DOE removes dental hygiene from list of "professional" careers: Impact on hygiene students

Last month, the Department of Education's Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee excluded dental hygiene from their list of "professional" careers able to benefit from federal student loan-related changes issued by the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).¹ Administration leaders denied multiple requests, including one from the ADHA, urging RISE to reconsider what falls under the parameter of "professional" to help students alleviate loan debt.²

"Professional" umbrella term excludes many health-care sectors

According to a position statement on the ADHA's website, "beginning in July 2026, the OBBBA caps annual loans for new borrowers at $20,500 for graduate students ($100,000 aggregate limit) and $50,000 for professional students ($200,000 aggregate limit)."¹ Currently, the Department of Education recognizes pharmacy, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, and theology as "professional" degrees.

Although dentistry is included on this list, dental hygiene is not; in order to quality, an educational program must "demonstrate completion of education needed to begin practice, provide training beyond the bachelor's level, generally be at the doctoral level with at least six years of postsecondary coursework, and generally require professional licensure."¹

Effects seep into other fields of health-care

In addition to financially impeding dental hygiene students, this change will also impact other members of the health-care community. According to Academy Health, it could:

• Narrow the pipeline for students pursuing advanced degrees in public health, HSR, biostatistics, health economics, implementation science, informatics, and health policy.

• Disproportionately affect part-time and mid-career students

• Reduce diversity by limiting access to affordable education for students with caregiving responsibilities and those from underserved communities.

• Reduces cross-disciplinary research in nursing, social work, therapy, and other health professions²

Tying this back to dentistry, the ADHA believes the new rigid definition of "professional" will inhibit dental hygiene students enrolled in programs requiring additional funding from receiving necessary financial aid. RISE also plans to eliminate Grad PLUS loans, which forces students to seek private loans with higher interest rates. These loans will be replaced with a new program allowing graduate students to take out up to $100,000 in federal loans, with those in "professional" degree programs permitted to take out up to $200,000.³

Does OBBBA devalue dental hygiene?

Proponents of this change have stated that the exclusion of multiple healthcare or health-adjacent professions does not mean the current administration views them as any less essential or important to the American workforce.

A recent article from Reason examining the effects of OBBBA on nursing purported: "it's simply recognizing the fact that the vast majority of advanced nursing programs do not charge the exorbitant fees that are common in medical schools, law schools, and dentistry training programs."³

Supporters believe this decision was put in place to reduce exorbitant loan caps, as the previous Grad PLUS program accrued a massive increase in graduate borrowing.³

Still, ADHA members are urging the Department of Education to reexamine their list of professional degrees and expand their scope to include other members of the health-care community. This is more important than ever as dental hygienists face increased burnout, stress, high demand, and undervaluation. For example, from 2008 to 2018, the dental hygiene job market was oversaturated but new data suggests this sector will grow at a measly 9% (2023 to 2033).⁴

As hygienists continue to face adversity in their career, it is crucial to make their professional goals and education path easier to achieve.

References:

1. ADHA issues statement opposing Department of Education's exclusion of dental hygiene from professional degree definition. American Dental Hygiene Association. November 21, 2025. https://www.adha.org/newsroom/adha-statement-opposing-doe-rofessional-degree-definition/

2. Ernat V. Catastrophic changes to education: Borrowing caps & professional degrees. Academy Health. December 4, 2025. https://academyhealth.org/blog/2025-12/catastrophic-changes-education-borrowing-caps-professional-degrees

3. Camp E. The Trump administration says nursing isn't a professional degree. Here's why that's a good thing. Reason. December 2, 2025. https://reason.com/2025/12/02/the-trump-administration-says-nursing-isnt-a-professional-degree-heres-why-thats-a-good-thing/

4. Hendrick L. How dental hygiene went from thriving to threatened. Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. June 30, 2025. https://dimensionsofdentalhygiene.com/how-dental-hygiene-went-from-thriving-to-threatened/