The Program of Dental Hygiene was established in the College of Dentistry in 1934, and graduated its first class in 1935. In 1947, educational requirements extended the curriculum to a two-year course of study. The program awards a Certificate in Dental Hygiene and is approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. Graduates are eligible to apply for licensure in all states and the District of Columbia as well as foreign countries.

Mission

The mission of the accredited Dental Hygiene Program is to provide graduates with competencies necessary for entry into the Dental Hygiene profession in the United States and in the global community. Moreover, the program is committed to providing educational opportunities to promising minority students with particular emphasis on attracting African-Americans.

Vision

The Dental Hygiene Program recognizes the need for evidence-based paradigm shifts to address ongoing advancements in oral health care and changes in education technology. In the future, the division plans to offer the baccalaureate degree and a baccalaureate degree completion program. Curricula will be offered both full and part-time; evening courses available; and distance learning options will be initiated. In addition, the program will broaden its curriculum base by increasing its interdisciplinary focus.

Goals

• To provide students and faculty with a nurturing environment that will encourage them to maximize their potential and become exceptional healthcare professionals.

• To recruit African-Americans and other minority students in order to increase minority enrollment.

• To obtain financial support for the dental hygiene department from the alumni, the private and public sectors.

• To participate in and support community activities, locally, nationally and internationally.

• To develop and implement faculty and student research programs.

Dental Hygiene Faculty

Chair:

Donna Grant-Mills, RDH, MEd, DDS

(202) 806-0079

Instructors:

Judith Neely, RDH, MA

(202) 806-0079

Sandra Osborne, RDH, MS

(202) 806-0079

Jonathan B. Owens , RDH, AA, AS, BS, MS

(202) 806-0079

Curriculum Overview

First-Year

Fall Semester

• Dental Materials

• Anatomy of Orofacial Structures

• Histology and Embryology

• Pre-clinical Dental Hygiene Theory

• Pre-clinical Dental Hygiene Techniques

Spring Semester

• Clinical Dental Hygiene I

• Clinical Dental Hygiene Theory

• General Oral Pathology and Therapeutics

• Community Dental Health

• Radiology

• Introduction to Periodontics

Summer Semester

• Clinical Dental Hygiene II

• Pain Control

Second-Year

Fall Semester

• Clinical Dental Hygiene III

• Clinical Dental Hygiene Seminar I

• Clinical Dental Hygiene Theory II

• Ethics and Jurisprudence

• Dental Health Education Methods

• Nutrition/Nutritional Counseling

• Biostatistics/Research Design

• Periodontics

Spring Semester

• Black Studies

• Clinical Dental Hygiene Practicum

• Clinical Dental Hygiene Seminar II

• Clinical Dental Hygiene Theory III

• Clinical Dental Hygiene IV

• Research Practicum

Admission Procedures
Applications can be obtained from the Office of Admissions. Send a completed application, a $45 non-refundable fee in the form of a money order (no checks), a one page typed autobiographical sketch, a one page typed statement of your interest in pursuing a career in Dental Hygiene at Howard University, two letters of recommendation and an official transcript of your prerequisite courses and grades by February 16, 2010:

Director of Admissions,
Howard University,
2400 Sixth Street NW,
Washington, DC 20059.

Then call the Dental Hygiene Division at 202 806 0079 to schedule a personal interview.

Pre-requisites
Admission policy requires the following pre-requisite basic science and general education courses, completed with a 2.5 GPA or greater. *Science pre-requisites must be completed within five years prior to admissions; and general education pre-requisites must have been completed within ten years prior to admissions.

*Must include a laboratory and be completed at a GPA of 2.75 or greater.

Selection Procedure

To be considered for admission, the student must submit a complete application packet by February 16, 2010. We encourage you to submit your application early, starting November 1, 2009 for early review and consideration.

Applications for admission to the dental hygiene program are reviewed by the Admissions Committee using the following weighted criteria: GPA of prerequisite science courses (5 points), overall GPA of prerequisite courses (5 points), total academic record (5 points), verbal and written communication skills (5), knowledge of the dental hygiene profession (5), professional demeanor, date received and completeness of application (5), and letters of recommendation (5). Upon review of the application, the Admissions Committee assigns each application a numerical rank. Based on the above criteria and the applicant’s interview, the selection will be based on the ranking order of the applicants. The highest ranking applicants will be offered admission until the class is filled. Applicants will be notified about the committee’s decision within six weeks of the interview. It is preferable to submit applications early. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Selection preference is given to the applicant with a high science GPA, and early application submitted before December 1st.

