DH 200 - Oral Health Services IV

Credit Hours: 6

Students will receive continued clinical experiences utilizing the dental hygiene process of care during patient management. The course consists of four modules and each module must be passed in order to pass DH 200. The clinic module includes practice in patient assessment, dental radiography, recording of vital signs, patient education and motivation, application of sealants, treatment planning, management of the child patient, developing a dental hygiene diagnosis, intra-oral imaging, ultrasonic instrumentation, risk assessment, implementation and evaluation of treatment. Students must recruit patients for treatment and recall maintenance patients to evaluate treatment outcomes. An external rotation to a pediatric dental clinic is part of the clinical experience. A second module will include clinically related topics such as management and prevention of dental caries, nutritional counseling, tooth whitening agents, smoking cessation, recognition and management of patients with HIV infection, recognition and reporting of child abuse and neglect. A third module covers advanced topics in periodontology including assessment and management of periodontal disease through instrumentation techniques, ultrasonics, soft tissue management protocols, care and maintenance of dental implants, systemic and locally applied chemotherapeutic agents and dentinal hypersensitivity. A fourth module will provide a comprehensive overview of patients with special needs and the factors which may complicate the management and delivery of dental hygiene services. A service learning experience will give students an opportunity to interact, self-reflect and critically think about providing dental hygiene services for a person with special needs. Minimum passing grade for the clinic module is ”C-” (80%) for competency assessments plus completion of specific clinical requirements. Minimum passing grade for each lecture module is “C-“ (80%).

Course Outcomes
At the completion of the course, the student should be able to :

independently practice and follow accepted infection control policies and procedures as stated in the Senior Competency Skills Packet; Environmental Management
collect assessment data based on patient’s health history, comprehensive periodontal examination, and vital signs; Assessment
differentiate between variances of normal and abnormal to include oral manifestations of chronic smoking and HIV infection; Assessment
identify and perform salivary testing for a high caries risk patient; Assessment
recognize the need for radiographs (using the Guidelines for Prescribing Dental Radiographs). Expose, process, and evaluate diagnostically acceptable films (digital and conventional films) utilizing the Radiation Safety Protocol to identify existing oral conditions; Assessment
develop a dental hygiene diagnosis, treatment plan and case presentation, encourage smoking cessation for all applicable patients, recognize physical and emotional signs of child abuse and the method for reporting suspected child abuse, determine treatment modifications/ homecare adaptations for the special needs patient; Management of Client Care
record patient data for advanced dental charting on computer, describe treatment procedures for non-surgical periodontal therapy to include proper maintenance of dental implants and locally delivered chemotherapetuic agents; Management of Client Care
perform skills for comprehensive patient care to include proper use of the clinical soft ware, imaging, ultrasonic tips for advanced periodontal therapy, placement of sealants, and application of adjunctive therapies for dentinal hypersensitivity; Professional Skills Development
provide treatment in a timely and efficient manner, refer patients as needed for consultation or care, as well as demonstrate organizational and problem solving skills; Time Management
evaluate the re-care patient and the effectiveness of treatment and homecare instruction; Management of Client Care
evaluate one’s own clinical performance on a daily basis to identify strengths and weaknesses; Self Evaluation
accept professional responsibility for behaviors consistent with medico legal requirements, ethical expectations, and demeanor as defined in the Code of Ethics and the Senior Competency Skills Packet and Day Sheet; Personal Attributes
research, design and present an in- class oral presentation defining the patient’s disability, office treatment modifications, and homecare adaptations for the special needs patient;
research and cite the communication techniques considering the cognitive and communicative ability of the patient; and
assess, educate and provide treatment and document services to adolescents from the local middle and high schools.

Prerequisites: All required first-year courses in the Dental Hygiene curriculum and DH 175 must be passed.
Corequisites: All required fall semester, second-year courses in the Dental Hygiene curriculum and current BLS certification.
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