UC Blue Ash College

Dental Hygiene Continuing Education Courses


The Dental Hygiene Program at the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College is committed to providing quality, hands-on, continuing dental education to the entire dental team. Our outstanding courses will assist team members in expanding their scope of practice in the dental office. 


Periodontal Staging and Grading on Zoom

  • This course is presented by Barbara Kunselman, RDH, MS
  • Credit hours: 2 (Ohio State Dental Board)
  • Course Date: TBD
  • Course fee: $50

Registration is closed for Spring 2023.

After reviewing 20 years of scientific literature on disease progression, more than 100 experts from around the world committed to evidence-based practice, developed a new AAP periodontal classification system that is like other progressive medical assessments.

The new classification of periodontitis is characterized by a multidimensional staging and grading system. This new system provides a personalized approach to patient care that is essential for effective periodontal case management. The staging and grading system guides a clinician's assessment of several dimensions beyond severity of past destruction, including specific elements that contribute to complexity of managing their patient's case and the risk for future disease progression.

This course will be presented in a case-based format to relate to your everyday patients with different periodontal issues. You will be provided with the necessary forms, so you can begin immediately.

Payment must be made when you register.


Opioid Education for the Dental Practitioner on Zoom

  • This course is presented by Elizabeth McClure, RDH, MEd and Beth Monnin, RDH, MSEd
  • Credit hours: 2 (Ohio State Dental Board)
  • Course Date: Wednesday, April 12, 2023
  • Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. on Zoom
  • Course fee: $50

This course explores the opioid crisis in the US and dental professionals' role in assessing patients' pain control needs. The history and current state of opioid use, misuse, addiction, overdose, and death are also addressed. The course fulfills the mandatory Opioid Continuing Education credit required by the Ohio State Dental Board for license renewal for all Ohio licensed dental professionals (dentists and dental hygienists).

Payment must be made when you register.


Coronal Polishing for the Certified Dental Assistant 

  • This course is presented by Maggie Biddle, RDH, MS and Molly Mihlbachler, RDH, MS
  • Credit hours: 3 hours didactic and 4 hours clinical and evaluation (Ohio Stated Dental Board) 
  • Course Date: Friday April 28, 2023
  • Time: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at UC Blue Ash
  • Course fee: $450.00

This class has now reached capacity. If you are interested in a future class, please feel free to register, and you will be contacted when the next class is scheduled. DO NOT MAKE PAYMENT.

You must be on time, stay for the entire instructional period and pass the course test and clinical evaluation to receive all credit hours.

Registration: The April 28 class is full.

  • The course minimum is 6 participants.
  • The course maximum is 14 participants.

Managing Medical Emergencies in the Dental Office 

  • Presented by Luke Burroughs, RDH MPH
  • Credit hours: 4 (Ohio and Kentucky State Dental Boards)
  • Course Date: April 28. 2023
  • Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
  • Course fee: $99

The University of Cincinnati Blue Ash Dental Hygiene Program's comprehensive course in Medical Emergencies contains 4 hours of instruction in the topics regarding Managing Medical Emergencies in the Dental Office required by the Ohio State Dental Board and the Kentucky State Dental Board. The course will be provided to all dental personnel.

Registration:

  • Payment must be made when you register.
  • Course minimum is 15 participants.
  • Course maximum is 50 participants.

Air Polishing Technology for Predictable Biofilm Management

  • Presented by Anne Singer Miller, RDH, MS, Scientific Relations Manager, Northeast Region Territory, Proctor & Gamble Company
  • Credit hours: 4 (2 didactic; 2 clinical)
  • Course date: Friday, May 5, 2023
  • Lecture time: 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
  • Lab time: 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
  • Course fees 
    • Lecture ONLY $50
    • Lecture + Lab $150

The UC Blue Ash College Dental Hygiene program wants the dental community to know and understand the technologies in biofilm management that our graduates have learned and adopted into their practice. This course has been designed for both dental hygienists and dentists to learn about and experience hands on biofilm removal using low abrasive powder air polishing. This technology takes dental hygiene treatment to a higher standard of care. 

