Abstract
The aim of this study was to review the history of dental hygiene education in Korea on its $50^{th}$ anniversary in 2015. Internal resources and documents from the Korean Dental Hygienists' Association and other accessible resources were examined to verify the historical facts of dental hygiene education in Korea. From 1965 to 1967, the first class of four dental hygiene students graduated, and the legal basis for dental hygiene as a profession was established, which led to the start of the profession Registered Dental Hygienist in 1971. From 1977 to 1993, 13 higher educational institutions started dental hygiene programs. The Korean Dental Hygienists' Association (1977) and Korean Association of Dental Hygiene College Professors (1987) were established in this period. From 1994 to 2006, the duration of major-intensive course programs in dental hygiene was extended to three from the two years of 1994, and the first bachelor's degree program in dental hygiene started in 2002. In this period, studies on dental hygiene became significantly active owing to vigorous activities by academic societies. The master's degree program in dental hygiene was established in 2007. Academic dental hygiene journals, the Journal of Dental Hygiene Science, and Journal of Korean Academy of Dental Hygiene Education were promoted as the registered journals of the Korean Research Foundation. From 1965 to 2015, dental hygiene education in South Korea expanded both quantitatively and qualitatively and is now ready for further progress in the future.