Dental Hygiene Program at George Brown College

FULL DESCRIPTION

The Dental Hygiene program prepares students to practice as primary oral health-care providers.

The program focuses on applying the dental hygiene process of care while developing interprofessionalism, client-centred care and interpersonal communication skills. Students have the opportunity to gain confidence in their learned skills while working with clients in our on-site WAVE Dental Clinic.

Emphasis is placed on preparing students to function effectively within a collaborative dental team that includes:

• the client
• the community
• other health-care providers

Students and clients collaboratively evaluate care provided by delineating short-term and long-term goals and employing strategies for continued care.

PROGRAM STANDARDS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Practice in a professional and competent manner within the defined scope of practice and consistent with current regulations and standards of practice.
• Evaluate clients’ oral health status using determinants of health and risk analysis to identify needs, justify treatment decisions and provide appropriate referrals to other health care professionals as required.
• Design, implement and evaluate a range of primary, interceptive, therapeutic, preventative, and on-going oral health care services to meet the unique needs of clients.
• Analyze oral health issues in need of advocacy, identify networks and promote actions that will support change and facilitate access to care.
• Identify, select, implement and evaluate quality assurance standards and protocols which contribute to a safe and effective working environment.
• Establish and maintain professional and inter-professional relationships which contribute to client care safety and positive health care outcomes.
• Facilitate the development of specific oral health attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviours in clients by selecting and utilizing principles of teaching and learning.
• Develop and present a model for a DH practice that addresses relevant business principles, current legislation and standards of practice.

YOUR CAREER

Graduates of this program are eligible to apply to write the National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination. (Note: Additional fees apply.) Successful completion is one of the requirements for registration by the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario to practice in the province. See cdho.org (A Guide to the Process of Being Registered as a Dental Hygienist in Ontario) for further information.

Dental hygienists are members of a self-regulated health profession.

Dental hygiene practice settings include:

• clinical practice
• community health services
• hospitals
• teaching institutions
• collective living centres
• research
• the dental industry