
Photo identification, a list of your current medications, your dentist’s details if you have one, and a means of payment that is not a card unless you have checked they take one. Some college clinics still do not.
Is it painful?
A deep clean on inflamed gums can be uncomfortable, and hygienists use local anesthetic for scaling and root planing where it is needed. Say at the start if you are sensitive; students are taught to work with that and have the time to go slowly.
Do they take Medicaid?
Sometimes, but college clinics bill insurance less often than health centers do. Adult dental coverage under Iowa Medicaid is set at state level and varies widely; children’s dental coverage is a required benefit everywhere. Our Medicaid dental page covers how to check yours.
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.
Why is it so much cheaper?
Because you are part of the training. Students need patients to qualify, and the clinic exists to give them that experience under supervision. The trade is your time for their practice, which is why the appointment is long and the price is low.
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.
Accreditation
Status: Approval without Reporting Requirements, next reviewed in 2029. That is a judgment on the education, not on the clinic: it says nothing about opening hours, prices or whether anyone is being taken on.
Other Low-Cost Options in Iowa
- Community health center dental clinics in Iowa — the route for treatment rather than prevention: fillings, extractions and dentures, priced against what you earn.
- Dental schools in Iowa — the reduced-cost route for real treatment. Expect a screening visit first and a course of work measured in months.
- Free and charitable dental care in Iowa — volunteer and donated-care programs, with eligibility rules and limited places.
- Iowa state oral health program — the health department office behind school sealant programs and safety-net dental services in the state.
- How sliding-scale clinics work — who qualifies for an income-based discount and how to apply for one.
Other Dental Hygiene Programs Nearby
- Hawkeye Community College — Waterloo, IA
- Indian Hills Community College — Ottumwa, IA
- Iowa Central Community College — Fort Dodge, IA
- Iowa Western Community College — Council Bluffs, IA
- Kirkwood Community College — Cedar Rapids, IA