Dental Hygiene - DHYG.AS

Accreditation

The Dental Hygiene program 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 United States Department of Education.

Program Goals

1. Maintain admission policies to ensure qualified students with appropriate emphasis on under-represented groups.
2. Ensure that students will achieve knowledge, skills and values consistent with national dental hygiene standards.
3. Prepare dental hygiene graduates to assume responsibility for ethical dental hygiene care within the legal scope of practice in the Commonwealth of MA or other governing jurisdictions.
4. Facilitate interactive educational experiences designed to foster critical thinking, promote appreciation for evidenced based clinical practice and the need for lifelong learning.
5. Graduate students who will advance the profession through affiliation with professional organizations, and who will serve society through expertise, leadership, health education and health promotion.
6. Provide continuing education programs for community dental professionals.
7. Maintain a state of the art teaching environment.
8. Provide the highest quality of student dental hygiene care to our patients.
9. Maintain a knowledgeable, productive and diverse faculty to engage in multiple dimensions of scholarship which includes discovery, integration, application and teaching expertise to improve dental hygiene and health care.
10. Professional Rescuer CPR (Red Cross) or Healthcare Provider CPR (American Heart Association) and standard first aid must be completed before the beginning of the second semester in the program.

Applying to this Program

• All applications for consideration for acceptance into the program should be received by the Admissions Office no later than March 15 of the application year.
• Fall start only, day program only
• This is a competitive program with rigorous standards.  The program admits 20 students each admission cycle.

Admission Prerequisites

• Proof of High School transcript, GED or HISET
• Math
  • Successful completion of high school Algebra 2(grade of C or higher); OR
  • Successful completion of  Algebra 2 MAT-097 or higher level math course (grade of C+ or higher): OR
  • Placement examination score at MAT-101 or higher
• Biology
  • Completion of high school level Biology with a lab (grade of C or higher); OR
  • Completion of college level Biology with a lab (such as BIO-101, BIO-201) (grade of C or higher, within 5 years)
• Chemistry
  • Completion of college level Chemistry with a lab, CHM-101  CHM-101L  or equivalent (grade of C or higher, within 5 years)

NOTES:

• The SAT is suggested, not required
• Information Sessions: Applicants are encouraged but not required to attend an information session. For session dates, times and locations please see: Enrollment Events Calender.
• Course work with designated time frames must be current within 5 years from the start of the program.
• Mid-semester grades for applicable spring courses will be considered.  Students requesting consideration for coursework being performed outside STCC must submit mid-term grade reports to the Admissions office with their application.  The letter must be on the official college letterhead. An email from the individual course professor will be accepted if it is received directly from the professor’s college email address. ALL these correspondences must also be cc’d to the Dental Hygiene Program Coordinator.
• Conditional acceptances will be given for applicants who have incomplete courses in the spring semester. The condition will state what final grade must be earned to gain full acceptance. Students not meeting stated conditions will not be granted admission to the program.
• It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all OFFICIAL transcripts are updated upon completion of courses AND all non-STCC college academic records are included with their application at the time of filing
• Upon review of application materials and scoring using the departmental rubric, students will be ranked by score and then accepted into the program.  If there are additional qualified students in the applicant pool, students will be notified and placed on a wait list.  If a seat in the program become available, students will be accepted based on ranking and notified
• Programmatic Technical Standards: Students with disabilities must be able to meet the technical standards of the program with reasonable accommodations as defined by the ADA.
• Applicants who have completed the following courses will be given priority in the admission process:
  • College level Anatomy & Physiology 1 & 2
  • Biochemistry
  • Microbiology
  • English Comp I
  • General Psych
  • Introduction to Sociology
  • Fundamentals of Oral Communication

Applying for Re-Admission to this Program

Students who leave this health program before completing it may apply for re-admission.  Students reapplying to the program must resubmit an application, all supporting documents and essay with updated official transcripts. Click here  for information about the re-admission policy and process. 

Additional Requirements for Accepted Students

Deposit: If offered admission, a non-refundable $50.00 deposit will be required to secure your acceptance to this Program.

Mandatory Health Records:  All required health records, immunizations, and physicals MUST be filed in the STCC Health Services office by July 1 of the admission year. The Health Office is located in the Building 20 Suite, room 320 (third floor center) (413-755-4230). The college/program reserves the right to rescind the admission status of any student not meeting, as well as not submitting, all post-admission requirements in a timely manner. 

