Top 10 Things to Know About Your Dental Hygienist

These days, a visit with your dental hygienist may result in more benefits than just cleaner teeth and healthier gums -- you might even decide to stop smoking, improve your nutrition or check to see if you might be at risk for diabetes.

"Most people simply don't realize just how educated and skilled their dental hygienists are," said Susan McLearan, president of the California Dental Hygienists' Association (CDHA). "The profession has evolved to the point where we actually can save lives."

In keeping with its mission to raise public awareness about dental health and to promote the value of seeing a dental hygienist, the association has issued the following list of the Top Ten Things Californians Should Know About Their Dental Hygienists.

"The list is intended to show how dental hygienists play such an integral role in overall public health -- in many different ways and on many different levels."

That role is reflected in the following facts about Registered Dental
Hygienists (RDH):

1. Highly Educated Professionals -- The minimum level of education for licensure is equivalent to a four-year degree with two years specializing in dental hygiene.

2. Committed to Expanding Access to Care -- Specially licensed hygienists can go into underserved communities and provide dental hygiene services to some of the millions of Californians who would otherwise have no access to dental care.

3. Screen for Oral Cancer -- Dental hygienists possess the skills to be the first health professional to identify potential signs of oral cancer and refer a patient to a physician.

4. Promote Healthy Nutrition -- Dental hygienists can tell if a patient is eating poorly or is malnourished; they can then offer helpful advice and information.

5. Spot Signs of Eating Disorders -- Also related to nutritional issues, eating disorders can also be recognized in the mouth during a check up.

6. Recognize Signs of Diabetes -- Dental hygienists can alert patients that they might be in danger from diabetes, and refer them to seek confirmation from a medical doctor.

7. Promote Smoking Cessation -- When examining patients who smoke tobacco, dental hygienists often will counsel them to quit and provide resources and information about steps they can take to stop smoking.

8. Prevent Gum and Periodontal Disease -- By cleaning and examining teeth and gums, dental hygienists play a major role in preventing common oral diseases.

9. Understand the Link Between Oral Health and Emotional Health in Children -- Dental hygienists are passionate about promoting good oral health among children, who can often suffer speech impediments, social ridicule, diminished self esteem and other problems related to poor oral health.

10. Represented by CDHA, the Official Voice of Dental Hygiene -- Since CDHA was established 20 years ago, dental hygienists have been making continuous strides toward becoming the skilled, autonomous and essential public health professionals that they are today.

Furthermore, dental hygienists are qualified to detect a wide range of other life-threatening conditions, including high blood pressure and HIV.

"The items on our list really underscore that the mouth is a window into a person's comprehensive health," said CDHA's McLearan. "And because the average person sees a hygienist more often than a physician, it is especially important for people to understand the many facets and benefits of the dental hygiene profession."

The California Dental Hygienists' Association (CDHA) is the authoritative voice of the state's dental hygiene profession. While registered dental hygienists have worked in the state for nearly a century, CDHA was established 20 years ago when two regional associations merged to form a unified professional group. CDHA represents thousands of dental hygienists throughout the state and is dedicated to expanding opportunities for the
profession and access to care for all Californians.

Source: California Dental Hygienists' Association

Grant puts smiles on LCC faces

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Lane Community College will be able to almost double the number of students graduating from its dental hygiene program thanks to a $1.97 million federal grant.

The three-year grant will allow LCC to work with three colleges in Oregon and Idaho to set up satellite clinics to train additional students, and prepare and offer distance learning courses students can take to complete classroom work. The clinics will be set up through Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Umpqua Community College in Roseburg and Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.

LCC is able to graduate 20 dental hygiene students a year and will be able to increase that by 18 students with the grant.

Sharon Hagan, LCC's dental hygiene program coordinator, said the school has up to 90 applicants for the 20 slots it has available each year. All of the program's students have jobs when they graduate, and the state estimates that the profession will need 971 more hygienists over the 10-year period ending in 2014.

"There's great growth potential in this field because there will be people retiring, and Oregon's population is growing," Hagan said. "There is full employment for the students we have graduating right now, and we anticipate with the number of students we're taking in these other communities that there will be full employment there."

The new program will make use of clinics already in place at Linn-Benton, which has a six-chair clinic for its dental assisting program, and at Lewis-Clark State College, which recently received funding to build a clinic. A new clinic is expected to be built in Roseburg for the Umpqua class.

Students first must take 45 credits of science and general education classes before applying to the two-year dental hygiene program, which includes both classroom and clinical work. As with many specialized health care programs, the course is expensive to offer because colleges have to meet low student-faculty ratios to be accredited.

For dental hygiene, that means one faculty member for every six students, plus a staff dentist during clinical sessions. Tuition and state support don't cover the cost of the program, and that's made it difficult to expand it to meet the demand.

"We have an excellent facility, but we are unable to take additional
students without hiring additional staff, and Lane's financial situation makes that impossible to do," Hagan said.

The grant is one of 72 projects funded by the federal Community-Based Job Training Grants Initiative. The grants are meant to boost the number of graduates in fast-growing occupations.

LCC's dental hygiene program draws students from as far away as Salem and Medford; it is the only program south of Portland and north of Klamath Falls. By providing opportunities for students in other regions, it is likely that more applicants from Lane County will be able to get into the slots available in LCC's program.

Hagan said she expects at least one and possibly two of the satellite clinics to be up and running this fall. The Idaho clinic won't open until 2008.


BRUSHING UP ON THE LCC DENTAL HYGIENE PROGRAM

Lane Community College received a federal grant worth $1.97 million over three years for its dental hygiene program.

Where the jobs are: Currently, 20 dental hygiene students graduate annually. With the grant, LCC will be able to increase that number with 18 additional graduates. The school has up to 90 applicants for the 20 slots and all of the program's students have jobs when they graduate. An estimated 971 more hygienists will be needed by 2014.

One of a kind: LCC's is the only dental hygiene program south of Portland and north of Klamath Falls.