Dental Hygiene

Graduates of this program work directly with dental patients to promote optimum oral health. The dental hygiene profession is primarily educational and preventative in nature and offers opportunities to work in a variety of health care settings, including general and specialty dental practices, community health agencies, and public schools. In addition, graduates may wish to pursue a bachelor’s degree, which will provide opportunities to work in alternative settings such as public health, education, research, and dental sales.

All dental hygiene professional courses must be taken in the prescribed four semester sequence. The curriculum is time intensive and the required courses are rigorous. Complete dedication to coursework is required for successful completion of the program.

All students completing the program will be eligible to apply to participate in licensing examinations.

Students with an Associates of Science in Dental Hygiene will be able to:

Competently perform the role of a dental hygienist in varied situations and settings
Have the functional acuity and rationale for performing dental hygiene clinical techniques
Continually promote the most current concepts of disease control and prevention
Emphasize and promote ethical and responsible considerations in patient care
Make an essential and unique contribution as an integral member of a health care team
Have a basic knowledge of legal responsibilities and ethical considerations of patient care
Develop a commitment to continuous and lifelong learning

The normal number of credits for the associate’s degree is 72.

First Year

Fall Semester	Credits	Spring Semester	Credits
BIO 1030 - Nutrition	3	BIO 2012 - Human Anatomy & Physiology II	4
BIO 2011 - Human Anatomy & Physiology I	4	DHY 1012 - Clinical Dental Hygiene I	5
DHY 1011 - Pre-clinical Dental Hygiene	4	DHY 1022 - Oral Tissues II/ Medical Emergencies	3
DHY 1021 - Oral Tissues I	3	DHY 1030 - Dental Radiography	3
ENG 10XX - English	3	PSY 1010 - Introduction to Psychology	3
	17		18

Second Year

Fall Semester Credits Spring Semester Credits

BIO 2120 - Elements of Microbiology 4 DHY 2210 - Community Oral Health 3

DHY 2010 - Dental Materials 3 DHY 2220 - Oral Pathology 2

DHY 2020 – Pathology & Pharmacology 3 DHY 2722 - Clinical Dental Hygiene III 6

DHY 2030 - Periodontics 3 ENG 2080 - Technical Communication 3

DHY 2721 - Clinical Dental Hygiene II 5 MAT 1040 - Mathematics for Allied Health 2

18 ELE XXXX - AH elective 3

19

Note: All DHY/BIO courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better to continue in the program