Dental assistant programs are most expensive at private, for-profit technical colleges and vocational schools, with an average total cost of more than $27,000, according to the ADA's Health Policy Institute.
The institute used data from the 2021-2022 survey of dental education programs to calculate the total cost of tuition, fees and other related costs including textbooks, uniforms and lab fees at five different types of institutions.
Here is the average total cost of dental hygiene programs across different institution types:
Private, for-profit technical colleges and vocational schools: $27,451
Private, nonprofit colleges and universities: $27,060
Public colleges and universities: $10,486
Public technical colleges and vocational schools: $8,053
Public community colleges: $8,018