This course will prove an overview of the management of biofilm through the use of low abrasive powders and supragingival/subgingival air polishing. Without subgingival disclosing solution, how do we as clinicians know when we have removed the subgingival soft biofilm when treating patients? Technology has opened up the opportunity for clinicians to efficiently and comfortably remove soft deposit from subgingival areas in a minimally invasive way. Air polishing with low abrasive powders has been shown to be safe on dental structures and dental materials including implant surfaces.

Course objectives:

  • Discuss the complexity of pathogenic oral biofilm
  • Explain the concept of guided biofilm therapy
  • Identify technologies that lead to improved clinical patient outcomes
  • Detail air polishing powder characteristics
  • Discuss scientific evidence supporting air polishing technologies

Registration deadline

  • Payment must be made when you register.
  • Course minimum is 15 participants
  • Course maximum is 40 participants 

Silver Diamine Fluoride for EFDAs and Dental Hygienists

  • This course is presented by Molly Mihbachler, RDH, MS and Maggie Biddle, RDH, MS.
  • Credit hours: 2
  • Course date: May 5, 2023
  • Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
  • Course fee: $125

This course explores the dental professional's role in use of silver diamine fluoride in the dental practice. This course contains a didactic and clinical component and fulfills the Ohio State Dental Board's educational requirement for a dental auxiliary to place silver diamine in Ohio.

Consider taking this course in conjunction with Interim Therapeutic Restorations for EFDAs and Dental Hygienists to maximize the skills utilized under teledentistry.

Registration:

  • Payment must be made when you register.
  • Course maximum is 30 participants.

Interim Therapeutic Restorations for EFDAs and Dental Hygienists  

  • This course is presented by Heather Ferris, RDH, EFDA, MS
  • Credit hours: 2
  • Course date: May 5, 2023
  • Time: 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
  • Course fee: $125

This course explore the dental professional's role in the use and placement of interim therapeutic restorations. This course contains a didactic and clinical component and fulfills the Ohio State Dental Board's educational requirement for a dental hygienist and/or dental auxiliary to place interim therapeutic restorations under teledentistry in Ohio.

For the hands-on component of the class, it is recommended that you bring your loupes or corrective lenses if needed.

Consider taking this course in conjunction with Silver Diamine Fluoride for EFDAs and Dental Hygienists to maximize the skills utilized under teledentistry.

Registration:

  • Course maximum is 30 participants
  • Payment must be made when you register.

Nitrous Oxide 

  • Presented by Shawna Staud, RDH, MDH
  • Credit hours: 8 (This course is approved by the Ohio State Dental Board for 8 hours; 6 hours is the minimum time for this course as required by the Board.)
  • Course date: May 12, 2023
  • Time:
    • Group A: 6:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (registration at 6:30 for 7:00 a.m. start)
    • Group B: 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (registration at 8:30 for 9:00 a.m. start)
  • Course fee: $325

Please note that this class includes a lecture and a clinic. When registering you can state your preference for Group A or Group B. Both Group A and Group B will attend the lecture portion at the same time. You must be on time, stay for the entire instructional period and pass the course test and clinical evaluation to receive the credit hours.

  • Payment must be made when you register.
  • Course maximum is 12 participants in each group.

Community Dental Health Coordinator Certificate Program for the Dental Hygienist and Certified Dental Assistant

  • Presented by Mary Kaye Scaramucci, RDH, CDHC, MS and Elizabeth McClure, RDH, CDHC, MEd
  • 26 Continuing Education Units
  • Course Date: February 13, 2023 – September 1, 2023
  • Format: Online curriculum with synchronous online meetings on a monthly basis.
  • Course fee: $300

Registration is now closed

We will not be accepting any new or late registrations for the course. The next cohort for the Community Dental Health Coordinator Certificate program will begin February 5, 2024. Look for registration information in October 2023.

