Apply Now

Applications for the Fall 2026 Roanoke Class are being accepted now and all application material must be submitted by December 1, 2025. We will also be accepting applications for the 2026 Joint Venture with Laurel Ridge Community College and all material must be submitted no later than December 1, 2025. All application material is processed by one of the advisors in the Health Professions Advising and Applications Office at VWCC, regardless of which site you will be considered for. A class at Laurel Ridge/Middletown is accepted biennially in even numbered years and at Danville Community College in odd years. Next class for Danville Community College will be tentatively accepted for fall 2027.

How To Apply

We require all application material(s) be submitted directly to the Health Professions Advising and Applications Office at Virginia Western Community College. If you fail to do so, be aware we will not be responsible for any delays in processing your file. Complete the following and submit in one envelope to:

Pam Woody, VWCC – Health Professions
3091 Colonial Ave.
Roanoke, VA 24015

A meeting with one of the advisors is not required. If you have questions, it is suggested that any meeting not be conducted until after all transcripts have been submitted to and reviewed by one of the HP advisors and you have received your two-page process letter that outlines your prerequisites and support classes completed and/or missing. You may contact the Health Professions team of advisors at healthprofessions@virginiawestern.edu. You should follow the steps below.

1. Apply to VWCC.

If you are not a current VWCC student, apply to the college by completing a VWCC college application. Please make sure you indicate your plan of study as Career Studies Certificate: Introduction to Dental Hygiene (curricular/credit classes) on the college application. (Anyone asking for either Laurel Ridge or DCC consideration must also complete their college’s application prior to December 1st, please contact their Admissions Office or visit their website for guidance.)

All NEW students intending to enroll in classes at Virginia Western are encouraged to consider contacting the Enrollment Center staff in Chapman Hall, if they have basic questions about direct enrollment, course requirements, financial aid, etc. You may need an appointment to visit the Enrollment Center and it’s a great way to learn more about what the college offers and available resources. They will refer you to a New Student Advisor (sometimes an appointment is needed and sometimes they operate on a walk-in basis), if needed, or to one of the the pre-admission advisors for Dental Hygiene, when necessary. Find out about New Student Advising here.

Note: If you already attend a Virginia community college, you most likely have either completed the Direct Enrollment process regarding Math and English or completed the required courses necessary to begin courses. If you attend another college or university (non-VCCS), the official transcripts you provide will be evaluated to see if preparatory coursework is necessary. Again, the advisor will state in the advising form letter if you need to take preparatory coursework to prepare for necessary courses for DNH or any of the prerequisites required for Dental Hygiene. Applicants who need to begin prerequisite courses at Virginia Western (home college) should make it a priority to take those courses as soon as possible after applying to the college.

In addition, if you direct place out of any needed math courses, you will need to plan to complete the math skills check that is included on the checklist for application in the summer to verify your math skills are appropriate for the math skills necessary in the DNH program.

2. Apply to the Dental Hygiene Program.

Apply to the Dental Hygiene Program by completing a 2026 Dental Hygiene Application Form and Observation Form (16 hours).

• Dental Hygiene Application (PDF)
• Application Instructions (PDF)
• Observation Form (PDF)

3. Obtain and submit your transcripts.

You’ll need to have all official sealed transcripts (high school and college) and a copy of your GED scores (if applicable) to submit in your application packet. We strongly suggest applicants request transcripts be sent to the applicant’s mailing address, so you are fully aware of whether your request is filled and all material can be placed by you in one larger envelope for submission. Remember, do not open any envelope which contains a transcript, they are no longer “official” to us if they’ve been opened. Official electronic transcripts are acceptable, ie. Parchment, Scribbles, National Clearinghouse. Please direct those electronic transcripts to pwoody@virginiawestern.edu. Transcripts must be received by Miss Woody or the Health Professions Advising and Applications Office on or before December 1.

If any school refuses to issue “official” transcripts directly to you, please request they be sent addressed directly to Pam Woody at the address above. It’s not necessary to request transcripts from VWCC or any other community college in Virginia. Transcripts must include Continuing Education courses. High school transcripts are required even if you are a college graduate. GED holders must also submit official high school transcripts if you completed at least through the 9th grade. If you were home-schooled, a detailed academic curriculum report (course listing and grades achieved) showing completion and signed by the school administrator is required (including a statement indicating if a lab component was completed for Biology and Chemistry).

