Dental Hygiene AAS Degree

You gain knowledge and skills in:

• Medical terminology
• Oral and dental anatomy
• Digital dental radiography
• Oral disease and health
• Computerized charting and record keeping
• Dental equipment and materials
• Infection control
• Oral and dental hygiene practices
• Patient education
• Dental pharmacology
• Pain control techniques
• Public health systems

Explore Courses, Details, and Costs

Dental Clinic: Train in the state-of-the-art clinic featuring 24 patient chairs, computerized patient record software, and a complete digital X-ray system under the supervision of licensed dentists and dental professionals.

Clinical: Gain 528 hours of real-world work experience, ensuring you have the skills you need to succeed in your future career.

Students in the Allied Dental Programs at Hawkeye Community College may be exposed to bloodborne pathogens, infectious diseases, and ionizing radiation. To ensure a safe learning environment, the Dental Assisting and Dental Hygiene Programs provide education on safety policies. These policies are outlined in the school catalog, student and faculty handbooks, and program policies and procedures manuals. Students, faculty, and staff receive this information both verbally and in writing through established exposure control guidelines.

Radiation safety is a top priority. The radiology facilities are designed with safety in mind and radiation exposure is carefully monitored using USB radiation monitors. Additionally, all equipment is registered and maintained in compliance with State of Iowa safety regulations. The machines used for patient exposure are designed to minimize radiation, with the department utilizing phosphor plate and wired digital sensors for optimal safety.

The Allied Dental Programs are committed to meeting federal and state regulations regarding bloodborne pathogens and hazardous materials. Given the potential risks associated with treating patients in the clinic, sterilization, radiology, and dental laboratory settings, strict protocols are in place. These protocols ensure that ethical, legal, and regulatory standards are integrated into all aspects of the program, prioritizing the safety of students, faculty, and patients.

This program qualifies for the Future Ready Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship and will pay up to 100% of your tuition.

You must apply for, be awarded, and meet the ongoing eligibility requirements for the Last-Dollar Scholarship.

This is a partial list of employers who hire Dental Hygiene graduates:

• Delta Dental of Iowa, Johnston, IA
• Dental Associates of Manchester, Manchester, IA
• Henry Schein Dental, Melville, NY
• Iowa Department of Public Health, Des Moines, IA
• Kimball & Beecher Family Dentistry, Waterloo, IA
• Patterson Dental Supply, Inc., Des Moines, IA
• Peoples Community Health Clinic, Inc., Waterloo, IA

Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH) is the designation for a licensed professional in the State of Iowa. Graduates of the program are eligible to take the national written and state/regional clinical examinations for licensure, required to practice in any state. A social security number is required in order to take exams and apply for licensure.

See our State Licensure Google Sheet to identify the states in which Hawkeye's Dental Hygiene program requirements fulfill the state guidelines for professional licensure and certification.

Licensure and Certification Disclosure

You can take your prerequisite courses either at Hawkeye Community College or at any other accredited transfer institution. See the suggested sequence of study for a list of prerequisite courses.

The Dental Hygiene program accepts 25 students each fall.

Once you meet all the admission requirements and finish the prerequisite courses, you’ll get what’s called an "Eligible-Start Date to be Determined" (ETBD) status. This status is based on when you complete your prerequisites. If more than one student finishes on the same day, the registration date for the final prerequisite course is used to figure out who’s ahead in line.

Getting ETBD status doesn’t guarantee program admittance—it depends on how many seats are available. Sometimes, students stay on ETBD status for up to two years before they get admitted.

Each year in September or October, the Admissions Office will ask you to confirm that you’re still interested. They’ll also give you an update on your anticipated start term twice a year, in November and February.

The process for admitting students for the next fall semester starts in late January.

Make sure to keep your contact info updated and check your Hawkeye email regularly to stay on top of everything!

Before classes start, there are a few important things you need to do as an admitted student. Make sure you check off everything on this list to be ready for your program!