The Community Dental Health Coordinator (CDHC) program teaches community health worker skills to a dental or other health professional who may be from a private practice or public health setting.

Many people are unsure about what dental services are necessary, where those services are located, or how to begin to access those services. A professional with CDHC training is able to help with those issues through culturally competent “case management” strategies.

CDHCs assist with reducing anxiety that often accompanies dental treatment, explain how dental disease begins, describe various dental procedures, and explain how dental appointment protocols work. They may do this within a multi-specialty care facility, a community clinic or within a primary care medical site.

By connecting patients with already existing (often underutilized) dental care sites, CDHCs can reduce hospital ED use for dental pain management. Compliance with home care oral hygiene recommendations is improved while oral health becomes integrated into the patient’s overall health plan.

CDHCs help parents gain a greater insight into how to safeguard the oral health of their family. They guide efficient management of oral health issues throughout the lifespan, including pregnant women, infants, and the elderly. Courses will cover advocacy, intercultural communication, finance, dental health coordination, documentation and reporting procedures. Legal and ethical issues will also be covered.

The University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College is the only college in Ohio offering this program.

Applicants who are accepted and enroll in the Community Dental Health Coordination (CDHC) program will be exposed to blood-borne and infectious diseases. The program strictly adheres to established policies and procedures regarding infection control as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The American Dental Association, The Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Depending on the site selected for Internship hours, you may be required to have current proof of immunizations for that site, and as such, you will need to be prepared well in advance. However, immunizations are not required to enroll in the CDHC program.

Healthcare Program students are required to learn CPR by completing an acceptable Basic Life Support course. CPR certification must include infant, child, and adult, 1 and 2 man rescuer, AED, and evidence of a hands-on skills component.

Becoming a Certified Dental Health Care Coordinator will not only bolster your resume, but it will also provide an awarding career path. CDHC’s are community health workers with dental skills who are members of the dental team. Their expertise links patients to available, but underutilized, dental care.

They focus on case management, navigation, oral health education and promotion, motivational interviewing, and community mapping.

According to the ADA’s website, CDHC’s can have an enormous impact on a community. Here are just a few examples: One CDHC provided services to 114 patients in a rural tribal community health center’s diabetes clinic. The missed appointment rate for diabetes patients dropped to zero, compared with a clinic-wide rate of 18 percent.

Another CDHC at a Midwest Indian Health Service clinic provided services valued at more than $105,000 to 240 children at Head Start and daycare centers over a 10-month period. A CDHC working in a single-dentist practice in a remote, rural location nearly doubled the clinic’s productivity in 2011 over the prior year.

  • The courses are structured as modules. All of the modules listed must be completed to obtain a Certificate as a Community Dental Health Coordinator.
  • Modules: Advocacy and Outreach, Communication and Cultural Competency, Interviewing Skills, Legal and Ethical Issues, Prevention of Oral Cancer, Finance and Payments, Internship
  • Course work will be completed through the Canvas online platform and can be accessed at any time. Synchronous online meetings on a monthly basis. 

Identify a dentist or coordinating provider in the community who agrees to work with you in a supervisory capacity throughout the CDHC program, providing guidance for the final project implementation during the Internship course.

Students must be Registered Dental Hygienists or Certified Dental Assistants. Applicants are required to provide documentation of licensure or certification according to their individual state's dental practice act.

Applicants must meet one of the following criteria:

  • Registered Dental Hygienist (submit RDH license only)
  • Certified Dental Assistant (submit CDA certification only) with the ability to perform the following procedures:
    • Ability to take radiographs
    • Ability to place fluoride
    • Ability to perform coronal polishing

Resources

Contact Information

Dental Hygiene Program
Phone: 513-558-7928
Email: badenhyg@ucmail.uc.edu