* AN INCOMPLETE APPLICATION PACKET WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Please keep a copy of all documents sent to the University for your records

Please note that admitted students who intend to enroll in the Dental Hygiene Program must submit a non-refundable enrollment fee. A personal interview is scheduled with the dental hygiene admission committee once all credentials have been received. For additional information please make inquiries to the Division of Dental Hygiene at (202) 806-0079 or call 1-800-822-6363, and ask to be connected to the Dental Hygiene Division.

HOWARD UNIVERSITY OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE PLAN

FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, NURSING, AND ALLIED HEALTH

SCIENCE STUDENTS

A. GOALS OF OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE PLAN

1. To prevent work-related injury and illness of Howard University medical, dental, nursing and allied health students.
2. To prevent the spread of communicable diseases to patients treated by Howard University clinical students.
3. To formalize procedures for reporting and managing work-related injuries and illness of Howard University clinical students.

B. METHODS

1. Educators

New clinical students will be given a copy of the occupational exposure plan during orientation. Prior to their first patient encounter, they will be educated in universal precautions and isolation requirements. They will receive a clinic manual which describes the Health Information Portability Amendment Act (HIPAA) and OSHA regulations.

2. Health Screening and Maintenance

The Howard University Student Health Center will monitor the health status of all dental, dental hygiene, medical, and allied health science students with potentially infectious conditions as well as those students who are injured or exposed to infections as a result of their assigned clinical activities. This will be accomplished through primary prevention (screening) and post-exposure or post-injury diagnostic testing and treatment.

The Howard University Hospital Employee Health Unit requires documentation of health screening and treatment of active disease prior to the time the student presents for training. Howard University Hospital, and all other hospitals, clinics or physician offices to which students are assigned, reserve the right to refuse access to their facilities to any student who fails to comply with the occupational exposure plan.

C. HEALTH SCREENING

Screening for infections is accomplished prior to matriculation, prior to the student’s first patient encounter and annually thereafter. The following laboratory tests are required of all clinical students involved in direct patient care:

1. Recent physical examination (within the past two years)
2. Annual tuberculin skin test (PPD). If the student has had BCG or has a positive PPD, then an annual chest x-ray is required.
3. Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL)
4. Hepatitis B vaccination (series of 3 vaccines) or evidence of previous exposure (HBsAg and HBsAb).
5. Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine unless there is proof of prior vaccination or immunity to these diseases.
6. Combined Diphtheria/Tetanus (TD) within the last ten years.
7. Stool culture and sensitivity; stool ova and parasites for all dental students rotating through the dietary services, nursery, infant pediatrics, and labor and delivery.
8. CBC for radiology/radiation therapy students.

D. STUDENTS WITH ACTIVE DISEASE (NOT WORK-RELATED)

Any student having an active infectious disease must be treated by his/her private physician prior to beginning or continuing a clinical assignment. A physician’s return to duty certificate is required by the University Student Health Center as well as the student’s immediate supervisor before resuming clinical activity.

1. Colds and Coughs

A student with cold symptoms, without constitutional symptoms, may begin or continue his/her clinical assignment unless coughing repeatedly with a temperature of 1000F or more. Exception: students with viral infections or cold symptoms who work with children, immunosuppressed and renal transplant patients will not be permitted to work on these patients.

2. Herpes

Students with open herpetic lesions will be relieved from direct patient contact until the lesions are dried and healed.

3. Communicable Disease

Students with a communicable disease (or who have a family member with a communicable disease) should follow the guidelines found in, “Guidelines for Students With or Exposed to Communicable Diseases”.

E. EVALUATION OF OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE, ILLNESS AND INJURY

Students who are exposed or become ill or injured as the result of a clinical assignment, must complete an incident report in the Office of Clinical Affairs and will be evaluated at the Howard University Student Health Center during the Center’s normal operating hours. Students will be treated at the Howard University Hospital Employee Health Center after obtaining a referral and claim form from the Student Health Center. If the Employee Health Unit is closed, the student will be referred to the Howard University Hospital Emergency Department.

The Student Health Center staff member will triage the student and write the following information on the referral form:

-whether the student has had his/her series of Hepatitis B and tetanus vaccines, and any other laboratory information.

-the type of injury, when and how the injury occurred, and any pertinent information regarding the patient.

