Dental Hygiene (2151)
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| Program Website |
http://www.palmbeachstate.edu/DentalHealth.xml
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| Program Description |
The Dental Hygiene Program is accredited by the ADA Commission on Dental Accreditation and approved by the Florida State Board of Dentistry. The program leads to an A.S. degree and is approximately 21 months in length, not including the time necessary to complete the general education and non-technical program core courses. All students accepted into the program must have completed all required natural science courses prior to the beginning of the Dental Hygiene Program, but no earlier than five years prior to the application deadline date. The Dental Hygiene Program begins with the fall term of each year, and is structured as a daytime pro-gram only. Graduates are eligible to take National and State or Regional Board Examinations to become licensed dental hygienists.
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| Program Accreditation |
This program is accredited by the American Dental Association (ADA) Commission on Dental Accreditation and approved by the Florida State Board of Dentistry.
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| Employment Opportunities |
Students completing this program and passing the licensing examination may seek employment as a Registered Dental Hygienist in various clinical settings, such as in a general dentist’s office or a periodontist’s office. Other employment opportunities may include the Public Health De-partment, the Veterans Administration Clinic, as a Dental Hygiene Educator, or in Oral Health Product Sales.
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| Career Path Notes |
This program transfers into PBCC’s Bachelor of Applied Science program in Supervision and Management. For more information, see the Web at www.palmbeachstate.edu/BAS.xml.
In addition, many programs have transfer agreements with other colleges and universities which allow students to transfer course or program credit into a four-year program. For information on transfer agreements, visit www.palmbeachstate.edu/transfer.xml.
Graduates of this accredited program are eligible to take national and state or regional board examinations to become licensed dental hygienists.
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| Admission |
The Dental Hygiene Program is limited in the number of students it may admit to each class. The following criteria are established to be eligible for placement in the selection pool, and must be met by the application deadline date. These criteria supersede any other information. If a student is selected and does not enter the program or is not selected, he/she must reapply and is not guaranteed acceptance in any subsequent selection process. The applicant must submit a completed Dental Hygiene application (and all documentation) to the Admissions office at the Lake Worth location by May 15th in order to be eligible for consideration for selection.
1. COMPLETE PBCC APPLICATION
First-time PBCC Students: Submit a completed PBCC general application at www.FACTS.org (choose Admissions) and pay the appropriate fee by the deadline date. This one-time fee is $20 for U.S. citizens, $30 (U.S. currency) for international students and is non-refundable. Be sure to insert your current and active e-mail address where requested; be specific regarding your program of study. Once submitted, a confirmation page with conditions of admission will be sent to the e-mail address provided in the college application. Print the confirmation page and follow the instructions within.
2. COMPLETE DENTAL HYGIENE APPLICATION
In addition to the PBCC general application, the applicant must also submit the program application, which can be located at www.palmbeachstate.edu/dentalhealth.xml. There is a $20 non-refundable processing fee due with each Dental Hygiene program application. Submit a paid receipt for this processing fee along with a PBCC Dental Hygiene program application to the Admissions Office.
3. ACADEMIC HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA OR GED
Official standard high school transcripts or equivalent (transcripts are considered official if sent directly to PBCC from the previous institution or hand delivered in a sealed envelope sealed by the issuing institution) delivered to PBCC Admissions Office showing proof of a standard high school graduation, GED, or validated foreign equivalent. All applicants – new, current, and college transfer students must have their official high school or GED transcript on file at PBCC. You may download the transcript request form from our website at www.palmbeachstate.edu/Transcripts.xml. Students who received a Florida GED can request their scores using the downloaded form at www.palmbeachstate.edu/Transcripts.xml.
4. COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS
Official college transcripts (transcripts are considered official if sent directly to PBCC from the previous institution or be hand-delivered in a sealed envelope sealed by the issuing institution) from ALL post-secondary institutions attended must be submitted. You may download the transcript request form from our website at www.palmbeachstate.edu/Transcripts.xml. All post-secondary records from out of the country must be submitted with a commercial evaluation. If you have attended college, we still require proof of a standard high school diploma, GED or validated foreign equivalent. Commercial evaluation of foreign transcripts must be conducted by approved evaluators listed at www.palmbeachstate.edu/Foreigntranscript.xml. A minimum 2.0 cumulative college GPA is required to be eligible for consideration in the se-lection process.
5. PLACEMENT TEST SCORES
All applicants must submit placement test scores which meet minimum requirements for en-trance into college level English and mathematics courses, or required remedial work (including any and all necessary college preparatory courses) must have been successfully completed. Successful completion (C or higher) of a minimum of three college credits each in mathematics and English courses may be used in lieu of placement scores. However, placement test scores will be required to graduate even if previous math or English courses are used to meet selection eligibility criteria.
6. PROGRAM COUNSELING
All students are strongly encouraged to speak with the Dental Health Services Coordinator for counseling, as early as possible prior to application. Call (561) 868-3752 for an appointment or e-mail kuzmireb@pbcc.edu.
7. SPECIAL NOTES
A. Applicants who have completed an articulated, accredited dental assisting program at PBCC or another Florida institution must have passed all articulated (dental hygiene) courses in that program with a grade of C or higher to be considered for selection for admission.
B. Except for applicants mentioned above in A, all students accepted into the program must have completed all required natural science courses with a grade of C or better prior to the beginning of the Dental Hygiene program (but no more than five years prior to the application deadline date). See list of required sciences at the end of this section. Those specified in Section A may defer completion of all required basic science courses (with a grade of C or better) until the end of the first term of the program.
C. Once officially accepted into the Dental Hygiene Program a criminal background assessment (15 years or up to 5 criminal searches), a drug screening (10 panel), and a medical exam (including a record of immunizations) within one year prior to the start of the program must be submitted by the applicant.
D. All accepted applicants for the Dental Hygiene program are strongly encouraged to be currently immunized against communicable diseases, including Hepatitis B. Documentation of completion of, or refusal to obtain, Hepatitis B immunization must be provided upon entrance into the program.
E. The student will be automatically enrolled in the student accident/health insurance coverage program provided by PBCC.
F. If a student has withdrawn from or received a grade of less than C in a dental hygiene technical core course, that student will not be able to continue in the program. To re-enter the program, he/she must reapply for a position in the following year’s class on a space-available basis. If accepted, the student will then be required to: (1) repeat the failed or withdrawn course and (2) repeat for audit his/her last successfully completed clinical course. If a student has two separate failures in any course or courses with the prefixes DEH, DES, DEA (from either the Dental Hygiene or Dental Assisting program) he/she will be ineligible for selection for admission or for re-entry into the Dental Hygiene program.
All General Education requirements must be completed with a grade of C or better in order to be given credit for selection and/or graduation.
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| Completion Requirements |
Students must successfully complete all courses listed in the catalog for this program.
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| Program Length |
The program is approximately 21 months in length, not including the time necessary to complete the required General Education and non-technical program core courses. It begins with the fall term of each year and is structured as a daytime program only.
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| Location |
The program is offered on the Lake Worth campus.
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| Financial Aid |
http://www.palmbeachstate.edu/financialaid.xml
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| Application |
Students must complete the Dental Hygiene Program Application (found on their website) in addition to the general PBCC application: www.palmbeachstate.edu/admissions.xml
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| Advising |
http://www.palmbeachstate.edu/advising.xml
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| Career Center |
http://www.palmbeachstate.edu/career
For more information about employment opportunities including job outlook and salary information visit:
Occupational Outlook Handbook: http://www.bls.gov/oco/
O-Net Online: http://online.onetcenter.org/
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| For More Information |
Beth Kuzmirek, RDH, BSED
Dental Health Services Coordinator, kuzmireb@pbcc.edu,
(561) 868-3752
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