LCCC Catalog 2024-2025

Dec 03, 2024

LCCC Catalog 2024-2025

Dental Hygiene, AAS

Location(s): Cheyenne Campus

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The dental hygienist is a preventive oral care professional licensed to provide educational, clinical, and therapeutic dental hygiene services to the public. This unique 16-month program combines academic study with supervised clinical experience. Graduates of the program receive an Associate of Applied Science degree and are eligible to take the appropriate national, regional and/or state examinations. Applicants are encouraged to contact the state boards of dentistry in the states in which they wish to practice for individual licensing requirements and circumstances for licensure denial. The competencies of TREX 2000 are embedded into this program to ensure students benefit from and complete the requirements of the Transition Experience prior to graduating from LCCC.

The dental hygiene program is a vigorous study of advanced science classes offered in an accelerated format. General education and basic science courses are essential to prepare students to succeed. Therefore, applicants are required to complete pre-dental hygiene course requirements. Each prerequisite course must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher. Completion of the prerequisite coursework does not guarantee admission into the dental hygiene program. Additionally, LCCC’s academic skills assessment and placement policy apply.

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. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at 312.440.4653 or at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

Contact Information

Contact information is available on the Dental Hygiene program website.

Map your individual academic plan of courses with your Student Success Coach.

If students choose to transition to another program within the Health Sciences & Wellness pathway, they should be particularly aware of the choice points that indicate when a decision to branch off into another program must be made to ensure credits and time are not lost.

Coursework common to all degrees within this pathway is indicated by CAC, Common Academic Coursework, in the program map.

Competencies

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

Provide evidence-based dental hygiene care.
Practice informed decision-making to function as an integral member of the dental health team.
Exhibit professional behavior consistent with legal and ethical standards of the dental hygiene code of ethics.
Educate patients in all aspects of oral health care.

First Semester - Prerequisites

Choice Points

Students pursuing Dental Hygiene must take either ZOO 2010 OR ZOO 2015 within the last 5 years.
Students pursuing Dental Hygiene should complete the prerequisite courses listed here during their first semester to avoid losing credits and to stay on track to apply to the program.

Course Requirements

MATH 1400 - College Algebra Credits: 3 | CAC
ENGL 1010 - English Composition I Credits: 3 | CAC
STRT 1000 - Strategies for Success Credits: 3 | CAC
COMM 2010 - Public Speaking Credits: 3 | CAC
PSYC 1000 - General Psychology Credits: 3
ZOO 2010 - Human Anatomy & Physiology I Credits: 4
OR
ZOO 2015 - Human Anatomy Credits: 4

Semester Total: 19 Credits

Second Semester - Prerequisites

Choice Points

Students pursuing Dental Hygiene must take either ZOO 2020 OR ZOO 2025 and MICR 2240 within the last 5 years.
Students pursuing Dental Hygiene are required to take SOC 1000 or ANTH 1200 ; however, SOC 1000 is strongly recommended.
Students may choose to take an approved HSI course at any time throughout the Dental Hygiene program. Student are encouraged to take this course prior to program entry.

Course Requirements

ZOO 2020 - Human Anatomy & Physiology II Credits: 4
OR
ZOO 2025 - Human Physiology Credits: 4
SOC 1000 - Sociological Principles Credits: 3 | CAC
OR
ANTH 1200 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Credits: 3 | CAC
MICR 2240 - Medical Microbiology Credits: 4 | CAC
CHEM 1000 - Intro to Chemistry Credits: 4 | CAC
Choose an approved U.S./Wyoming Constitution course Credits: 3 | CAC

Milestones

Students are eligible to apply to the Dental Hygiene program during this semester.

Semester Total: 18 Credits

First Semester - Spring I

Course Requirements

DHYG 1110 - Dental Biology Credits: 3
DHYG 1150 - Preventive Dentistry Credits: 2
DHYG 1410 - Dental Hygiene Principles Credits: 6
DHYG 2450 - Dental Radiology Credits: 3

Milestones

Students are eligible for clinical learning.

Semester Total: 14 Credits

Second Semester - Spring II

Course Requirements

DHYG 1200 - Pharmacology Credits: 2
DHYG 1245 - Dental Nutrition and Biochemistry Credits: 3
DHYG 1420 - Dental Hygiene Seminar I Credits: 2
DHYG 1425 - Dental Hygiene Clinic I Credits: 3
DHYG 2400 - Head, Neck, and Oral Anatomy Credits: 2
DHYG 2455 - Dental Materials Credits: 3

Milestones

Students are eligible for clinical rotations for on- and off-site patient care rotations.

Semester Total: 15 Credits

Third Semester - Fall I

Course Requirements

DHYG 2200 - General and Oral Pathology Credits: 2
DHYG 2250 - Pain Management Credits: 2.5
DHYG 2330 - Periodontology Credits: 4
DHYG 2430 - Dental Hygiene Seminar II Credits: 2
DHYG 2435 - Dental Hygiene Clinic II Credits: 5

Semester Total: 15.5 Credits

Fourth Semester - Spring I

Course Requirements

DHYG 2260 - Dental Public Health Credits: 3
DHYG 2410 - Ethics, Law and Practice Management Credits: 3
DHYG 2440 - Dental Hygiene Seminar III Credits: 1
DHYG 2445 - Dental Hygiene Clinic III Credits: 5

Milestones

Completion of Dental Hygiene, AAS.
Upon successful completion of the program, students are eligible to take national and regional clinical boards. Boards are required for licensure within the field based on each state’s statute.

Semester Total: 12 Credits

Program Credit Hour Total: 93.5 Credits

Program Comments

Students planning to apply to a specific closed program should work closely with their Advising Team regarding course sequence options required for completion prior to program application. Some program applications are points based.

The information below is intended to be a guide, and does not guarantee regional job placement, job availability, or a specific wage after completion of the program. Dental Hygienists may work in private dental practices, community health settings, nursing homes and hospitals. Many hygienists work part-time in multiple offices, particularly in rural locations. Students are required to pass the national and regional boards required for licensure according to each state’s statutes.

Additional information on careers in Dental Hygiene is available through Career Coach.

Transfer Information

The AS Dental Hygiene program is well suited for transfer to a Bachelor of Dental Hygiene degree. LCCC courses may transfer to institutions in addition to those with formal articulation agreements. Students are strongly encouraged to determine the degree requirements and transfer policy of the specific college/university and program to which they plan to transfer.