Dental Hygiene
(Students should initially enroll in Code 324)
Associate in Applied Arts and Science
Academic Department: Dental
Information on enrolling in GRCC's health programs | Program Goals
The dental hygienist-the preventive specialist-fills a key position on the dental health team. Graduates of the associate degree curriculum may assume a variety of major roles in the prevention of dental disease.
Dental hygiene practice includes: obtaining clients' medical and dental histories, conducting extraoral and intraoral examinations, performing diagnostic procedures, providing complete oral prophylaxis (scaling and polishing teeth) and polishing restorations and placing pit and fissure sealants. The Michigan Dental Law has expanded dental hygiene care to include periodontal treatment.
GRCC's program in dental hygiene is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation and by the U.S. Department of Education. Graduates will be eligible to take national and regional board examinations to qualify for licensure as Registered Dental Hygienists. Requirements for licensure as an RDH in the State of Michigan are stated in the Michigan Public Health Code, Public Act 368 of 1978. The new applicant for licensure will be asked about felony convictions, misdemeanor convictions resulting in imprisonment, and convictions for possession of controlled substances (including those involving alcohol related to motor vehicle violations). Previous convictions may prevent the applicant from receiving a license.
Dental hygienists work in private and group dental practices, departments of public health, hospitals, schools, clinics, veterans' facilities and the armed forces. Job opportunities for trained dental hygienists are expected to be good in the years ahead.
Program Requirements
In order to be eligible for admission into the Pre-Dental Hygiene portion of the program, students must:
- Be high school graduates or have passed the high school equivalency GED (General Educational Development) Test.
- Have a high-school GPA of at least 2.0.
Have completed one-year courses in high school chemistry and biology with at least a grade of "C" in each. (Suitable equivalent courses are available at GRCC for college credit.)
In order to be eligible for graduation, Dental Hygiene students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in the prescribed Dental Hygiene curriculum.
All courses in the Dental Hygiene Program must be completed by the end of the semester that they appear on the semester curriculum schedule. Non-dental classes may be completed prior to when they appear on the schedule; they may not be taken and completed after their appearance on the schedule. Failure to complete courses by the end of the semester that they appear on the semester curriculum schedule is grounds for dismissal from the Dental Hygiene program.
The GRCC Dental Hygiene Program now takes a minimum of 3 years to complete. The 1st year consists of non-dental courses. 4 of these courses (BI 121, BI 122, BI 127 and CM 210) are required pre-requisites for entering the 2nd year when the actual dental hygiene courses begin and must be completed with a "C-" or better. Entering students are highly encouraged to complete all of the non-dental courses prior to beginning the 2nd year. This way scheduling is much less complex and the student can focus all energies on the professional training part of the program. All courses in the 2nd and 3rd year of the dental hygiene program must be completed by the end of the semester designated in the prescribed curriculum.
Students should enroll in Program Code 324.
Pre-Dental Hygiene (Preprequisites)
| First Year - Pre-Dental Hygiene |
|
|
|
|
| First Semester |
|
|
|
|
| Course |
Credits |
Lecture |
Lab |
Clinic |
| BI 121 Human Anatomy & Physiology 1 ** |
4 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| BI 127 General Microbiology ** |
4 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
| EN 100 College Writing OR |
|
|
|
|
| EN 101 English Comp 1 ** |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| SO 251, or SO 254, or SO 260 ** |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| PY 201 General Psychology** |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
17 |
15 |
6 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Second Semester |
Credits |
Lecture |
Lab |
Clinic |
| BI 122 Human Anatomy and Physiology 2 ** |
4 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| CM 210 Elements of Inorg, Org, and Biochemistry |
4 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
| EN 102 English Composition 2 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
COM 131, or COM 135, or
GH 120** |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| WE 156‡ First Aid ** |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| PS 110 Survey of American Government** |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
18 |
18 |
4 |
0 |
First Year (Program Entry)
| Third Semester (Fall) |
|
|
|
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| Course |
Credits |
Lecture |
Lab |
Clinic |
| DH 113 Dental Head and Neck Anatomy, Embryology and Histology for DH |
5 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
| DH 119 Pre-clinical 1 |
6 |
2 |
8 |
0 |
| DX 104 Infection Control for Dentistry (1st 3.5 weeks) |
2 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
| DX 115 Introduction to Dentistry |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| DH 120 Nutrition for the Dental Hygienist |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
18 |
15 |
14 |
0 |
| Fourth Semester (Winter) |
|
|
|
|
| Course |
Credits |
Lecture |
Lab |
Clinic |
| DH 129 Pre-Clinical 2 (*lab changes to clinic after 1st 7 weeks) |
6 |
2 |
*8 |
*8 |
| DH 192 General and Oral Pathology |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| DH 117 Applied Oral Disease Prevention and Preventive Therapies |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| DX 126 Dental Radiography (*theory and lab first 7 weeks, clinic last 7 weeks) |
4 |
4
0 |
4
0 |
0 (1st 7 weeks)
4 (2nd 7 weeks) |
|
16 |
12 |
12* |
12* |
| Summer Session (8 weeks) |
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| Course |
Credits |
Lecture |
Lab |
Clinic |
| DH 234 Periodontology 1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| DH 182 Applied Dental Biomaterials |
2 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
| DH 217 Client Care and Management 1 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| DH 209 Clinical Dental Hygiene 1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
|
8 |
8 |
4 |
12 |
Second Year (Dental Hygiene Courses)
| Fifth Semester (Fall) |
|
|
|
|
| Course |
Credits |
Lecture |
Lab |
Clinic |
| DH 235 Periodontology 2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| DH 205 Dental Specialties |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| DH 214 Community Dental Health |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| DH 227 Client Care and Management 2 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
2 Arr |
| DH 219 Clinical Dental Hygiene 2 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
| DH 266 Pharmacology for Dental Hygiene |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
18 |
11 |
0 |
14 |
| Sixth Semester (Winter) |
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|
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| Course |
Credits |
Lecture |
Lab |
Clinic |
| DH 224 Community Dental Health 2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| DH 237 Client Care and Management 3 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| DH 229 Clinical Dental Hygiene 3 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
| DH 275 Dental Ethics and Jurisprudence |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| DH 276 Dental Hygiene Professional Seminar |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
5 |
0 |
14 |
|
Total Dental Credits |
76 |
|
|
|
|
Total Non-Dental Credits |
31 |
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** These courses may be completed prior to when they appear in the dental hygiene curriculum.
‡ A different wellness course may be substituted for WE 156 if the student can document current CPR/BLS certification prior to the beginning of DH 129.