Background Check: Students enrolled in Health Professions Programs that involves  potentially unsupervised contact with children, the disabled, or the elderly, or which includes a clinical affiliation, internship, or field placement with a private or public health care provider, will be required to undergo state-wide and/or national criminal background checks, including but not limited to  Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) and Sex Offender Record Information (SORI), Seven (7) year residential Search, and FBI Fingerprinting checks. Depending on the results of the background checks, a student may be deemed ineligible to participate in such academic or clinical activities, which may impact a student’s ability to complete program requirements. Furthermore, please be advised that eligibility to participate in College academic and/or clinical activities following a background check does not guarantee your eligibility to sit for a professional credentialing examination(s) or employment upon graduation.  It is your responsibility to contact the certification or licensure board for your particular health care profession to determine  the standards that must be met for credentialing, licensing and/or employment  in that field.

Drug Screening Policy for Clinical Placement: The School of Health & Patient Simulation is committed to high quality education and providing excellent clinical experiences to students in the health professions. Students are expected to perform at their highest functional level during all educational and clinical experiences in order to maximize the learning environment and ensure patient safety. Thus a student’s performance at all times must be free of any impairment caused by prescription or non-prescribed drugs or alcohol use. Students enrolling in Health Professions programs are required to undergo and pass a drug and/or alcohol screening analysis in order to be eligible for placement in a clinical facility. Students assigned to clinical education experiences at our contracted facilities may also be required to undergo and pass random drug screening analysis in order to remain at that clinical facility and in the program.  Students who fail a screening, or refuse to submit to a screening within the designated time frame will be ineligible for clinical placement, which will affect their status in the program. Students with a positive drug test may challenge the results of the test within five (5) days of notification of the drug test results. This challenge must be in writing and delivered to the college’s Director of Health Services. Students may re-apply for re-entry into a health program after one year.  Requests for re-admission will be considered on a case by case basis.

Students who are notified of a “negative-dilute” result will submit to a random drug test within 24 hours of the previous test in order to confirm the negative status of the screening. Additional random testing may also be required under the guidelines listed in your program’s handbook. A student who claims that he/she tested positive due to a prescription drug and was unable to clarify this matter with the medical review officer (MRO) from the drug testing lab shall be required to provide evidence from a health care provider of the type of prescription, dates of permissible use and dosage amounts within five (5) days of notification of the drug test results to the college’s Director of Health Services. Failure to complete this notification will result in the student being ineligible for clinical placement, which will affect their status in the program.

Students who test positive for marijuana are unable to continue in a clinical placement, which will affect their status in the health program. A student who has a prescription for Medical Marijuana and tests positive for marijuana will also be ineligible to participate in clinical placement due to the federal restriction on the use of marijuana. While the use of Medical Marijuana is permitted in Massachusetts, marijuana remains classified as a controlled substance under federal law and its use, possession, and/or cultivation at educational institutions remains prohibited.

Programmatic Technical Standards: Technical Standards reflect performance abilities that are necessary for a student to successfully complete the requirements of a specified program. Students with disabilities must be able to meet the technical standards of the program with reasonable accommodations as defined by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA.)  See the link below. Program Technical Standard forms found in your admission acceptance packet must be submitted to the Office of Health Services by July 1. Health Services office is located in building 20,  room 320 (413 755-4230)

Health Program Latex Policy  

Program Requirements and Advancement

• All accepted students must complete, prior to semester 2 of the curriculum, the HIPAA Awareness/Privacy Training Class for Healthcare Providers, Standard First Aid, and HealthCare Provider/Professional Rescuer CPR. First Aid and CPR certifications must be maintained by all Dental Hygiene students throughout their tenure in the program. State licensure requires up-to-date CPR certification.
• Minimum Grade Requirement: Students must achieve a minimum grade of “C” (73%), or better, in each Dental Hygiene course. In addition, students must attain a minimum grade of “C” (73%), or better, in related science and general studies courses. The student who is unable to meet this minimum requirement will be withdrawn from the program. Application for re-entry can be made only once and the decision will be based on the recommendations of the faculty and program coordinator.
• The Dental Hygiene graduate must successfully pass the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination and regional clinical licensing examinations before being eligible for state licensure. These examinations are administered in the final semester of the Dental Hygiene curriculum.
• Once these examinations are successfully completed, the graduate may apply for Dental Hygiene licensure in any of the fifty states. Graduates may transfer credits to a four-year institution to complete a Baccalaureate degree.
• Students must adhere to the strict attendance policy in lecture, lab and practicum in order to graduate.

(DHYG.AS) Curriculum

Total (DHYG.AS) Curriculum Program Credits: 71

Department Personnel