When the Student Health Center is closed or in cases of dire emergency, the student should first contact the designated administrator at the work site. Any necessary emergency medical and nursing care shall be made available to the student through the regular procedures in effect at the Employee Health Unit or Emergency Department of the hospital, clinic or other medical facility to which the student is assigned. The morning following discharge, the student must report to the Student Health Center for evaluation and clearance to return to work. The student should bring copies of discharge instructions and any other information describing the treatment that was rendered. The student will be referred to the Howard University Hospital Employee Health Unit for further management of the condition, if deemed medically necessary by the Student Health Center.

PREVENTION OF EXPOSURE TO BLOOD BORNE PATHOGENS

STANDARD PRECAUTIONS

Workers at risk of blood, body fluid or needle stick exposures are at the highest risk of infection with Hepatitis B (HBV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) viruses. According to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) surveys, an estimated 300,000 new HBV infections occur 1% each year in the U.S. HBV infections occur in about 8,000 to 12, 000 health care workers per year and result in over 200 deaths per year due to acute and chronic effects. Infection with the AIDS virus in the workplace represents a small but real hazard to health care workers. Only a few such cases have been reported to date.

The CDC has made recommendations to protect health care professionals (HCPs) from exposure to blood and other potentially infectious material (OPIM). OPIM includes most body fluids, experimental HIV materials as well as unfixed tissues or organs (except intact skin). OPIM does not include stool, urine or sputum (unless bloody), nor saliva, except dental procedures. These precautions are prudent practices that help prevent the transmission of HBV and AIDS viruses and other similar blood borne-type infections and should be used routinely.

Recommendations for Prevention

1. Treat all blood and body fluids as potentially infectious!
2. Observe universal precautions!
3. Be vaccinated against HBV!
4. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
5. Use gloves when handling (or when you anticipate handling) blood, blood products or fluids. Use masks, eye protectors, face shields for procedures that could involve splashing of blood or body fluids. (Eyeglasses are okay if solid clip-on side shields are used).

Use gowns, aprons, and other protective body clothing depending on the task and extent of exposure anticipated.

Use protective caps, hoods and boots where gross contamination may occur.

Use pocket masks, resuscitation bags or other regulation device to resuscitate a patient to minimize exposure that may occur during emergency mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Remove contaminated PPE immediately or as soon as possible after a procedure.

Remove all PPE (contaminated and non-contaminated) before leaving the work area.

Needles and Sharp Instruments

Do not bend, shear or break contaminated needles.

If recapping is necessary, use a mechanical device or a one-handed method. Place the syringe on the bracket table and slide the cap slowly over the needle. Never use a two-handed method of recapping.

Place contaminated sharps in a nearby specially designed puncture-proof container immediately after use.

Do not pick up broken glassware that may be contaminated using you bare hands.

Other Precautions

Wash hand thoroughly after removing gloves and immediately after contact with blood or body fluids.

Minimize splashing and splattering when performing procedures.

Do not eat, drink, apply cosmetics/lip balm or handle contact lenses in work areas where there is a reasonable likelihood of occupational exposure.

Do not store food or drink in refrigerators, cabinets, freezers, shelves, etc. that contain blood or OPIM.

Place specimens of blood or OPIM in leak proof containers during collection, handling, processing, storage, transport or shipping. Label specimens with a BIOHAZARD label or place in a red bag or red container.

UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS

Because the health/medical history and physical examination cannot reliably identify all patients infected with HIV or other BLOOD BORNE pathogens, blood and body fluid precautions should be consistently used for all patients; hence the term Universal precautions. Universal precautions are intended to supplement rather than replace recommendations for routine infection control such as hand washing and use of gloves to prevent gross microbial contamination of hands.

1.  Wear gloves when touching blood or body fluids, mucous membranes, or broken skin of all patients; when handling items or surfaces soiled with blood or body fluids; and when performing venipuncture and other vascular access procedures. Change gloves after contact with each patient, do not wash or disinfect gloves for reuse.

2.  Wear masks and protective eye wear or face shields during procedures that are likely to 1% generate droplets of blood or other body fluids, to prevent exposure of mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and eyes.

3.  Wear gowns or aprons during procedures that are likely to generate splashes of blood or other body fluids.

4.  Wash hands and other skin surfaces immediately and thoroughly following contamination with blood, body fluids containing blood, or other body fluids to which universal precautions apply. Wash hand immediately after gloves are removed.

