Courses for incoming exchange students in Dental Hygiene 2026-2027
180 Higher Education Credits, 3 years.
To be accepted as an exchange student at Karolinska Institutet you must be enrolled at a higher education institution that has a valid exchange agreement with Karolinska Institutet for the specific study programme of interest. Exchange students should be selected and nominated by their home institution, however the final decision on admission is made by Karolinska Institutet.
Find your course or rotation syllabus
To find the syllabus for the course or rotation you are interested in, follow the link to the course syllabus archive above.
You need to enter the course codes to access the syllabuses and they can be found right before the name of the courses or rotations listed on this page, under "Options in English" .
Options in English
For exchange students without very good command of the Swedish language, the Dental Hygiene Programme offers options in English as presented below. For information on how to apply and application deadlines, please use the links to the left.
All courses are full-time courses and require at least 40 hours of work per week. A student can only attend one course at a time. One study week is equivalent to 1.5 ECTS credits. The performance will be graded in accordance to the course's grading scale based on the student's fulfillment of the learning outcomes stated in the course syllabus.
Courses offered during the spring semester 2027
- 1EE124 Oral Health - Clinic, 12 ECTS credits
More information acan be found at Study programme in Dental Hygiene (mostly in Swedish)
Application
Application deadlines
- 15 October (for the spring semester 2027 mid-January to the beginning of June)
| Curriculum Dental Hygiene 2026-2027 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Semester | Course | ECTS Credits |
| 1 | Oral Health - Theory 1 | 12.5 |
| Oral Health - Clinic 1 | 7.5 | |
| Medical and Odontological Subjects 1 | 10 | |
| 2 | Oral Health - Theory 2 | 9.5 |
| Oral Health - Clinic 2 | 7.5 | |
| Oral Health - Science 1 | 4 | |
| Medical and Odontological Subjects 2 | 9 | |
| 3 | Oral Health - Theory 3 | 10,5 |
| Oral Health - Clinic 3 | 7.5 | |
| Medical and Odontological Subjects 3 | 6.5 | |
| Social and Behavioural Science 1 | 5.5 | |
| 4 | Oral Health - Theory 4 | 7 |
| Oral Health - Clinic 4 | 10.5 | |
| Oral Health - Science 2 | 3 | |
| Medical and Odontological Subjects 4 | 5 | |
| Social and Behavioural Science 2 | 4.5 | |
| 5 | Oral Health - Theory 5 | 12,5 |
| Oral Health - Clinic 5 | 8 | |
| Oral Health - Science 3 | 6,5 | |
| 5 and 6 | Tobacco Prevention and Tobacco Cessation | 4,5 (3 credits semester 5 and 1,5 credits semester 6) |
| 6 | Oral Health - Theory 6 | 2 |
| Oral Health - Clinic 6 | 6 | |
| Degree Project in Oral Health | 15 | |
| Organisation and Leadership | 5,5 |
More information about the programme
As a dental hygienist, you examine and record patients’ oral health status, make diagnoses, and prevent and treat caries and periodontal disease. The work includes tasks such as preventive measures against caries, removal of hard and soft deposits (tartar), taking X-rays, and a significant amount of behavior-changing interventions. Pain relief in the form of local anesthesia is sometimes administered during treatment. You examine children and adolescents and perform procedures such as fluoride varnish applications. You assess the need for oral health interventions as well as lifestyle changes related to diet and tobacco use. Through conversation, you motivate patients to improve their oral hygiene habits and achieve good oral health. The profession offers great opportunities for both independent and team-based work, and for working with people of different ages.
During the program, you learn about oral health, for example its impact on overall well-being and how general health conditions can affect oral health. You work with individuals of all ages—children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly—and you start seeing patients already in your first year of studies. Practical training is mainly carried out at the University Dental Clinic at Karolinska Institutet, which is the school’s own clinic, but during the final semester you also complete clinical placements (VFU) at the Public Dental Service in the Stockholm Region. The program also includes dental and medical subjects, as well as behavioral science. You receive training in communication with other healthcare professionals and work with public health education. You also gain knowledge in organization and leadership, as well as tobacco prevention. The program concludes with a thesis project with a research-based connection in the field of oral health.
After graduation
As a dental hygienist, you work in either public or private dental care, as an employee or as a self-employed practitioner. Dental hygienists can also hold supervisory or managerial positions within dentistry. After completing the dental hygienist program, there are opportunities for further education, including standalone courses that can lead to a master’s degree..