DH 100 - Oral Health Services I

Credit Hours: 5

This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of clinical dental hygiene. It consists of three modules and each module must be passed in order to pass DH 100. A clinic/lecture module introduces dental hygiene assessment and instrumentation techniques, orientation to the dental operatory, health history interpretation, intra-oral and extra-oral patient examination, dental charting, mandated infection control and confidentiality procedures. Dental models are used for practice and classmates serve as patients. Students must recruit patients for the second half of the semester. A second module consists of lectures on professionalism which examine the characteristics that define a professional, the origin and development of dental hygiene as a profession, professional organizations with an overview of the ADHA, ethics and ethical behaviors, cultural competence and an introduction to evidence-based decision making. A third module covers oral health education and introduces plaque induced dental diseases such as dental caries, gingivitis and periodontal disease and the methods used to prevent oral diseases. Minimum passing grade is “C-” for written evaluations in each module and “C-” for clinical competency skill evaluations in the clinic module.
Corequisites: All required first-semester courses in the Dental Hygiene curriculum and a completed student Allied Health Report.
F (N)

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