Nov 07, 2024  
2021-2022 Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

DH 260 - Community Dental Health


Credit Hours: 2

General principles in the field of public health dentistry will be covered.  The course will concentrate on methods to improve dental health through organized community efforts.  Principles and techniques in the selection of data, appraisal of variability and correlation will be discussed along with the epidemiology of dental caries and periodontal disease.  Other topics will cover the ways and means of developing community dental health programs as well as a study of existing programs.  Students will receive field experience to develop or evaluate a community dental health program.  Minimum required passing grade is “C-.”

 

Course Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • demonstrate knowledge of community oral health problems and their impact on community resources;
  • describe methods used to promote oral health awareness and disease prevention in the community;
  • identify and evaluate community oral health issues and strategies to address them;
  • describe human behaviors, cultural issues, political realities and technical challenges which affect community dental health initiatives;
  • define the skills required to act as a community dental health professional;
  • assess, plan, implement and evaluate community oral health programs;
  • evaluate journal articles and evidence-based clinical information;
  • develop an understanding of basic statistical principles, dental indices and use of computers in dental research and community dental health; and
  • deliver a presentation on APIE to peers, after presenting a dental health program at a community site, utilizing self-assessment and critical thinking to problem solve and meet the needs of the population.


Prerequisites: All required fall semesters, second year courses in the Dental Hygiene curriculum must be passed.
Corequisites: All required spring semester, second year courses in the Dental Hygiene curriculum.
S (N)

Withdrawal from or failure of a required course prevents graduation from the curriculum. General education courses may be taken earlier than indicated but may not be taken later than the prescribed schedule.