Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are eligible for national, regional and state board licensing examinations. Classes enter once each year in the fall semester.

Learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate commitment to the legal and ethical practice of dental hygiene, demonstrating integrity, honesty and confidentiality with colleagues, patients and the community

• Demonstrate competence in interpersonal and communication skills and in the evaluation, synthesis and application of information and technology as resources in contemporary dental hygiene practice

• Systematically collect, accurately record and analyze data on the general, oral and psychosocial health status of a variety of patients using methods consistent with medico-ethico-legal principles

• Use critical-thinking and decision-making skills to reach conclusions about the patient’s dental hygiene treatment needs based on an analysis of all available assessment data and evidence from current scientific literature

• Collaborate with the patient, guardian and/or other health care professionals, be able to formulate an individualized comprehensive dental hygiene care plan based on assessment findings and the dental hygiene diagnosis

• Provide and implement specialized care that includes educational, preventive and therapeutic services designed to minimize risk and optimize oral health as well as assist the patient in achieving and maintaining oral health goals

• Evaluate the outcomes of dental hygiene care, which occur throughout the process of care, and modify as necessary

• Initiate and assume responsibility for health promotion and disease prevention activities for diverse populations in a variety of settings