Dental Hygiene is a health care discipline involving both theory and practice. The practice of Dental Hygiene is a collaborative process in which the Dental Hygienist works with the client, and society in general, to achieve and maintain optimal oral health as an integral part of well-being.
As a Dental Hygiene practitioner, your role will be to develop and implement health promotion and preventive and therapeutic interventions in a variety of settings. The professional role of a Dental Hygienist is multi-faceted, involving five primary responsibilities: clinical therapy, health promotion, education, administration and research.
Upon successful completion of the three-year Dental Hygiene program and the National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination, you will receive a certificate of registration from the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario as a Dental Hygienist.
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Related Programs
If a career in dentistry interests you, you might also want to consider the following related program:
Dental Assisting - (Levels I & II).
Employment Opportunities:
As a graduate from this program, may find employment in private dental offices, community dental clinics, hospital dental clinics, public health units, federal agencies, sales, consulting and specialty dental practices such as Orthodontics, Periodontics, and Paedodontics.
Admission Requirements:
- Ontario Secondary School Diploma (or equivalent) with courses from the College (C), University (U), University/College (U/C), or Open (O) preparation levels.
- or successful completion of the Mature Student Assessment.
- or appropriate credits from Academic and Career Entrance program (ACE).
Additional Courses Required: Grade 12 College or University preparation English, Grade 11 or 12 Biology (College or University Preparation), Grade 11 or 12 Chemistry (College or University Preparation). Minimum final grade of 75% in each required course. Those currently enrolled in the program must have a midterm and final mark of 75% or higher to qualify for selection/admission.
Completion of the one year certificate in Dental Assisting (Levels I & II) can provide you with advanced standing towards certain courses in the Dental Hygiene program if you already possess the program admission requirements. Applicants who do not possess these requirements might consider our Pre-Health Sciences program which will provide the necessary preparation for application to the Dental Hygiene program. Completion of a Pre-Health Sciences or Dental Assistant program does not guarantee admission to the Dental Hygiene program in a subsequent year.
Physical Demands:
Good hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity is required to enable the student to manipulate precision instruments and equipment used in the dental profession.
The student must also have physical and motor capabilities that will allow them to manoeuvre in a relatively confined space in the dental office environment.
Other Requirements:
- Students are required to obtain a certificate in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and a certificate in First Aid prior to the commencement of studies.
- Immunization and Communicable Disease’s Form with documentation of current immunization at registration (including a two-step TB Skin Test.) To be submitted to the Health Centre prior to commencement of studies. See Health Requirements.
- Hepatitis B vaccination is highly recommended.
- Each student is required to purchase a dental hygiene instrument kit at the start of the program .
- To be eligible for participation in field placement a student must not have been convicted of any criminal offence for which the student has not yet been pardoned. An unpardoned criminal record will result in the student not being able to participate in the field placement courses and therefore prevent the student from graduating. A recent and valid criminal reference check (CRC) is therefore required to enable the student to progress through this program.
Note:
Procedures and regulations for obtaining criminal record search documents are controlled by the RCMP and the Government of Canada. These procedures and regulations may change at any time without notification. Confederation College will endeavour to notify students of any changes when they come to our attention. As of March 1, 2011 the following reflects the current procedures and regulations of the RCMP with regard to Vulnerable Sector Verifications.
The RCMP identified a means to enhance vulnerable sector checks to make the searches more rigorous. In the interest of public safety, the enhancements were quickly implemented to protect vulnerable members of society.
As a result of the enhancement, a Vulnerable Sector Verification now requires the submission of fingerprints whenever the gender and date of birth of an applicant match to an existing pardoned sex offender record. This is not an accusation of criminality, but a requirement for a thorough verification to confirm identity and protect personal privacy. This process will take at least four months.
Note: Any costs associated with acquiring a Criminal Reference Check (CRC) will be the responsibility of the student applicant.
Selection Criteria:
Selection will be based on marks in the 3 required courses. Testing may be administered as part of the common Dental Hygiene testing delivered with some other Ontario Community Colleges across the province. Confederation College reserves the right to include such a test as part of the selection criteria for this program. A testing fee would be required.
Applicants with the highest combined scores will be selected, with a waitlist constructed. Due to the high number of applications we receive for the limited seats, we are only able to consider applications if the applicant is a permanent resident of Ontario, with a complete application as of February 1st.
1450 Nakina Drive, P.O. Box 398, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada P7C 4W1 [ 
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