Dental Hygiene

This course is a basic orientation to the principles of nutrition. Topics include digestion, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, the utilization of energy and metabolism. The role of vitamins, minerals and nutrients are emphasized and their role in maintaining healthy oral tissues. The role of the dental hygienist in nutritional assessment and counseling are highlighted.

This course presents the didactic and laboratory components of pre-clinical dental hygiene theory. A firm foundation in infection control procedures, dental hygiene process of care, client assessment, deposit, and disease indices, oral infection control, and disease prevention is highlighted. In preparation for advancing to patient care, the following topics are presented: CPR and management of medical emergencies, OHSA regulations, Blood Borne Pathogen Standards, Hazard Communication Standards, and CDC Guidelines. Students will gain clinical experiences through student partner clinical experiences.

This course is designed to introduce the student to the dental hygiene care environment and to present basic instrumentation skills and techniques. The principles of instrumentation, ergonomic standards, and preparation for the educational and therapeutic patient services are presented in detail. Students will practice on typodonts in the lab then progress to student-partner experiences in the clinic.

Develop an understanding of dental hygiene practice, preventive oral health interventions, health education and promotion and the link between oral and systemic health. Enhance the delivery of oral health care to patients by utilizing the dental hygiene process of care: assessment, dental hygiene diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation, and documentation. Learn to apply principles of ethical reasoning, ethical decision making and professional responsibility as they pertain to patient care, with an emphasis on the use of critical thinking strategies and evidence-based decision making for effective management of patients. Provide dental hygiene care to all patients of all age groups who exhibit varying levels of oral health and disease, with special attention given to patients with special needs including medical, physical, and physiological conditions. Introduce cultural diversity and competency as it relates to patient management to help develop and enhance interpersonal communication skills necessary to interact effectively with patients from diverse populations and communities. Focus on autonomous, intra-professional, and interprofessional collaboration and shared decision making with other health care professionals to provide comprehensive patient centered care.

Information presented in this course is designed to develop a firm foundation for dental hygiene student in morphology and function of head, neck, and oral structures. Topics presented in detail include the formation of the fact (nervous system, muscle etc.) development and growth of the jaw, the origin and stages of tooth development and root formation, nomenclature, and identification systems.

This course provides lecture and laboratory-based instruction on the exposure and processing techniques of diagnostic dental imaging. Students will learn the basic principles of radiation physics, exposure techniques, image interpretation, recognizing normal anatomy, restorative materials, as well as radiation safety in the dental office. Instruction includes intraoral x-ray, panoramic x-rays, and an overview of digital x-rays systems. In addition to using a radiographic simulator, students will expose necessary images on a patient following infection control guidelines.

This is a continuation of Histology and Embryology of facial structures and presents an in-depth coverage of the anatomy of the teeth and surrounding soft tissues. In addition, eruption sequences and occlusion are highlighted.

This course is designed to enable beginning dental hygiene students to assess the systemic and oral health of the client and allow for the delivery of clinical dental hygiene and therapeutic care appropriate at the novice level.

This course is designed to present to the dental hygiene student an overview of more advanced clinical competencies including instrumentation strategies, and pain control strategies. The techniques of pain control include non-invasive and behavioral strategies, local anesthesia administration and nitrous oxide sedation. Students will have lab experiences to practice the pain control techniques. Didactic and lab sessions are presented for the clinical skills associated with: Chemotherapeutics, Dentinal Hypersensitivity, and advanced instrumentation techniques. These skills will be practiced in the lab and then delivered under supervised sessions in concurrent and future clinic sessions.

This capstone course is intended to furnish the upper-level dental hygiene student with an opportunity to demonstrate competency in the process of care for diverse patient populations. Utilizing case studies, students assess findings, formulate a dental hygiene diagnosis, plan, implement and evaluate intervention strategies for a variety of diverse communities. Selected projects provide opportunities for proficiency in critical thinking skills and evidence-based decision making. Students will take a simulation of the written Dental Hygiene National Board Examination. This course is designed to provide the graduate with necessary marketable job search techniques and skills. It will encompass all phases of professional development relative to employment.

This course introduces the history and principles of community dental health and health care delivery systems. Topics include the prevention of oral disease, development of public policy, and implementation of community efforts to enlighten the public. Issues surrounding access to care, managed care, private practice, independent practice, as well as trends in dental insurance reimbursement are presented. In addition, students will gain insight into research design and statistical methods and evaluation by participating in a table clinic or poster research project. Selected current topics in international healthcare are presented. The student will participate in a community-based program from the planning stage through to evaluation.

This course presents processes of inflammation, wound healing, repair, regeneration, and immunological response. Topics include oral manifestations of systemic diseases, genetics, and developmental anomalies of the oral cavity. In addition, commonly encountered diseases and disorders of the head and neck will be covered. Emphasis will be placed on recognizing the differences between the pathological and normal tissues.

This course is designed to provide the student with a knowledge and understanding of basic pharmacology to be applicable specifically to clinical situations and with emphasis on dental hygiene practice. The pharmacology of pain control is presented in detail.

This is the third clinical course in a series that leads integrative cognitive knowledge with practical applications of dental hygiene therapies to achieve specific objectives for clinical dental hygiene practice. Students will be introduced to pain management/control in this clinic. Emphasis is on mastery of skills and techniques previously introduced: skills including comprehensive evaluation, risk assessment, treatment planning, and adjunctive antibiotic therapy. Continue to expand the student’s clinical development and knowledge of current therapies, advanced manual instrumentation, ultrasonic instrumentation, soft tissue management, implant care, and maintenance. The instructor serves as a group facilitator who assists the student in developing an appreciation for the concepts, topics and procedures related to the clinical experience. It is expected that the dental hygiene student will begin to incorporate the basics of autonomous decision- making in the process of patient care. A burgeoning portfolio of competencies is expected at the completion of this course.

This is the fourth clinical course in a series that leads integrative cognitive knowledge with practical applications of dental hygiene therapies to achieve specific objectives for clinical dental hygiene practice. Emphasis is on mastery of skills and techniques previously introduced: patient management skills including comprehensive evaluation, risk assessment, treatment planning, pain control, and adjunctive antibiotic therapy. Continue to expand the student’s clinical development and knowledge of current therapies, advanced manual instrumentation, ultrasonic instrumentation, soft tissue management, implant care, and maintenance. The instructor serves as a group facilitator who assists the student in developing an appreciation for the concepts, topics and procedures related to the clinical experience while assisting the student to transition to private clinical practice. It is expected that the dental hygiene student will begin to incorporate the basics of autonomous decision-making in the process of patient care. A burgeoning portfolio of competencies is expected at the completion of this course.

This course focuses on soft tissue diagnosis and evaluation. The student will enhance clinical understanding of comprehensive periodontal treatment plans by preparing various treatment plans. Students will learn criteria for use of advanced instrumentation strategies, soft tissue management, and post treatment procedures for use on (or applicable to) periodontology involved cases.