Dental Hygiene, BS

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MAJOR CODE: 2062

Graduates of the dental hygiene program serve as consumer advocates for oral healthcare. They are an integral part of the dental team, able to provide instruction and therapeutic services in the prevention of oral diseases. The curriculum combines general education courses, science courses and professional courses. Students experience didactic, laboratory, and clinical education. Successful completion of the program prepares the graduate to take a regional clinical board and a written National Board Dental Hygiene Examination, as required for licensure.

Admission Criteria

To be considered for admission into the program, students must meet the following criteria:

Complete UAFS admission requirements to include submission of official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
Have a minimum 2.50 cumulative GPA for all college course work (including transfer work and excluding developmental courses) and be in good academic standing.
Complete required prerequisite courses for the dental hygiene program with a minimum of C or higher in each course prior to the application deadline.
Take the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) exam. See the UAFS Testing Center TEAS webpage for information on the TEAS exam.
Submit Dental Office Observation Verification Form (verification forms may be used for two years after the dates of observation).
Students may not attempt any course more than twice and be eligible for admission into the dental hygiene program.

NOTE: The application process for the dental hygiene program requires a criminal background check. Licensure in Arkansas also requires a state and federal criminal background check.

Application

Students who meet the above criteria are eligible to apply for admission. Applications can be found online and must be submitted by the date as determined by the program.

Selection

Selection is based on the following weighted system:

Phase One

Quality points earned for prerequisites and any additional courses on the BS dental hygiene degree plan (college credit earned through CLEP or AP for a course will not be used for ranking purposes) - 40%
Score earned on the TEAS - 30%
Cumulative GPA - 30%

NOTE: In the event applicants have identical ranking scores, priority will be given to the student with the highest cumulative GPA. The top 25 applicants after phase one of the selection process will proceed to phase two.

Phase Two

Interview

Students admitted into the Dental Hygiene Program must submit the following additional documentation prior to fall entry:

Health Care Provider Statement/Medical Release form
Proof of immunizations
CPR Certification: American Heart Association Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers (BLS)
Criminal background check
Drug screen

Freshman Year Fall Semester - 16 Hours

CHEM 1303 - Chemical Principles Credit Hours: 3 ^{4 & 5}
CHEM 1301 - Chemical Principles Laboratory Credit Hours: 1 ^{4 & 5}
PSYC 1163 - General Psychology Credit Hours: 3 ⁴
SPCH 1203 - Introduction To Speech Communication Credit Hours: 3 ⁴
English Composition requirement Credit Hours: 3 ^{1 & 4}
Mathematics requirement Credit Hours: 3 ^{1 & 4}

Freshman Year Spring Semester - 12 Hours

BIOL 2503 - General Microbiology Credit Hours: 3 ^{4 & 5}
BIOL 2501 - General Microbiology Laboratory Credit Hours: 1 ^{4 & 5}
English Composition requirement Credit Hours: 3 ^{1 & 4}
Fine Arts/Humanities requirement Credit Hours: 3 ¹
ITA requirement Credit Hours: 2 ^{3 & 4}

Sophomore Year Fall Semester - 16 Hours

BIOL 2203 - Human Anatomy Credit Hours: 3 ^{4 & 5}
BIOL 2201 - Human Anatomy Laboratory Credit Hours: 1 ^{4 & 5}
RHET 3203 - Textual Research Methods Credit Hours: 3 ⁴
MCOM 2223 - Communication Theory Credit Hours: 3 ⁴
SOCI 2753 - Introduction To Sociology Credit Hours: 3 ⁴
Fine Arts/Humanities requirement Credit Hours: 3 ¹

Sophomore Year Spring Semester - 17 Hours

BIOL 2213 - Human Physiology Credit Hours: 3 ^{4 & 5}
BIOL 2211 - Human Physiology Laboratory Credit Hours: 1 ^{4 & 5}
PSYC 2963 - Developmental Psychology: A Life Span Credit Hours: 3 ⁴
SPAN 1304 - Beginning Spanish I Credit Hours: 4 ⁴
STAT 2503 - Probability And Statistics I Credit Hours: 3 ⁴
History/Government requirement Credit Hours: 3 ¹

Junior Year Fall Semester - 16 Hours

DHYG 2111 - Dental Anatomy And Occlusion Credit Hours: 1 ²
DHYG 2313 - Radiology Credit Hours: 3 ²
DHYG 2432 - Head And Neck Anatomy Credit Hours: 2 ²
DHYG 3102 - Pre-Clinical Dental Hygiene Credit Hours: 2 ²
DHYG 3103 - Pre-Clinical Dental Hygiene Theory Credit Hours: 3 ²
DHYG 3412 - Oral Embryology And Histology Credit Hours: 2 ²
HLTH 4103 - Research In The Health Sciences Credit Hours: 3

Junior Year Spring Semester - 14 Hours

DHYG 3113 - Clinic I Theory Credit Hours: 3 ²
DHYG 3212 - Periodontology I Credit Hours: 2 ²
DHYG 3213 - Dental Hygiene Clinic I Credit Hours: 3 ²
DHYG 3443 - Pharmacology Credit Hours: 3 ²
DHYG 3453 - General And Oral Pathology Credit Hours: 3 ²

Senior Year Fall Semester - 16 Hours

DHYG 4122 - Clinic II Theory Credit Hours: 2 ²
DHYG 4142 - Advanced Dental Hygiene Theory For Special Needs Patients Credit Hours: 2 ²
DHYG 4224 - Dental Hygiene Clinic II Credit Hours: 4 ²
DHYG 4311 - Periodontology II Credit Hours: 1 ²
DHYG 4372 - Dental Nutrition Credit Hours: 2 ²
DHYG 4463 - Dental Materials Credit Hours: 3 ²
DHYG 4512 - Local Anesthesia And Nitrous Oxide Credit Hours: 2 ²

Senior Year Spring Semester - 13 Hours

DHYG 4132 - Clinic III Theory Credit Hours: 2 ²
DHYG 4234 - Dental Hygiene Clinic III Credit Hours: 4 ²
DHYG 4522 - Ethics And Practice Management Credit Hours: 2 ²
DHYG 4533 - Community Dentistry And Dental Health Education Credit Hours: 3 ²
DHYG 4542 - Public Health Dentistry Credit Hours: 2 ²

120 Total Hours

At least 40 hours must be upper level

Notes

General Education Core requirements, see General Education Core requirements of this catalog with the following stipulation: mathematics - MATH 1403 or mathematics with MATH 1403 as a prerequisite.
These courses are used to determine major GPA, see Graduation Requirements section of this catalog. Enrollment in courses beginning with the DHYG prefix requires admission to the dental hygiene program.
ITA requirement, two hours. Select from ITA 1011 , ITA 1201 , or ITA 1251 .
These courses must be completed prior to entrance into the dental hygiene program.
Science courses taken more than five years prior to program application may not be eligible. See advisor for more information and to request a science course evaluation.

A grade of C or better is required in all courses applicable to this program.

Prior to graduation students must demonstrate competency in financial literacy by satisfactory completion of FIN 1521 - Personal Finance Applications (or an approved substitution) with a grade of C or better, or by a score of 70% or more on a challenge exam for FIN 1521 .