NOTE: If you completed one course at a college, then we will need an official transcript from that college. We require official transcripts from all colleges attempted/attended.

Transcript Request Form (PDF)

4. Submit your application materials.

We prefer that you mail your application packet to Miss Woody at the address above. Material being hand-delivered to campus should be brought to the 3rd floor of the Fralin Center, Room HP339. The Health Professions Advising and Applications Office is usually accessible from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM. If the office is closed, please slide the materials under the door of Fralin 339. The Dental Hygiene advising form letter is scanned to your school email account or to the email provided on the DNH application, after your complete academic file is reviewed by one of the Health Professions Advisors in the Application Office (Woody or Terry) (usually within 3-4 weeks if received from June – October). It is the applicant’s responsibility to request their own transcripts and pay any required fees. Faxed transcripts are not considered “official” for application. You can review the Dental Hygiene Overview (PDF) to learn more about the application process and eligibility. (Usually updated in June.)

Note:  Applicants should remember to update the Health Professions Advising and Applications Office (healthprofessions@virginiawestern.edu) with any changes to their email address throughout the process.  We use either the Dental Hygiene application email address or the email associated with your Navigate platform until we receive notification directly from the applicant to change it in their application file.  We do not receive notification about address changes from the college SIS student account information.  All future contact from the advising office regarding the application and TEAS, will be sent (via email) to the last email address given to us directly from the applicant or to the email associated with your Navigate platform. Please note that the TEAS information will be sent to the email address in Navigate. Please be sure and turn on your notifications in Navigate to receive the TEAS information that will be sent to qualified applicants in the spring prior to fall. If you need assistance with this, please contact the Help Desk at VWCC.

5. Review the Dental Hygiene Checklist

Details about other steps taken after the deadline, including the TEAS and Observation, are discussed in the Dental Hygiene Checklist below.

Dental Hygiene Checklist (PDF).

One of the advisors from the Health Professions Advising and Applications Office will be in contact by email notification, once an applicant has supplied all their official transcripts from all colleges attempted. The Health Professions Advisors or pre-Advisors do not have any input in the final admission decisions for a program, so face-to-face contact with any Health Professions advisor is not a requirement.

6. Applicants are Encouraged to Attend a “Best Practice for Health Professions Application” Session

These informational sessions are held the First Friday of every month (except July) at 1:00 in Fralin, Room 210. The session will last from 1-2:30 (tentative) to allow for questions at the end of the session. Topics include timelines for applicants to their Health Profession program, expectations during the application process, what to expect if accepted into the program and etc. This is not a mandatory session but highly encouraged for all prospective applicants to attend.

Apply Early

By applying early to VWCC and submitting your high school/GED records and all college transcripts, the Health Professions Advising Team will be able to provide answers to many of your questions and help guide you in making decisions for this restricted program. Advisors will notify you of any prerequisite requirements you have not met and provide advising on how to meet those requirements, as well as selecting courses that can be utilized to increase your cumulative GPA by the end of the Fall semester. Current enrollment in missing prerequisites is not required to apply early, but they must all be completed by the end of Spring 2026 to be considered for Roanoke or LRCC for Fall 2026 (exception: BIO 142 can be completed in the summer prior to fall admission). Please note that for those who apply near or at the deadline, there could be prerequisite courses missing and the opportunity to enroll in spring classes will have passed. Therefore, we encourage early application, as soon as you know of your interest in the program. In February of 2026, we will update your academic record to reflect your fall grades, fall GPA, and notate any enrollment in any missing prerequisites in spring.

Please note:  Due to the volume of complete submitted application packages for Dental Hygiene and other Health Programs, we are unable to contact applicants and confirm receipt of application materials or notify applicants of any missing application items (outside of the two-page process letter for new applicants).  We encourage early application, such as September, to allow time for notification and to allow time for enrollment in late-start fall classes, if necessary to meet prerequisites for the program.