What You Need to Know About...
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Dental Hygiene (2151) |
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| Type of Award | AS - Associate in Science |
| Program Website | www.palmbeachstate.edu/programs/dentalhealth/dental-hygiene |
| Program Description | The program leads to an A.S. degree and is approximately 21 months in length, not including the time necessary to complete the general education and non-technical program core courses. All students accepted into the program must have completed all required natural science courses prior to the beginning of the Dental Hygiene Program. The Dental Hygiene Program begins with the fall term of each year, and is structured as a daytime program only. |
| Program Accreditation | This program is accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation (ADA CODA) 211 East Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL 60611-2678 (312)440-2500. |
| Employment Opportunities | Graduates of the program and after successfully passing national and state licensing examinations may seek employment as a licensed registered dental hygienist in a variety of settings, to include but not limited to general/specialty dental practices, public health, hospitals and other health care related facilities, public and private health access settings, school based programs, sales, and educational and research related fields. |
| Career Path Notes |
Courses from this program may transfer into Palm Beach State's Bachelor of Applied Science program in Supervision and Management. For more information, see the web at www.palmbeachstate.edu/programs/bachelor/. In addition, courses from this program may transfer to other colleges and universities which allow students to transfer into a four-year program. For more information, contact the college or university to which you wish to transfer. |
| Program Learning Outcomes | For detailed information, visit www.palmbeachstate.edu/learningoutcomes/. |
| Admission Requirements |
The Dental Hygiene Program is limited in the number of students it may admit to each class. The following criteria are established to be eligible for placement in the selection pool, and must be met by the application deadline date. These criteria supersede any other information. If a student is selected and does not enter the program or is not selected, he/she must reapply and is not guaranteed acceptance in any subsequent selection process. The applicant must submit a completed Dental Hygiene application (and all documentation) to the Admissions office at the Lake Worth location by May 15th in order to be eligible for consideration for selection. 1. Complete and submit an online application for admission at www.palmbeachstate.edu/admissions/admissions-applications.aspx. 2. Complete a Dental Hygiene Application In addition to the Palm Beach State general application, the applicant must also submit the program application, which can be located at www.palmbeachstate.edu/programs/dentalhealth/dental-hygiene/. Submit a paid receipt for this processing fee along with a Palm Beach State Dental Hygiene program application to the Admissions Office. 3. Academic High School Diploma or GED Official standard high school transcripts or equivalent (transcripts are considered official if sent directly to Palm Beach State from the previous institution or hand delivered in a sealed envelope sealed by the issuing institution) must be delivered to Palm Beach State Admissions Office showing proof of a standard high school graduation, GED, or validated foreign equivalent. All applicants – new, current, and college transfer students must have their official high school or GED transcript on file at Palm Beach State. You may download the transcript request form at www.palmbeachstate.edu/admissions/transcript-request.aspx. 4. College Transcripts Official college transcripts (transcripts are considered official if sent directly to Palm Beach State from the previous institution or hand-delivered in a sealed envelope sealed by the issuing institution) from ALL post-secondary institutions attended must be submitted. All post-secondary records from out of the country must be submitted with a commercial evaluation. Commercial evaluation of foreign transcripts must be conducted by approved evaluators. You may download the transcript request forms at www.palmbeachstate.edu/admissions/transcript-request.aspx. If you have attended college, we still require proof of a standard high school diploma, GED or validated foreign equivalent. A minimum 2.0 cumulative college GPA is required to be eligible for consideration in the selection process. 5. Placement Test Scores All applicants must submit placement test scores which meet minimum requirements for entrance into college level English and mathematics courses, or required remedial work (including any and all necessary college preparatory courses) must have been successfully completed. Successful completion (C or higher) of a minimum of three college credits each in mathematics and English courses may be used in lieu of placement scores. However, placement test scores will be required to graduate even if previous math or English courses are used to meet selection eligibility criteria. 6. Program Counseling All students are strongly encouraged to contact the Dental Health Services coordinator for program advising, as early as possible prior to application. Call (561) 868-3752 for an appointment or e-mail kuzmireb@PalmBeachState.edu. 7. Special Notes A. Applicants who have completed an articulated, accredited dental assisting program at Palm Beach State or another Florida institution must have passed all articulated (dental hygiene) courses in that program with a grade of C or higher to be considered for selection for admission. B. Except for applicants mentioned above in A, all students accepted into the program must have completed all required natural science courses with a grade of C or better prior to the beginning of the Dental Hygiene program. See list of required sciences at the end of this section. C. Once officially accepted into the Dental Hygiene Program a criminal background assessment (15 years or up to 5 criminal searches), a drug screening (10 panel), and a medical exam (including a record of immunizations) within one year prior to the start of the program must be submitted by the applicant. D. All accepted applicants for the Dental Hygiene program are strongly encouraged to be currently immunized against communicable diseases, including Hepatitis B. Documentation of completion of, or refusal to obtain, Hepatitis B immunization must be provided upon entrance into the program. E. The student will be automatically enrolled in the student accident/health insurance coverage program provided by Palm Beach State. F. If a student has withdrawn from or received a grade of less than C in a dental hygiene technical core course, that student will not be able to continue in the program. To re-enter the program, he/she must reapply for a position in the following year's class on a space-available basis. If accepted, the student will then be required to: (1) repeat the failed or withdrawn course and (2) repeat for audit his/her last successfully completed clinical course. If a student has two separate failures in any course or courses with the prefixes DEH, DES, DEA (from either the Dental Hygiene or Dental Assisting program) he/she will be ineligible for selection for admission or for re-entry into the Dental Hygiene program. All General Education requirements must be completed with a grade of C or better in order to be given credit for selection and/or graduation. |
| Completion Requirements | Students must successfully complete all courses listed in the catalog for this program. |
| Program Length | The program is approximately 21 months in length, not including the time necessary to complete the required General Education and non-technical program core courses. It begins with the fall term of each year and is structured as a daytime program only. |
| Location | The program is offered at the Lake Worth campus. |
| Financial Aid | http://www.palmbeachstate.edu/financialaid/ |
| Application | Students must complete the Dental Hygiene Program Application (found on their website) in addition to the general Palm Beach State application: www.palmbeachstate.edu/admissions/admissions-applications.aspx |
| Advising | http://www.palmbeachstate.edu/advising/ |
| Career Center |
http://www.palmbeachstate.edu/career For more information about employment opportunities including job outlook and salary information visit: Occupational Outlook Handbook: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ O-Net Online: http://online.onetcenter.org/ |
| For More Information |
Beth Kuzmirek, RDH, BSED Dental Health Services Coordinator, kuzmireb@PalmBeachState.edu, (561) 868-3752 |
