Dental Hygienists Working in Other Jurisdictions

As part of the required online application form, applicants must enter or upload the following: 

• Applicant personal information, including contact and demographic information. 
• Dental hygiene education program information. 
• Information about employment history and practice hours.
  • Applicants must upload evidence of practice hours into the application form. This could be a signed letter on clinic letterhead from an employer, an ROE, or a recent paystub showing the number of hours you worked as a dental hygienist at each location.
• Information about any current or previous professional healthcare registrations such as a dental assistant, nurse, paramedic, or dentist, etc.
  • Applicants must have a Verification of Registration/Certification/Licensure Form completed by each regulatory body and sent to the College. College staff will then upload the document(s) to the application.
• CPEDH completion information (the CPEDH is not a mandatory requirement in this situation). 
  • If required, applicants must upload a completion certificate into the form.
• Answers to questions about primary language and language in which applicants intend to practice.
  • Applicants must only provide language proficiency test results if their dental hygiene education and exams were NOT done in English.
  • If required, applicants must upload language proficiency test results into the form.
• Information about which, if any, advanced restricted activities the applicant may be eligible to apply for authorization for.
• Additional post-secondary education information.
• Completion information from the “Protecting Patients from Sexual Abuse and Misconduct” e-learning course.
  • Applicants must upload a completion certificate into the form.
• Information about current CPR certification that meets the requirements listed in section 2 of the Registration and Practice Permit Renewal Policy.
  • Applicants must upload a CPR certificate into the form.
  • Applicants must upload a completed CPR Certification Declaration for Instructors into the form.
• Information about Professional Liability Insurance (PLI) that meets the requirements listed in section 3 of the Registration and Practice Permit Renewal Policy.
  • Applicants must upload PLI certificate(s) into the form.
• Request to take the jurisprudence exam modules.
  • Applicants will be given access to and must complete the modules.
  • The College will receive and upload the completion certificate. The learning management system will automatically send a completion certificate to the College, applicants do not need to send a copy to the College.
• Answers to Good Character and Fitness to Practice declarations and the statutory declaration.
• Applicants must obtain and submit a vulnerable sector check to the College that meets the requirements listed in section 4 in the Registration and Practice Permit Renewal Policy.
  • College staff will then upload the document to the application.
• Applicants must upload 2 pieces of government-issued identification.
• Applicants must type their full name as their signature. 

Please note: All uploaded documents and information provided must be verifiable by the College. The College may contact third parties such as educational institutions, regulatory bodies, agencies, or employers to verify documentation or the information provided in an application for registration. 

Reference: Health Professions Act (HPA) – Sections 28, 29.1, 33(4)(b) 

Reference: Dental Hygienists Profession Regulation – Section 4 

Canadian RDH Application Information

Initial Registration Checklist

Start the Application Process

If you do not hold current registration in another Canadian jurisdiction, you are not eligible to apply for registration using this pathway. In order to apply for registration in Alberta, you can either: 

• Reinstate your registration in your current province, in which case you could proceed with this pathway, OR 
• Have your educational transcript sent to the College and provide a copy of your NDHCE completion certificate to the College. Your application will then be considered using this documentation as well as evidence of your currency of practice (practice hours). 

Please note, in this case, your dental hygiene program will have to be deemed to be substantially equivalent to the Council-approved program. Please see the New Graduate FAQs for more information about substantial equivalency. 

If you have been using a temping agency, you may be able to obtain a record of your assignments from them. This could be a signed letter on agency letterhead. If you were an independent contractor, you could provide pay stubs, letters from frequent employers, or copies of paid invoices.

Practice hours are counted if they were worked in the 3 years immediately preceding when your application for registration is considered complete. 

For example, if all of your required documentation is submitted to the College and the information in your application is correct on September 1, 2024, The College will consider hours worked between September 1, 2021 and August 31, 2024.  

There is no requirement for self-initiation in Alberta. The Health Professions Act does not require supervision of dental hygienists. There is no requirement for a dentist to examine a patient prior to dental hygiene treatment or for the dental hygienist to obtain an “order” to provide services. 