5.  Take care to prevent injuries when using needles, scalpels, and other sharp instruments or devices; when handling sharp instruments after procedures, when cleaning used instruments; and when disposing of used needles. Do not recap used needles by hand; do not bend, break, or otherwise manipulate used needles by hand. Place used disposable syringes and needles, scalpel blades, and other sharp items in puncture-resistant disposal containers which should be located as close to the use area as is practical.

6.  Although saliva has not been implicated in HIV transmission, emergency mouth-tomouth resuscitation should be minimized by using mouthpieces, resuscitation bags, or other ventilation devices.

7.  Students with exudative lesions or weeping dermatitis should refrain from all direct patient care and from handling patient-care equipment until the condition resolves.

Body Fluids to Which Universal Precautions Apply

Universal precautions apply to blood and other body fluids containing visible blood.

Universal precautions also apply to tissues, semen, vaginal secretions, and the following fluids: cerebrospinal, synovial, pleural, peritoneal, pericardial, and amniotic.

Universal precautions do not apply to feces, nasal secretions, sputum, sweat, tears, urine, and vomit unless they contain visible blood. Universal precautions also do not apply to human breast milk. The risk of transmission of HIV, as well as hepatitis B virus, from these fluids and materials is extremely low or nonexistent. Although universal precautions do not apply to saliva, special precautions are recommended for dentistry, in which contamination of saliva with blood is predictable.

HAND WASHING TECHNIQUE

Objective:

To decrease contamination of the hands and prevent the spread of pathogens to noncontaminated areas.

Policy

Hands must be washed:

1. When coming on clinical rotation.
2. Before and after contact with patients.
3. After removing the gown (but before removing mask) in the cubicle.
4. Before preparing or serving food.
5. Before performing any invasive procedures.
6. Between patient encounters.
7. Before eating.
8. After blowing or wiping the nose.
9. After using toilet facilities.
10. After contact with patient excretions, secretions or blood (directly or through contaminated objects).
11. On completion of duty.

The college credits that you receive during the program at Howard University can be applied to achieving a baccalaureate degree through the College of Arts and Sciences at Howard University or through a degree completion program at another institution. Future goals include baccalaureate and degree completion programs.

Thank You for Your Interest in the Dental Hygiene Program at Howard University.

Some Important Facts about Dental Hygienists:

Who is the Dental Hygienist?
The dental hygienist is the member of the oral healthcare profession who provides treatment to prevent dental caries (cavities) and periodontal (gum) diseases. Dental hygienists also instruct patients on methods to improve and maintain optimal oral health.

What Do Dental Hygienists Do?
Since each state has its own specific regulations, the range of services performed by dental hygienists varies from one state to another. Patient care services performed by dental hygienists may include,:

• monitoring procedures-preliminary review of the patient's health history, dental charting, oral analysis, and taking and recording blood pressure
• exposing, processing, and interpreting dental X rays
• removing plaque and calculus (tartar)-soft and hard deposits-from above and below the gum line
• applying cavity-preventive agents such as fluorides and sealants to the teeth, teaching patients proper oral hygiene techniques to maintain healthy teeth and gums
• counseling patients about plaque control and developing individualized at-home oral hygiene programs
• counseling patients on the importance of good nutrition for maintaining optimal health

Where Do Dental Hygienists Work?
Dental hygienists usually work as clinical practitioners in general oral health practices, however, some work in practices that specialize in periodontic and pediatric dentistry. Dental hygienists serve also as educators, researchers, administrators, managers, preventive program developers, consumer advocates, and consultants.

Some Important Facts about Dental Hygienists.
While most dental hygienists work in private oral health practices, others provide services in hospitals, managed care organizations (e.g., HMOs, PPOs, etc.), federal, state, and municipal health departments, primary and secondary school systems, private businesses and industry, correctional institutions, and private and public centers for pediatric geriatric, and other special needs groups.

Why Do Dental Hygienists Use the "RDH" Designation?
The "RDH" designation stands for Registered Dental Hygienist. It assures patients that a dental hygienist has completed a nationally accredited dental hygiene education program, has successfully passed a state clinical examination and a national written examination, and has received a state license to provide preventive oral healthcare services and patient education. (In Indiana, the designation LDH (Licensed Dental Hygienist) is used instead of RDH.)

How Can I Get More Information about the RDHs?
You cancontact the American Dental Hygienists' Association; the largest national organization representing the professional interests of the more than 100,000 registered dental hygienists nationwide. 1 (800) 243-ADHA