Dental Hygiene - Lewis and Clark Community College

Dental Hygiene from Lewis and Clark Community College is a Campus Associate Dentistry degree that prepares you for a Healthcare career. Contemporary dental hygiene practice requires that dental hygienists possess a breadth of knowledge and skills in a variety of areas. Changes in health care knowledge and practice have expanded the philosophy of dental hygiene to include six interrelated roles that all focus around their connection to public health: clinician, educator, administrator/manager, change agent, consumer advocate, and researcher. These roles hold the common denominator of improved oral health for society. The L&C Dental Hygiene Program provides the education necessary to fulfill all of these roles in the second phase of a unique curriculum known as ?career laddering?. Students are accepted into the program with advanced standing admission status by having 38 credit hours or the equivalent from dental assisting education. After completion of ?phase one? of dental assisting, the student may choose to seek employment as a dental assistant or apply into the Dental Hygiene phase of the program. Acceptance into the L&C Dental Assisting Program does not guarantee acceptance into the Dental Hygiene program. Nature of Work: The Dental Hygiene program prepares students to fulfill the above five interrelated roles of the professional dental hygienist, making dental hygienists important members of the dental health team. Although each state has its own regulations regarding the scope of dental hygiene practice, some of the responsibilities of the dental hygienist are: assessment, treatment and prevention of oral diseases, planning community-based oral health programs, providing staff development training, promoting the need for innovation and change in oral health care, advising patients on commercial products, public health agencies, and researching for the improvement of patient care. Graduates are qualified to pursue additional education at the baccalaureate level and/or find job placement in a multitude of areas such as: general dentistry offices, periodontal offices, retail sales companies, public health agencies and educational institutions. Skills and Abilities: All applicants and students must be able to fulfill certain ?technical standards.? These standards are the essential requirements of the Dental Hygiene program that students must master to successfully participate in the program and become employable in the dental hygiene field. View more details on Lewis and Clark Community College . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Dentistry courses.