Because dental hygienists in Alberta do not work under the supervision of another health profession, they retain full accountability for their actions. 

Authorization for Advanced Restricted Activities must be applied for separately from your registration application. Visit the Applying for Advanced Restricted Activities webpage for more information.

You will need to provide evidence of completion of additional education in that activity as well as currency practice with your application. This would be a letter from an employer (clinic) stating that you provided LA as part of your regular practice. 

As part of the required online application form, applicants must enter or upload the following: 

• Applicant personal information, including contact and demographic information. 
• Dental hygiene education program information. 
  • The dental hygiene education must either be from the Council-approved program or from a program that has been reviewed and determined to be substantially equivalent to the Council-approved program. 
• Information about employment history and practice hours.
  • Applicants must upload evidence of practice hours. This could be a signed letter on clinic letterhead from an employer, an ROE, or a recent paystub showing the number of hours you worked as a dental hygienist at each location. 
• Information about any current or previous professional healthcare registrations such as a dental assistant, nurse, paramedic, or dentist, etc.
  • Applicants must have a Verification of Registration/Certification/Licensure Form completed by each regulatory body and sent to the College. College staff will then upload the document(s) to the application. 
• CPEDH completion information (the CPEDH is not a mandatory requirement in this situation). 
  • If required, applicants must upload a completion certificate into the form.
• Answers to questions about primary language and language in which applicants intend to practice. 
  • Applicants must only provide language proficiency test results if their dental hygiene education and exams were NOT done in English.
  • If required, applicants must upload language proficiency test results into the form.
• Information about which, if any, advanced restricted activities the applicant may be eligible to apply for authorization for.
• Additional post-secondary education information. 
• Completion information from the “Protecting Patients from Sexual Abuse and Misconduct” e-learning course.
  • Applicants must upload a completion certificate into the form.
• Information about current CPR certification that meets the requirements listed in section 2 of the Registration and Practice Permit Renewal Policy.
  • Applicants must upload a CPR certificate into the form.
  • Applicants must upload a completed CPR Certification Declaration for Instructors into the form.
• Information about Professional Liability Insurance (PLI) that meets the requirements listed in section 3 of the Registration and Practice Permit Renewal Policy.
  • Applicants must upload PLI certificate(s) into the form.
• Request to take the jurisprudence exam modules.
  • Applicants will be given access to and must complete the modules.
  • The College will receive and upload the completion certificate. The learning management system will automatically send a completion certificate to the College, applicants do not need to send a copy to the College.
• Answers to Good Character and Fitness to Practice declarations and the statutory declaration.
• Applicants must obtain and submit a vulnerable sector check to the College that meets the requirements listed in section 4 in the Registration and Practice Permit Renewal Policy.
  • College staff will then upload the document to the application.
• Applicants must upload 2 pieces of government-issued identification.
• Applicants must type their full name as their signature. 

Please note: All uploaded documents and information provided must be verifiable by the College. The College may contact third parties such as educational institutions, regulatory bodies, agencies, or employers to verify documentation or the information provided in an application for registration. 

Reference: Health Professions Act (HPA) – Sections 28, 29.1, 33(4)(b) 

Reference: Dental Hygienists Profession Regulation – Section 4 

RDH Working Internationally Application Information 

Initial Application Checklist

[LINK TO APPLICATION FORM] 

No, under the Registration and Practice Permit Renewal Policy, only practice hours obtained in Canada can be reported. The reason for this is the scope of practice for dental hygienists varies significantly between countries. As a regulatory body, ACDH has the responsibility to ensure that you are able to demonstrate the necessary knowledge, skills, and judgement to practice safely and competently in Alberta. Please contact the College to discuss your options. 

The HPA requires that applicants are either a Canadian citizen or lawfully permitted to work in Canada. The ACDH does not require evidence of this at initial registration, however, it is expected that applicants and registrants meet this requirement and maintain their eligibility to practice in Canada if necessary.