Accredited dental hygiene program
Concorde Career College-Portland
Concorde Career College, 1425 NE Irving Street, Bldg 300, Portland, OR 97232
In Portland, OR, Concorde Career College-Portland 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.
Other Accredited Hygiene Programs in Oregon
Oregon has 7 accredited dental hygiene programs altogether. If this one is full or the wait is too long, the others are separate institutions with separate lists:
- Portland Community College — Portland, the same city
- Lane Community College — Eugene
- Rogue Community College — Grants Pass
- Mt. Hood Community College — Gresham
- Pacific University — Hillsboro
The full Oregon list has the rest.
Before You Call
Expect the clinic to have its own entrance, its own number and its own timetable, none of which match the college switchboard. Worth settling on the phone: whether they can treat you if you have not seen a dentist in years, what to bring — identification, medication list, previous X-rays, whether the fee covers a course of treatment or each visit separately, where the clinic entrance is, and where to park, and which payment methods are accepted, and whether insurance can be billed.
All of it can change with the academic term, so check again close to the day.
Common Questions
Do they take Medicaid?
Sometimes, but college clinics bill insurance less often than health centers do. Adult dental coverage under Oregon 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 Portland, OR. community health centers in Oregon discount fees by household income and provide full dental care rather than preventive work alone. For treatment a hygienist cannot do, dental schools in Oregon are the other reduced-cost option. Both are linked further down this page.
Can they treat gum disease?
Yes, within a hygienist’s scope: scaling and root planing, sometimes called deep cleaning, is core hygiene work and is normally spread over more than one appointment. Advanced gum disease needing surgery is referred to a dentist or periodontist.
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.
Accreditation
Status: Approval without Reporting Requirements, next reviewed in 2032. For a patient it is reasonable assurance that the supervision behind the clinic is held to a national standard. It is not a statement that the clinic is open.
Other Low-Cost Options in Oregon
- Community health center dental clinics in Oregon — full dental care including fillings and extractions, with fees discounted by household income.
- Dental schools in Oregon — 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 Oregon — volunteer and donated-care programs, with eligibility rules and limited places.
- Oregon 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
- Lane Community College — Eugene, OR
- Mt. Hood Community College — Gresham, OR
- Oregon Institute of Technology — Klamath Falls, OR
- Pacific University — Hillsboro, OR
- Portland Community College — Portland, OR