Performance Requirements: Dental Hygiene

• Program: Dental Hygiene
• Pathway: Health Science

You must meet the following performance requirements to ensure patient safety and welfare during your time in our program and throughout your career.

Physical Requirements

• Visual acuity (with corrective lenses if needed) to:
  • Read very fine, small print on:
    • Identify oral tissue changes
    • Evaluate treatment (the hygienist measures conditions in millimeters)
• Hearing ability (with auditory aids if needed) to:
  • Understand the normal speaking voice without viewing the speaker's face
  • Take / hear blood pressure with a stethoscope
• Manual dexterity to:
  • Use a variety of instruments in the small confined space of the oral cavity
  • Maintain equipment
• Physical ability to:
  • Sit for prolonged periods of time
  • Perform repetitive wrist motion for instrumentation
  • Move from room to room
  • Maneuver in limited spaces

Communication Requirements

• Communicate effectively by:
  • Speaking clearly and succinctly when :
    • Explaining treatment procedures and patient conditions
    • Implementing dental health teaching and professional speaking
  • Writing legibly and correctly in a patients' charts for documentation of treatment
• Function safely under stressful conditions with the ability to:
  • Adapt to a changing environment inherent in clinic situations involving patient care
• Computer skills to:
  • Use a variety of software programs and the internet for research and course projects. PowerPoint is utilized for presentations.

Contact

Updated January 29, 2024