Lewis & Clark Community College

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Dental Hygiene

If dental hygiene is the career path you choose, you will be on the leading edge of oral healthcare for society.

Changes in healthcare knowledge and practice have expanded the philosophy of dental hygiene to include five interrelated roles that all focus around their connection to public health: clinician, educator, administrator/ manager, advocate and researcher. These roles hold the common denominator of improved oral health for society.

At L&C we embrace the future and offer a comprehensive program that includes all the above responsibilities, including assessment, treatment and prevention of oral diseases, planning community-based oral health programs and advising patients on commercial products.

You will have a topnotch faculty and an advanced training facility in L&C’s Paul B. Hanks Dental Clinic Building with its dental materials laboratory, resource room, and a state-of-the-art dental assisting/hygiene clinical learning center. You will also have the opportunity to participate in other rotations at a variety of sites: Beverly Farm, the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center and other public health settings.

As a graduate, you will be qualified to pursue additional education at the baccalaureate level and/or find job placement areas such as general dentistry offices, periodontal offices, retail sales companies and educational institutions.

The program boasts a 98 percent success rate on the National Board Dental Hygiene Exam and 100 percent of graduates seeking employment as a dental hygienist have been placed in professional positions.

Notice to patients and potential dental hygiene applicants:

Enrolled students and patients are exposed to bloodborne pathogens. These include (but are not limited to) pathogenic microorganisms present in human blood and have the potential to cause diseases such as Hepatitis HBV, Herpes, Tuberculosis and HIV. The Bloodborne Pathogen policy is available by contacting the Dental Hygiene Program.