Allied Dental
Dental Hygiene
The Dental Hygiene program includes instruction in principles of preventive oral care, including teaching patients self-care, examining patients’ head and neck areas for abnormal health status, nutritional counseling, applying sealants to the grooves of patients’ teeth, producing diagnostically acceptable intraoral radiographs (x-rays), managing pain and anxiety, and removing deposits from patients’ teeth with scaling and root planning procedures.
Employment opportunities in South Carolina include private practice; i.e., as employees of dentists. There are also opportunities in community-based settings, hospital dental practices, prison dental clinics and in dental hygiene education. Related career roles include dental products sales representatives, infection control consultants for private dental offices and dental hygiene educators.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
Phase I, the Pre-Dental Hygiene Certificate, must be completed with a 2.5 GPA, including “C” or better in natural science and math courses. The student may not repeat more than two different courses in the pre-dental hygiene certificate after attaining interview eligibility status. Students in Phase II must receive a “C” or better on all dental hygiene courses and maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Students may not repeat a major course more than once, nor may they progress until that course has been passed. (A withdrawal counts as an attempt.)
Students may not repeat more than two Phase II courses during their program matriculation. A student may not be readmitted to the dental hygiene program more than once. Readmitted students will be expected to revalidate competencies prior to resuming participation in the program at the previous point of validated competencies. Readmitted students must matriculate in clinical courses; other course requirements will be determined by faculty committee.
Students are required to pass a comprehensive examination in each clinical dental hygiene course to continue in the program the following semester. Students must take a competency examination during the second semester of Phase II. This competency exam tests students’ knowledge in all clinical and scientific subject matter presented during the Pre-Dental Hygiene Certificate and the first year in dental hygiene. Failure to pass the competency exam prohibits the student from continuing to the third semester.
Primary clinical experience is gained in the on-campus dental clinic at the Airport Campus. Students may also rotate through local community-based settings, hospitals and nursing homes in the immediate area for practical experience in a variety of situations and age groups.
Students are required to be learning partners for their classmates; e.g., students will be the 1st patients on whom their classmates practice all dental hygiene functions, including infiltration injections. Students are urged to defer initiating orthodontic care until after the first two semesters. Students who require antibiotics prior to dental procedures will be expected to comply with such self-medication so as to allow equitable classmate learning experience during preclinicals.
Students are encouraged to join their student professional organization and to participate in its scheduled activities, including attendance at the annual meeting. In addition, they are required to participate in scheduled activities such as visits to elementary schools for dental health education presentations and dental screenings.