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Accredited dental hygiene program

University of Michigan School of Dentistry

1011 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1078

Health centers in Michigan

University of Michigan School of Dentistry is a college in Ann Arbor, MI 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, whether a screening or phone assessment comes first, which payment methods are accepted, and whether insurance can be billed, where the clinic entrance is, and where to park, and whether the fee covers a course of treatment or each visit separately.

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 Michigan

Michigan has 13 accredited dental hygiene programs altogether. If this one is full or the wait is too long, the others are separate institutions with separate lists:

The full Michigan list has the rest.

Common Questions

What if I have not seen a dentist in years?

That is a common reason to come here and not a problem in itself — heavy build-up is exactly what students need to work on. Expect more than one appointment, and expect to be referred on if the examination finds decay, since that is a dentist’s job.

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.

Do they take Medicaid?

Sometimes, but college clinics bill insurance less often than health centers do. Adult dental coverage under Michigan 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.

Is a student cleaning as good as a professional one?

The work is slower and it is checked by a licensed instructor before you leave. Many patients find it more thorough than a routine private appointment for exactly that reason. What you give up is time, not care.

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.

What if this clinic cannot see me?

Other low-cost routes exist in Ann Arbor, MI. community health centers in Michigan discount fees by household income and provide full dental care rather than preventive work alone. For treatment a hygienist cannot do, dental schools in Michigan are the other reduced-cost option. Both are linked further down this page.

Accreditation

Status: Approval without Reporting Requirements, next reviewed in 2031. 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 Michigan

Other Dental Hygiene Programs Nearby