Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of dental hygiene students about the necessity and effects of counseling. The subjects in this study were 273 sophomores, juniors and seniors at a college located in a rural community. After a survey was conducted, the collected data were analyzed with SPSS WIN 13.0 program. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. They gave a mean of 3.53 when they were asked about the effects of counseling, which indicated that they had a high opinion on that. 2. They didn't receive counseling often, as they got a mean of 3.22. The largest group of the students who accounted for 64.5 percent received counseling once or twice. 3. They didn't hope to take a lot of counseling on school life. They gave a mean of 3.37 to that. 4. They wanted to receive counseling on employment the most(45.4%), followed by academic standing(29.3%). Counselors should inform students of how to study to boost academic achievement when they provide counseling, and they should treat them with sincerity. In addition, students should be advised that not only specific students but everybody are eligible for counseling.