Dental Hygiene (BAS)
A career as a dental hygienist offers a wide range of opportunities. Services provided by dental hygienists include patient assessment procedures, managing and treating periodontal conditions, providing pain management for patients, placing and finishing dental restorative materials, applying preventive materials to the teeth, teaching patients appropriate oral hygiene to maintain oral health, nutrition counseling, teeth whitening services, performing documentation and office management activities, developing and implementing community oral health programs, and more.
Graduates receive a Bachelor of Applied Science degree. Students who successfully complete the program qualify to take national, regional, and state board examinations for licensure and are prepared to enter clinical practice. The program includes all responsibilities allowed by Washington state law. Clinical experience takes place in the Clark College Firstenburg Dental Hygiene Education and Care Center under the supervision of licensed dentists and dental hygienists.
The Clark College 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 the United States Department of Education.
About the Program
For Financial Aid purposes, the Bachelor of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene is open enrollment which enables all students who wish to pursue this degree to complete the “Dental Hygiene Degree Requirements” (courses in the areas of English, Biological Sciences, Psychology, etc.). The “Dental Hygiene Degree Requirements” provide the foundation for the subsequent “Dental Hygiene Core” classes (classes with “DH” prefix). Due to clinical space limitations, although the program of study for the dental hygiene degree is open enrollment, there is a competitive application process for students to be able to begin the “Dental Hygiene Core” classes. The instructions in the Dental Hygiene Program Guide explain the Dental Hygiene Degree requirements and the competitive application process to be able to begin the Dental Hygiene Core classes.
The Dental Hygiene Program Guide is posted on the Dental Hygiene website at: http://www.clark.edu/academics/programs/health-care-and-biosciences/dental/index.php
Disability Statement for Health Occupations
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, accommodations for students with disabilities will be considered at the student's request. The student may need to provide documentation of disability to the Disability Support Services Office to support his/her accommodation requests. Documentation guidelines and procedures can be found at http://www.clark.edu/campus-life/student-support/disability_support/index.php. Once the student is qualified by DSS as having a disability, requested accommodations will be considered. Accommodations for the classroom, laboratory, or clinical setting will be evaluated according to reasonableness. Accommodations that compromise patient care, or that fundamentally alter the essential functions of the program or activity, are not considered to be reasonable.