Chair

Professor Anna Matthews
Academic Building, room A-701
Phone: 718-260-5070

Description

A dental hygienist is a licensed member of the dental healthcare team who provides educational, clinical, and therapeutic services to their patients within the scope of their state Dental Hygiene Practice Act. A dental hygienist provides dental care with a focus on disease prevention. Dental hygienist patient care includes collection of assessment data to create a treatment plan, implementation of care, and evaluation of the treatment provided.

To practice dental hygiene, graduates are required to pass a national board examination on the theory of dental hygiene and a clinical board examination on the clinical practice of dental hygiene. Application for licensure must be made to the individual state(s) where the applicant intends to practice.

In the educational curriculum, the dental hygiene student learns critical thinking skills to develop professional judgement, ethical conduct, and prevention of disease transmission by utilizing infection control guidelines. Students develop communication skills for healthcare professionals, which enable them to engage the patient as a partner in their own oral healthcare. They learn all aspects of documentation and standard chart entries, which are considered the standard in the profession. Students provide care to a broad range of patients with a variety of systemic health conditions on campus at the City Tech patient care clinic.

Mission

Aligning with the Mission Statement and educational goals of the college, City Tech's Dental Hygiene Program is committed to academic excellence while providing accessibility and equity through an inclusive and welcoming learning environment. Our program appreciates the distinctiveness of our culturally and ethnically diverse student body and considers each learner's unique potential as future dental hygienists and their impact on the public's oral and overall health. Our mission is to foster influential professionals devoted to lifelong learning, who can address real-world oral health issues using critical thinking and reasoning skills, evidence-based practices, and emerging technologies ,and are motivated to contribute to the field of research, academics, and interprofessional collaboration.

To support our mission, the educational program at CityTech:

• Offers a course of study that integrates various fields of study and is grounded in research, reflecting modern practices in health care.

• Inspires a passion for scientific inquiry and lifelong learning in dental hygiene students so that they may contribute to the advancement of the field and its practice.

• Promotes the appreciation of good oral and systemic health though clinical education based on a preventative strategy, with the ultimate objective of reducing oral health inequities.

• Educates future dental hygienists to practice ethically and professionally while providing patient-centered, comprehensive dental hygiene treatments supported by evidence.

• Offers students the opportunity to participate in community service initiatives that further the goals of their educational institution, their profession, and society at large.

Degree Programs

The associate in applied science in program requires completion of 66-67 credits, including general education credits (27-28) and program-specific course credits (39). After completion of the educational program, graduates will be eligible to take the series of licensing examinations, namely the National Dental Hygiene Board Examination (NDHBE) and the CDCA-WREB-CITA Examination. Application for licensure must be made to the individual state(s) where the applicant intends to practice.

Information on New York State licensure in Dental Hygiene is available at the NYS Office of Professions website: https://www.op.nysed.gov.

Special Opportunities

The Dental Hygiene Department has the support of the Jewish Foundation for Education of Women (JFEW) and students in the clinical program who meet the scholarship criteria may apply.

Students have the opportunity to attend or participate in the Greater New York Dental meeting and the National Day for Give Kids a Smile.

Accreditation

City Tech's Dental Hygiene Program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at (312) 440-4653 or at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611. The Commission's web address is: https://coda.ada.org.

Advisory Commission