• Complete a physical exam and submit your immunization record using the Hawkeye Community College form.
• Attend the Mandatory Compliance Training session.
• As a Health student at Hawkeye, you’ll need to complete the same background checks as hospital employees. This check will include fingerprinting and look into databases like the sex offender registry, child abuse and dependent adult registries, and Medicare/Medicaid fraud. Depending on the results, it could affect your ability to take part in clinical experiences.

The Dental Hygiene program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. Allied Dental Professions graduates are eligible to take necessary Examinations of their choice. Successful completion of board examinations is required to receive a license to practice in the State of Iowa.

Commission on Dental Accreditation
American Dental Association
211 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
312-440-4653

www.ada.org/en/coda

Policy on Third Party Comments [pdf]

All exams are required by Iowa.

Dental Board Hygiene National Exam (ADA NBDHE)

• Attempted 1st Try: 16
• Passed 1st Try: 14 (88%)
• Attempted 2nd Try: 2
• Passed 2nd Try: 2 (100%)

Central Regional Dental Testing Service (CRDTS) Exam

• Attempted 1st Try: 16
• Passed 1st Try: 14 (88%)
• Attempted 2nd Try: 2
• Passed 2nd Try: 2 (100%)

Jurisprudence Exam for Iowa License

• Attempted 1st Try: 16
• Passed 1st Try: 16 (100%)

Job Placement

Job placement as of March 31, 2023: 16/16 (100%)

While enrolled in the Dental Hygiene Program, students will:

1. Utilize foundational knowledge to learn dental hygiene care
2. Be ethical and professional and follow established laws, policies, procedures, and regulations
3. Promote health maintenance and disease prevention within the office setting and the community
4. Inspect, observe, and measure the patient's oral health
5. Determine dental hygiene diagnoses related to, and congruent with, the diagnosis of the dentist and other health professionals
6. Establish a mutually acceptable dental hygiene care plan
7. Deliver and manage the planned dental hygiene evidence-based treatment and oral health education in sequence and accordance with accepted standards of care

Upon successful completion of the program, the student will be able to:

