Successful students in the SJVC Dental Hygiene Program must have somatic sensation and functional use of the senses of vision and hearing. Additionally, students must have sufficient exteroceptive senses (touch, pain, temperature), sufficient proprioceptive sense (position, pressure, movement, stereognosis, vibratory) and sufficient motor function to permit them to carry out the activities described below. Students must be able to integrate all information received by whatever sense(s) employed, consistently, quickly and accurately, and must have intellectual ability to learn, integrate, analyze and synthesize data.
A candidate for the dental hygiene profession must have the following abilities and skills: observation, communication, motor, intellectual-conceptual, integrative and quantitative, and behavior/social attributes. Technological compensation can be made for disabilities in certain areas, but candidates should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner, with or without accommodation.
Students in the dental hygiene program must have visual acuity sufficient to read millimeter measurements and to determine slight differences in anatomical structures, diagnostic tests, instruments and armamentarium.
Students must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently with patients and other members of the dental health care team. In an emergency situation, students must be able to understand and convey information essential for the safe and effective care of patients in a clear, unambiguous and rapid fashion. Students must also be able to relate information to and receive information in a caring and confidential manner.
Students must possess the motor skills necessary to perform instrumentation around the teeth and structures in the oral cavity with hand and mechanical dental hygiene instruments. These skills require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and integrated use of the senses of touch and vision.
Students must be able to measure, calculate, reason, analyze, integrate and synthesize in a timely fashion. Students must comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand the spatial relationships of structures.
Students must possess the emotional health required for the utilization of their intellectual abilities for the exercise of good judgment, for the prompt completion of all assessments and care of patients, and for the development of effective relationships with patients. Students must tolerate physically taxing workloads and function effectively under stress. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, display flexibility and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of patients.
Students must be able to successfully complete, with or without accommodation, all required components of curriculum.
In order to evaluate the competence and quality of students, the SJVC Dental Hygiene Program employs periodic examinations as an essential component of the dental hygiene curriculum. Successful completion of these examinations is required of all students as a condition for continued progress through the curriculum. Reasonable accommodation will be made in the form or manner of administration of these evaluations where necessary.
Demonstration of clinical competence is also of fundamental importance to the career curriculum progression of the student. The process of faculty evaluation of clinical performance of students is an integral and essential part of the curriculum. Although reasonable accommodation will be made, participation in clinical experiences and the evaluation of the participation is required.
Class attendance is deemed an important component of the educational experience. Reasonable accommodation will be provided, but attendance requirements must be satisfied for successful completion of these courses.
Although a candidate's self identification as a person with a disability is voluntary, the SJVC Dental Hygiene Program can only accommodate known disabilities. In order to establish eligibility for and to request accommodation, a student must provide appropriate notice to the SJVC Dental Hygiene Program.
The SJVC Dental Hygiene Program considers the well being of patients with whom the student will come in contact (both before and after graduation) of utmost importance. This well being must never be compromised by any policy of the SJVC Dental Hygiene Program. Patient care is a major concern of established requirements for physical, cognitive and emotional capabilities of students for admissions.
SJVC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, handicap/disability, age, or Vietnam era/disabled veteran status in employment or in the application, admissions, participation, access and treatment of persons in instructional programs and activities.
The SJVC Dental Hygiene Program will consider any qualified student who demonstrates the ability to acquire the knowledge necessary for the practice of dental hygiene, as well as the ability to perform, or learn to perform, the skills as described in this document.
1. Evidence of good physical and mental health as determined by a medical exam (a complete physical will be completed prior to the first week of class).
2. Hepatitus B vaccination will be initiated prior to the start of seeing clinical patients if not previously immunized. (Patients with bloodborne infectious diseases and/or any other infectious disease will be treated in a safe and professional manner by dental hygiene students and staff. Confidentiality of information pertaining to the health status of each individual will be strictly maintained. A copy of the program's policy on bloodborne pathogens is available upon request.)
3. All students involved with the direct provision of patient care must be continuously recognized/certified in basic life support procedures, including healthcare provider cardiopulmonary resuscitation with an Automated External Defribrillator (AED) approved by the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association. Students must provide a copy of current certification to be kept on file and will not be allowed to see clinic patients without a current CPR card on file.
Join Our Online Communities
