International dental hygienists · Italy
Italian-trained dental hygienists: practising in Quebec at Go Dentiste
What a Italian-trained dental hygienist needs to know to practise in Quebec: the route to the Ordre des hygiénistes dentaires du Québec permit for your training, the French requirement, the work permit and immigration, and what Go Dentiste concretely does to welcome you, even before your permit.
Your training and background from Quebec’s point of view
Your laurea in Igiene dentale (three years) and albo registration open the OHDQ equivalency application. Italy is an International Experience Canada partner country (all categories). French goes through the OQLF exam; Montreal has one of the largest Italian communities in the country.
OHDQ equivalency recognition: the steps
With no recognition arrangement with your country, you file an application for recognition of diploma or training equivalency with the OHDQ. The admissions committee compares your training, course by course and competency by competency, with Quebec’s three-year DEC in dental hygiene techniques.
- 1. File: evaluation application form, required documents (diploma, detailed transcripts, course descriptions, proof of registration and practice), certified translations by a member of Quebec’s translators’ order for any document not in French or English; $402.41 filing fee
- 2. Analysis: the committee may require a competency validation exam (questionnaire, $402.41, sessions in January, May and September), a clinical integration internship in one of the ten CEGEPs offering the program, an interview, or a combination
- 3. Decision: full equivalency, partial equivalency with competencies to acquire (courses or internship), or refusal, with review possible within 30 days and free recourse to the Commissioner for admission to professions
- 4. French: proof of French proficiency (see below)
- 5. Permit and registration: $887.27 to $894.57 depending on the registration month, then annual registration before March 31
The Order indicates about seven months between file opening and decision; compensatory measures are added according to the gaps found, most often in operative dentistry, orthodontics and Quebec legislation. The guide on credential recognition answers frequent questions.
French: the OQLF exam and the temporary permit
Every OHDQ permit requires appropriate French proficiency. Since your studies were not in French, you take the OQLF French examination (oral and written comprehension and expression). If the Order declares you competent first, it may issue a one-year temporary permit, renewable up to three times, which lets you practise while you prepare. Our clinics are bilingual: you practise your French every day with the team and a largely bilingual clientele.
Coming to work in Quebec: work permit and immigration
To work in Quebec you need a work permit. The employer obtains a joint Canada–Quebec Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), you apply for a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ), then for the work permit from IRCC. Good news: dental hygienists (NOC 32111) are on Quebec’s 2026 list of occupations eligible for simplified processing, which lightens the employer’s LMIA steps. Go Dentiste prepares these steps with you as soon as your route to the permit is under way; until you are registered with the Order, the position can be a dental assistant position.
Italy: an International Experience Canada partner country (working holiday, young professionals and international co-op). Within the age range provided, an LMIA-exempt work permit is possible, with a job offer for the Young Professionals category.
To settle permanently, selection goes through the Skilled Worker Selection Program (Arrima), where French proficiency weighs heavily, then federal permanent residence. This is general information: rules change and every file is different; validate your plan with IRCC, Quebec’s immigration ministry or a regulated immigration consultant or lawyer. Go Dentiste cannot guarantee a permit or selection, but takes its employer role seriously.
What Go Dentiste offers you
- A dental assistant or clinical coordinator position right now, if your permit is not yet issued: income, software, RAMQ, the Canadian Dental Care Plan, sterilization to standard, and a team that knows you the day you are registered
- A team of hygienists and seven general dentists to integrate you: autonomy respected (Bill 29), second opinion available, continuing education encouraged
- An operations director who coordinates the employer steps (job offer, simplified-processing LMIA, documents for the CAQ and permit)
- Three new clinics in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield (2025, open 7 days a week), Vaudreuil-Dorion (2026, open Monday to Friday) and Saint-Zotique (2027): day shifts, plus Tuesday evening or weekend shifts in Valleyfield, full or part time
- A region 45 minutes from Montreal where housing remains affordable, and a bilingual clientele to progress in French without pressure
How to start
Write to Maryse Milton, director of clinical operations, at maryse@go-dentiste.com or 514 561-5399, stating your country of training, your diploma and the step you have reached (OHDQ application filed or not, French, status). We answer with a concrete plan: a position possible now, employer steps, and a realistic timeline to the permit. The dental hygienist position and the dental assistant position describe our conditions.
How long does equivalency recognition take?
The Order indicates about seven months between file opening and decision, plus the time for any compensatory measures (exam, courses, internship) and French. Allow one to two years in most cases.
What happens if the equivalency is partial?
The decision specifies the competencies to acquire, generally through continuing education courses or a clinical integration internship in a CEGEP. Once completed, you obtain the permit.
Can I work in a clinic before I have my OHDQ permit?
Yes, in a role that includes no act reserved to hygienists: chairside assisting, coordination, sterilization, team training. The dental assistant title is not regulated in Quebec; only taking radiographs requires recognized training.
Do my years of experience count?
Yes: in your file with the Order (they can justify exemptions from compensatory measures) and with us, for your integration, schedule and pay.
Go further
- All countries: international dental hygienists at Go Dentiste
- Dental hygienist jobs at Go Dentiste
- Dental assistant jobs
- Career guide: hygienist autonomy (Bill 29)
- Career guide: dental hygienist salary in Quebec
- Career guide: foreign diplomas and equivalencies
- International dentists: practising in Quebec
Official sources
- OHDQ — People trained in dental hygiene or dentistry outside Quebec
- Regulation respecting diploma and training equivalence standards (OHDQ), Légis Québec
- OHDQ — Permit application and first registration
- OQLF — Professional orders: French proficiency and examination
- OQLF — Charter of the French language: presumption (s. 35) and temporary permit (ss. 37-38) (PDF)
- Gouvernement du Québec — 2026 list of occupations eligible for simplified processing (dental hygienists 32111)
- Gouvernement du Québec — Authorizations to hire a temporary foreign worker (LMIA, CAQ, permit)
- Gouvernement du Québec — Skilled Worker Selection Program (Arrima)
- Gouvernement du Québec — Dental hygienists: wages and outlook (IMT)
- OHDQ — Adoption of Bill 29 (autonomy of dental hygienists)
General information written by the Go Dentiste team from official websites consulted in September 2026 (OHDQ 2026-2027 fees and timelines); the texts of the Ordre des hygiénistes dentaires du Québec, the OQLF, IRCC and Quebec’s immigration ministry prevail. Neither legal nor immigration advice.
Content prepared by the Go Dentiste team (Dr Dominic Morel-Maynard, general dentist and owner). Last updated: September 25, 2026. General information for guidance only: only an in-clinic exam can establish a diagnosis and a treatment plan suited to your situation.