A.A.S. Degree: 92 Hours
The Dental Hygiene profession offers a variety of career opportunities: clinical practice in general and specialty dental offices; federal, state, and county health clinics; hospital-based treatment; long-term care facilities; industrial clinics; armed services; pharmaceutical sales; research institutions; and educational settings.
Contemporary dental hygiene practice requires that dental hygienists possess a breadth of knowledge and skills in a variety of areas. Dental hygiene practice includes: oral prophylaxis (cleaning); patient education; exposing, processing, and mounting radiographs; collecting and evaluating patient medical history information; performing head and neck examinations; periodontal assessment and non-surgical therapy; applying preventive agents; application of desensitizing and antimicrobial agents; and administering local anesthesia and nitrous oxide analgesia.
The dental hygiene program is a selective admission program. A separate application process is required for acceptance into the program; the application deadline is May 31st. Upon acceptance, the student may take the “program specific courses”. The dental hygiene program is a five-semester program which prepares the student for their national, regional, and state licensure examinations. Contact the Allied Health office or visit http://academics.otc.edu/alliedhealth/ for an application packet.
The dental hygiene program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) of the American Dental Association (ADA), 211 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611, (312) 621-8099.
