The Mission and Goals of the Dental Hygiene program are to facilitate the development of professional, ethical, and competent dental hygienists who exhibit the following:

1. An awareness of their present and future roles and responsibilities within the profession and the community he/she serves.
    
2. The knowledge and clinical skills necessary to provide comprehensive care to the patients/clients.
    
3. A commitment to lifelong learning and professional development.
    

These are the competencies required for graduation from the Dental Hygiene Program:


   1.    Apply ethical reasoning to dental hygiene

   2.   Comply with state and federal laws governing the practice of dentistry and dental hygiene

   3.   Assess, plan, implement and evaluate community-based oral health programs

   4.   Use screening, referral and education to bring consumers into the health care delivery system

   5.   Provides dental hygiene services in a variety of settings

   6.  Perform a comprehensive patient assessment and formulate a dental hygiene treatment plan based on
patient need

   7.  Provide comprehensive dental hygiene care by applying basic and advanced principles of dental hygiene

   8.  Critically analyze published reports of oral health research and apply this information to the practice of dental   hygiene

   9.  Assume the roles of the profession (clinician, educator, researcher, change agent, consumer advocate,    administrator) as defined by the ADHA

   10.  Advance the profession through leadership, service activities and affiliation with professional organizations

   11. Commit to self-assessment and life-long learning in order to provide quality clinical care
 

For additional information please contact Joan Tonner, Program Director, Dental Hygiene