BLUE BELL,PA--Have you heard about the Dental Hygiene Program at Montgomery County Community College? Or, have you ever been to the Dental Hygiene Clinic in the Science Center building of the College? If not, I would like to share a few highlights of the program.
Since 1973, the Montgomery County Community College Dental Hygiene Clinic has been providing the public with comprehensive preventive dental hygiene services. Dental hygiene means the state or practice of keeping the mouth cavity in a healthy condition by a regular program of brushing and flossing the teeth combined with periodic examinations by a dentist.
The Dental Hygiene Clinic at Montco is well equipped to offer high quality services. In addition to skilled staff, Jenny Sheaffer, director and professor of the Dental Hygiene Program, shared what is available in the Dental Hygiene Clinic. “15 A-dec dental chairs, chairside computers to facilitate the creation of electronic health records for patients, digital x-rays, intraoral cameras, ultrasonic and caries detection devices.”
Professor Sheaffer also mentioned the list of required courses, if students are considering the curriculum. “The Program of Study includes courses in basic sciences, social sciences, general education, and Dental Hygiene courses. Dental hygiene courses include both didactic and clinical courses. As part of their clinical courses, students develop their clinical and assessment skills by treating patients in the Dental Hygiene Clinic through four semesters,” she said.
Eun Kyoung Han, a dental hygiene student at Montco, said, “I am very happy to be in the dental program and use the equipment to learn. Professors and instructors are very helpful, and they are always behind us.”
Dental hygiene student, Jenna Moyer, is also very happy with professors and the dental program. “I am enjoying the dental program, and the professors always provide good information, and the biggest benefit is the clinic in the college,” she said.
For these reasons, Montco has produced many students who graduated from the Dental Hygiene program in the past 40 years.
Professor Sheaffer said, “Since 1975, the first graduation year, the program has graduated over 700 students. The employment rate of our dental hygiene students has been very good, approximately 98 percent. Graduates are primarily employed in part and full-time positions in private dental offices.”
The prospect for students who want to be a dental hygienists is very bright also.
According to U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, dental hygiene is one of the fastest growing occupations. Employment of dental hygienists is expected to grow 38 percent from 2010 to 2020.
Professor Sheaffer also spoke about the future of the program,
“In two years, the Dental Hygiene Program will be moving into the Health Science Center along with all of the healthcare programs at the college. The current Physical Education building will be renovated to house the Health Science Center on Central Campus. As part of the move, the size of the program will be expanding, both physically and in terms of the number of students accepted into the Dental Hygiene Program,” she said.
The Dental Hygiene Program at Montco has grown substantially and it is still growing with passionate professors and a well-equipped Dental Hygiene Clinic on campus.
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