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International dental hygienists · Switzerland

Swiss-trained dental hygienists: practising in Quebec at Go Dentiste

What a Swiss-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.

Talk to the team
The hygienist position
Hygiéniste dentaire pendant un nettoyage dans une salle de soins Go Dentiste
Licence-on-licence, Swiss arrangement or equivalency: the right route for you
Shortage occupation: simplified LMIA processing in Quebec
Work as a dental assistant while your file progresses
Extended autonomy under Bill 29: assessment and hygiene care
Three new clinics, Valleyfield open 7 days, flexible schedules
A team of hygienists and seven dentists to integrate you
Tell us about your path: Maryse Milton (514 561-5399, maryse@go-dentiste.com) calls you back with a concrete plan, in English or French, with no commitment. Talk to the team now → The dental hygienist position → All countries →

Your training and background from Quebec’s point of view

Your ES dental hygienist diploma from the Geneva school of dental hygiene, the medi school in Bern, the Careum training centre in Zurich or the Prophylaxe-Zentrum school in Zurich is covered by the Quebec–Switzerland mutual recognition arrangement, to which the OHDQ is a party. Together with licence-on-licence for other provinces, it is the most direct route onto the Order’s roll. Geneva graduates, trained in French, are presumed to know French; Bern and Zurich graduates take the OQLF exam.

The Quebec–Switzerland mutual recognition arrangement: the steps

The OHDQ is a signatory to an arrangement under the Quebec–Switzerland agreement on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications. It covers the ES diplomas of the four Swiss dental hygiene schools (Geneva, medi Bern, Careum Zurich, Prophylaxe-Zentrum Zurich).

  • 1. Conditions: ES diploma from one of the four schools and legal authorization to practise in Switzerland (Swiss Red Cross attestation)
  • 2. Application: recognition form and documents submitted to the OHDQ (see the official page), $229.95 fee; acknowledgement within 30 days, admissions committee decision within 60 days (possible 30-day extension)
  • 3. Compensatory measures, unless exempted on the basis of your experience: at least 60 hours of college-level orthodontics, at least 45 hours of theory and 30 hours of clinical work in operative dentistry, and at most 35 hours on Quebec legislation and ethics
  • 4. Decision: unrestricted permit, temporary restrictive permit while you complete the measures, or refusal (review possible within 30 days)
  • 5. Permit and registration: $887.27 to $894.57 depending on the month, then annual registration on the roll before March 31

At Go Dentiste, a Swiss hygienist can start as an assistant or clinical coordinator while completing the compensatory measures, then practise on a temporary restrictive permit if the Order issues one, within a team used to international paths. The guide on hygienist autonomy explains what Bill 29 lets you do here, often more than in Switzerland.

French: presumption or OQLF exam

Every OHDQ permit requires appropriate French proficiency. If you completed at least three years of full-time secondary or post-secondary studies in French, you are presumed to have it (Charter of the French language, s. 35) and take no exam. Otherwise you take the OQLF exam; the Order may issue a one-year temporary permit, renewable up to three times, while you pass it.

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.

Switzerland: an International Experience Canada partner country (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.

Is my Swiss diploma recognized automatically?

It is recognized under the Quebec–Switzerland arrangement, with targeted compensatory measures (orthodontics, operative dentistry, legislation) unless exempted on the basis of your experience. It is much shorter than an ordinary equivalency application.

Where do I take the compensatory measures?

In a Quebec CEGEP offering the dental hygiene program, through continuing education; the Order specifies the terms in its decision. We adjust your schedule so you can follow them.

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

Official sources

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.