Dental Hygiene Technology

Students who succeed in the dental hygiene program have a strong science background. They are effective time managers, adept at setting priorities, possess effective organizational skills and demonstrate a willingness to work hard, think critically and communicate in a professional manner. Oral and written communication skills are essential.

Specific physical requirements are necessary to perform dental hygiene functions. A dental hygienist must have use of both hands, dexterity in the fingers and tactile sensitivity to manipulate dental instruments, materials, dental handpieces, and operate dental equipment. The use of feet is necessary to manipulate the rheostat for handpieces and other adjunct dental equipment. The student must be able to work from a dental operator’s stool in order to perform dental hygiene procedures. The ability to sit and stand for durations of time is also necessary.

Other specific requirements include:

• color discrimination (differentiation of various shades of color and gradations from black to white);
• manual dexterity/motor coordination (discern changes in surface textures by manipulating dental instruments, control exertion of hand/finger pressure);
• eye-hand coordination (transfer of visual input into motor output);
• physical communications (perceive sound through telephone, hear commands through operator’s face mask, hear oral communication from patients, discern blood pressure sounds);
• visual acuity (identify the working ends of various dental instruments and implements at a 2 foot distance);
• form/spatial ability (view in 3 dimensional relationships, distinguish subtle changes from one form or shape to another, discriminate intricate measurements);
• language development (communicate clearly so that patient understands his/her dental/oral condition).

A variety of employment opportunities exist for dental hygienists: treating patients in private offices; educating future dental hygiene professionals; administrating and planning in health departments; providing patient care in institutional settings, such as long-term care facilities; and providing oral hygiene instruction and care in public school systems. Some of these career options will require a higher degree.

Students interested in starting the Dental Hygiene Program should contact their Pre-Health Professions advisor. Students are assigned to advisors according to the first letter of his/her last name and here is a link to the Pre-Health Professions Advisors. Please note the Dental Hygiene advisor is only for current students in the program, so if you have questions prior to acceptance you will need to contact your Pre-Health Professions advisor. 

The Dental Hygiene Program at UCBA was established in 1967 and is the only accredited program in Hamilton County. An advantage of UC Blue Ash College is the opportunity to complete this career-oriented program in a small college environment. Most classes are small to moderate in size. The Dental Hygiene Program has a low student-faculty ratio, giving students many opportunities for personal contact with their professors. Clinical experiences occur on campus in our state of the art facility, consisting of computer technology, digital radiology and intraoral cameras. Faculty are well qualified and nationally recognized.

UCBA has a comprehensive study skills center where students can obtain help with reading comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking. Other related topics include organization, time management, note taking, reading textbooks, improving memory and test taking can be addressed. All services are free of charge to UCBA students. 

The University is committed to providing students with disabilities equal access to all university programs and facilities.  Students may be eligible for classroom note takers, adapted testing, audio books, enlarged print, sign language interpreters, and other services as needed.

The thirty-four chair clinic is an on campus facility for students to gain clinical competence in providing dental hygiene care. It is open to the public during the academic year. Students complete their clinical experience onsite providing a variety of preventive services such as comprehensive health history assessment, blood pressure screening, oral cancer screening, oral hygiene instruction with home care products, digital and traditional radiographs, tooth desensitization, fluoride treatment, scaling and root planing, cleaning and polishing teeth and nutritional counseling. Students also receive a variety of learning experiences within the community, in which they are expected to provide their own transportation. 

The UC Smiles program brings area children to the UC Blue Ash campus and provides them with the resources they need to attain good oral health - while encouraging them that a college education is attainable for everyone. 

The Community Dental Day is held annually. The goal of this event is to provide access to free dental care for adults who do not have dental insurance or who have never been to a dentist. 

To qualify for the Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene technology degree, students must fulfill the requirements of the program with a C- or better and must have at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average. Students must demonstrate competency in a variety of clinical patient care experiences as well as tasks and procedures performed by a practicing dental hygienist to include local anesthesia and nitrous oxide sedation. Additional requirements include community service, informative posters, off campus experiential rotations and professional organization activities.

It is the student's responsibility to take the courses necessary for graduation.

General education courses that are evaluated for transfer credit must be assessed as part of the College admissions process to UCBA. 

Evaluations for dental hygiene course transfer credit will only be reviewed for students accepted into the Dental Hygiene Program. In order for a course to be considered for advanced standing, a syllabus from the granting institution must be presented to the Course Instructor at least 7 weeks prior to the start of the course. If the syllabus is determined to cover the UCBA dental hygiene course, you may be asked to complete specific assignments, exams and/or additional requirements to receive credit for the course. These assignments, exams and/or additional requirements must be completed 4 weeks prior to the start of that course.  In addition, you may be required to attend specific lectures or labs in order to obtain necessary information.

Advanced standing will not be granted for Techniques courses (DHYG1051C or DHYG1052C) or Clinical Practicum courses (DHYG2021C or DHYG2022C).  Requests for advnaced standing in other DHYG courses will be considered by the course instructor. 

The Dental Hygiene program at UCBA is accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation. The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education.

Mailing Address:
American Dental Association
Commission on Dental Accreditation
211 East Chicago Avenue
Suite 1900
Chicago, Illinois 60611

Third party comments can be submitted to the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation and must pertain only to the standards relative to the particular program being reviewed or policies and procedures used in the accreditation process. Comments will be screened by Commission staff for relevancy. For comments not relevant to these issues, the individual will be notified that the comment is not related to accreditation and, where appropriate, referred to the appropriate agency. For those individuals interested in submitting comments, requests can be made to the commission office for receiving standards and/or the Commission’s Evaluation Policies and Procedures. (EEP)