How to become a dental hygienist in Switzerland?

Dental hygienists play a key role in oral health prevention. Through your guidance, treatments and preventive actions, you directly help improve your patients’ oral health.

Your skills complement those of the dentist: from scaling and preventive care to aesthetic procedures such as whitening, you are an essential link in comprehensive patient care.

Training to become a dental hygienist is governed by a national framework curriculum (PEC), which ensures consistent standards throughout Switzerland. It is full-time and consists of two main components:

1. School-based training: theoretical instruction (medical sciences, anatomy, etc.), preclinical exercises (skills in simulated conditions) and clinical practice (caring for patients under supervision).
2. Final internship: immersion in a dental practice to put your skills into practice and experience the realities of the profession.

The duration depends on your prior education:

• With a dental assistant CFC: around 4,500 hours of training.
• With an upper-secondary diploma but no CFC: around 5,400 hours.

In both cases, plan for about 3 years full time.

To enter the programme, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old in the year of admission,
• Hold an upper-secondary level II qualification (Matura, CFC, general education certificate, etc.) or an equivalent credential,
• Provide proof of B2-level French for non-French speakers,
• Pass the admissions competition (psychological tests, interview, assessment of manual skills),
• Complete a half-day internship with a dental hygienist in Switzerland.

Selection then depends on your aptitude test results. The number of places is limited to 40 per year.

Training typically lasts three years:

First year

Introduction to the field, learning the basics and first patient contacts:

• Anatomy and physiology of the mouth
• Use of instruments
• Ergonomics and preventive techniques
• HPCI protocols (hygiene and infection control)
• Dental imaging

Second year

You gain autonomy and broaden your clinical skills:

• Treatment of a variety of patients
• Personalised follow-up and hygiene motivation
• Management of complex periodontal cases
• Interprofessional collaboration

Third year

The final internship consolidates your skills:

• Work in a practice
• Decision-making autonomy
• Promotion of oral health
• Strengthening your professional identity

At the end of the three years, you obtain the HF diploma (ES) in dental hygiene and can practise in French-speaking Switzerland and beyond.

The average salary is around CHF 82,000 per year, or CHF 6,800 per month.

Good to know: choosing between employee or independent status directly affects your income.