Not Applicable.

PROGRAM MISSION

The Rio Salado College School of Dental Hygiene provides accessible, innovative, high-quality education, fostering ethically responsible students to improve the oral health of Arizona’s diverse populations while encouraging continued competency through on-going assessment and improvement.

PROGRAM GOALS

The goals of the Rio Salado College dental hygiene program are to:

• Prepare graduates who possess the skills and knowledge to competently, legally, and ethically assess, plan, implement, and evaluate dental hygiene services for diverse populations.
• Provide a curriculum that facilitates instructional strategies that enhance student learning.
• Provide graduates a learning environment that fosters a commitment to scientific inquiry, life-long learning, community service, and professional development.

PROGRAM COMPETENCIES:

•  Use effective communication with clients, families, and health-care team members. 
• Practice ethical standards of behavior as accepted by health care professionals.
• Apply the highest standards of infection control and safety to protect the client and operator.
• Operate and maintain all dental equipment.
• Expose and interpret diagnostic radiographs.
• Assess the health of the client by integrating data from the medicodental history, vital signs, oral cancer examination, radiographs, and classification, condition, and function of the teeth and periodontium.
• Plan, present, and receive client consent for an individualized dental hygiene treatment plan, based upon the assessment data, including referral to appropriate health care professionals.
• Practice comprehensive dental hygiene therapy including periodontal debridement, administration of pain control agents, oral irrigation, curettage, root planing, application of sealants, and caries preventive agents to assist the client in achieving optimal health.
• Involve the client in treatment to include dietary choices, oral hygiene techniques, tobacco cessation techniques, home-applied fluorides, and anti-microbial agents.
• Evaluate the outcome of dental hygiene therapy during active and maintenance treatment phases, and refer to appropriate health care providers to attain and maintain optimal health.
• Practice as a team member in all professional settings. 
• Use technology as a learning resource and for information management.
• Provide services addressing the oral health needs of a racially and culturally diverse community.
• Describe the legal and ethical requirements for continued competence in dental hygiene.

For the complete alignment of program competencies visit Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation (CCTA).

The program utilizes a variety of assessment tools to measure achievement of learning.  Course assessments include: comprehensive examinations, weekly quizzes, skill competency examinations, Objective Skills Competency Examinations, self-assessment papers, reaction/observation papers, and community/service learning projects.  The program utilizes a minimum passing competency level of 77% during the first and second semesters. The competency level increases to 85% as the student progresses to the third and fourth semester.

In May 2009, 31/36 students competed the program equaling an 86% completion rate.  Of those 31 students, 100% continued on to complete and pass their boards.  See additional statistics below.

Upon graduation student are eligible to sit for the state, regional, and national board examinations. Licensing board examinations are not required for successful graduation from the program.   To become employed, graduates are required by national mandate to earn a 75% on the written National Dental Hygiene Board Examination administered by the American Dental Association, Joint Commission on Dental National Boards. In addition, by Arizona state law, graduates must complete two regional clinical examinations at 75% for the administration of a local anesthetic agent and dental hygiene clinical services as administered by the Western Regional Examining Board.  Finally prior to licensure, the graduate must sit and pass at 75% a state practice act jurisprudence examination administered by the Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners. 

Results of the boards for the Class of 2009 are:

• 100% pass rate on the National Dental Hygiene Board Examination
• 100% pass rate on the Western Regional Examining Board Local Anesthesia and Dental Hygiene Clinical Board Examinations, and
• 100% pass rate on the Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners Jurisprudence Examination.

Dental Hygiene Employer Survey Report 2007

Respondents (N = 5) were asked to indicate their level of agreement with eleven statements using a scale of 1 – 5 (strongly disagree – strongly agree). In addition, three questions requiring a written response were included in the survey.

• The employers who were surveyed indicated that Rio Salado successfully prepares their Dental Hygiene students to be competent in many dental hygienic areas. Specifically, employers felt that Rio Salado Dental Hygiene graduates were best prepared in “current infection control and patient safety” as that statement received the highest average (4.80) of all eleven statements.
• Three- fifths of the respondents (60.00%1, N = 3) strongly agreed that the Rio graduates were competently prepared in the following three areas: “communication skills,” “practicing ethics,” and “providing professional services that address the oral health needs of a diverse community.”
• All respondents (100.00%, N = 5) either agreed or strongly agreed that the Dental Hygiene program prepared the Rio graduates to be competent in “exposing and interpreting diagnostic radiographs,” “assessing the health of a patient,” and “properly evaluating and referring patients.”
• Respondents also felt confident in their Rio graduates’ abilities to “practice comprehensive dental hygiene therapy” and practice “as a team member in professional settings” as those statements each received a 4.00 average. Additionally, four-fifths of the respondents (80.00%, N = 4) agreed or strongly agreed that the dental hygiene program competently prepared their Rio graduates to obtain “patient consent and treatment planning” and to involve “the patient in her/her treatment.” When asked about the positive aspects of the training provided by Rio, several respondents commented on the clinical background of the graduates and noted that they graduate ready to work in the field.