• Program Outcome 1: Demonstrate competency in basic sciences, oral sciences, and dental hygiene sciences.
  • 1.1 Demonstrate knowledge of behavioral, sociological, communication, biomedical, dental, and dental hygiene sciences.
• Program Outcome 2: Identify and manage appropriate procedures for infection control, radiation hygiene, occupational hazards, and medical emergency protocols.
  • 2.1 Identify principles of microbiology and disease prevention in order to apply the principles of infection control and environmental safety.
  • 2.2 Identify the need for radiographs, accurately and safely expose and develop x-rays to obtain radiographs of diagnostic quality, and radiographically interpret normal from abnormal anatomic features.
  • 2.3 Identify common medical emergencies and respond appropriately in the clinical setting.
• Program Outcome 3: Assess, diagnose, plan, implement, evaluate, and document the complete dental hygiene process of care for all patients.
  • 3.1 Apply these sciences as the matrix for examining, assessing, evaluating, diagnosing, planning, and implementing the entire dental hygiene care process.
  • 3.2 Utilize ergonomic principles to promote the health and comfort of self, staff, and patients.
  • 3.3 Establish a patient dialogue to obtain, record, update, and organize accurate and complete demographic, medical, family, and dental histories, psychological and socioeconomic information relevant to health care, medications; and patient chief complaint, expectations, and goals for dental hygiene care.
  • 3.4 With the cooperation of the patient, perform, record, and organize a physical assessment appropriate for dental care, including the identification of physical, psychological, and verbal abuse.
  • 3.5 Accurately record the findings of an extraoral and intraoral examination, an examination of the dentition, an evaluation of the periodontium, risk assessments; and indicate conditions that compromise the general, dental, and periodontal health of the patient.
  • 3.6 Analyze, interpret, and assess the data to formulate a dental hygiene plan, and determine the unmet needs of the patient based on the analysis of assessment findings.
  • 3.7 Discuss the condition of the oral cavity, actual and potential problems, etiological and contributing factors, and recommended and alternative treatment plans.
  • 3.8 Develop dental hygiene care plans that reflect the impact of systemic disease and its management on the provision of dental care.
  • 3.9 Utilize psychological and /or behavioral techniques, along with accepted clinical desensitizing techniques, for the control of pain, anxiety, and patient discomfort.
  • 3.10 Deliver and manage non-surgical periodontal therapy, which utilizes basic and advanced principles of instrumentation and chemotherapeutic agents, and provide pre- and post-treatment instructions.
  • 3.11 Deliver and manage preventative oral health maintenance care.
  • 3.12 Determine the clinical outcomes of dental hygiene interventions.
• Program Outcome 4: Adhere to the standards of dental hygiene practice and comply with the legal rules and regulations of dental hygiene care.
  • 4.1 Apply purposeful and self-regulatory judgment to master the dental hygiene care process with reflective skepticism.
  • 4.2 Demonstrate professional knowledge, judgment, and aptitude by complying with applicable federal and Iowa State laws, Iowa Dental Board administrative rules and regulations, and the ADHA and ADA Codes of Ethics pertaining to dentistry and dental hygiene.
• Program Outcome 5: Internalize and exhibit the principles of ethics of the dental hygiene profession.
  • 5.1 Provide ethical, legal, humane, compassionate, equitable, confidential (using the knowledge of HIPAA), and comprehensive care to pediatric, adolescent, adult, senior, and special needs patients
• Program Outcome 6: Utilize interpersonal and communication skills to effectively interact with individuals and population groups emphasizing diversity.
  • 6.1 Develop alternative dental hygiene care plans, which are sequenced to address patient needs, consistent with assessment and diagnosis, reflect the impact of behavioral, social, and cultural differences, and are supportive of the patient's overall dental treatment plan.
  • 6.2 Determine priorities and establish oral health goals with the patient and /or family and /or guardian as an active participant.
• Program Outcome 7: Provide preventive self-care oral health education to individuals and groups.
  • 7.1 Utilize the principles of learning and instruction in educating patients concerning their risk factors, developing self-care regimens, and encouraging patients to assume responsibility for their health and adherence to self-care regimens.
• Program Outcome 8: Analyze current oral health literature and case-based studies and apply this information to the practice of dental hygiene.
  • 8.1 Employ critical thinking and decision-making skills to actively, and skillfully, analyze, conceptualize, research, synthesize, self-assess, and evaluate current peer-reviewed oral health literature and case-based studies, and apply this information to the practice of dental hygiene.
• Program Outcome 9: Apply dental hygiene principles within the interdisciplinary approach to disease prevention and health promotion.
  • 9.1 Establish collaborative relationships among dental hygiene and other healthcare professions.
• Program Outcome 10: Research, implement, and evaluate community oral health programs targeted to specific population groups.
  • 10.1 Apply the dental hygiene care process (assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation) to community-based oral health programs and disease prevention activities.

The dental hygiene program empowers students to provide entry-level oral-systemic educational, clinical, and therapeutic disease prevention and health promotion services under the supervision of a licensed dentist. Upon successful completion of this program, students will strengthen surrounding businesses, enrich their communities, and improve the quality of life in the populations they serve.

Dental Hygiene Minimum Clinical Requirements for Preclinical and Clinical Skills and Competencies

Competency Levels:

• TA (Task Analysis): A procedure performed in pre-clinic on a mannequin or live patient peer-partner under direct supervision of faculty to evaluate process prior to skill use in live patient care.

• U (Mentoring): A procedure performed on a patient with instructor mentoring assistance.

• S (Competency): A procedure performed to clinical competency on a patient and evaluated under direct supervision of faculty to assess the student's ability to perform the procedure under indirect supervision.

These requirements are subject to change due to the instructional needs of the course/program.

These are minimum requirements for Clinic II, III, and IV to attain a "C" grade.