DHYG 2130 Syllabus

Subject Code

DHYG

Course Number

2130

Course Title

Clinical Dental Hygiene IV

Prerequisites

DHYG 2080 with a grade of C or higher, DHYG 2090 with a grade of C or higher

Corequisites

DHYG 2140

Terms Offered

Offered Spring

Credit Hours

(2-0-2)

Course Description

This course focuses on the dental hygiene field and presents the fundamental concepts and principles necessary for successful participation in the dental profession. Topics include employability skills, State of Georgia Dental Practice Act, office management, expanded duties, legal aspects, ethics, dental hygiene practice settings, and dentistry and dental hygiene regulation.

Course Outcomes

  1. Patient Case Presentations

Students should be able to:

  • Incorporate information to develop a treatment plan for patients with any given “special need”, including any information given in DHYG 2080.
  • Evaluate and document patient risk based on information given about medical conditions, vital signs, medications.
  • Develop treatment plans and answer questions for case based patients incorporating the information about their medical conditions, dental history, vital signs, chief complaint, medications, and any other pertinent information given including photographs, radiographs, dental and periodontal charting.

 

 

  1.  Employability skills, Mission Statement, Seeking employment, Resumes and cover letters.

The students should be able to:

  • Articulate their personal mission statement
  • Describe job search strategies, including a list of sources and a prioritized list of job selection criteria.
  • Write an employment resume and cover letter
  • Describe employment alternatives to clinical dental hygiene
  • describe dental hygiene expanded duties and philosophy in the US and other countries.
  • Describe technological changes and economic and political forces affecting dentistry in today’s society
  • Discuss personnel management skills and office communication.
  • Describe various types of dental health care providers.

 

  1. Ethics, Legal and Ethical decision making.

 The students should be able to:

  • Describe key ethical principles and philosophies affecting healthcare
  • Identify responsibilities and themes in a Code of Ethics for dental hygienists
  • Discuss and resolve ethical dilemmas encountered in practice
  • Describe the components of the American Dental Hygienists/ Association Code of Ethics.
  • Describe ethical behavior in dentistry.

  1. Legal risk management, Tort

The students should be able to:

  • Describe the legal concepts and theories that apply to dental hygiene practice
  • Define legal concepts and issues affecting the various roles of the dental hygienist
  • Reduce legal risks and liabilities associated with dental hygiene practice
  • Identify legal issues relevant to the RDH/DDS and RDH/patient relationship
  • Apply the concepts of risk management in the dental practice setting.
  • Describe the legal relationship between a health care provider and patients and other personnel.
  • Describe legal conditions relating to dentistry including malpractice, technical battery, negligence, contractual agreement, and civil and criminal law.

 

  1. Successful interviews, Employment opportunities and contracts, Compensation packages, Terms of employment, Methods of compensation, Personal financial management.

 The student will be able to:

  • Outline a sample job interview, including sample questions the candidate may receive with appropriate responses.
  • Participate in a mock interview experience.
  • Compare and contrast the methods of remuneration, including elements of risk and security and range in value for each.
  • Create an employment compensation package, including method of compensation and fringe benefits, with total annual income value.
  • Design an employment contract, including elements of setting, job description, compensation, terms of employment, performance evaluation, and termination procedures.
  • Evaluate job performance, including expectations and techniques necessary for changing performance.
  • Develop a plan for personal financial management, including an annual budget, adequate insurance coverage, investment goals, and a retirement plan.
  • List the special tax deductions allowable to dental hygienists and the documentation necessary to support them
  • Participate in a mock interview exercise
  • Develop a career plan that ranges from 1 to 5 years after graduation

 

  1. State of Georgia Dental Practice Act
  • Describe licensure, certification, registration, and institutional licensure as they relate to dentistry
  • Discuss the Dental Practice Act
  • Discuss expanded duties.
  • Locate and list the most current resources where a dental professional would find information about Rules and Regulations governing the practice of dental hygiene in the state of Georgia.

 

  1. Dental hygiene practice settings
  • Describe alternative practice settings
  • Describe dental practice benefits.

 

  1. Dentistry and Dental hygiene regulation
  • Describe the role of credentialing and educational standards in health care provider regulation.
  • Describe the role of accreditation in dentistry.

 

  1. Professional development/ Clinical procedures

The student should be able to:

  • Outline a personal plan for career development in the profession of dental hygiene
  • Define the terms of dental hygiene employment and give examples of how they can be combined to fully describe the nature of an employment arrangement
  • Explain why stress and burnout are common among dental hygienists and list stress management techniques.
  • Explain the value of professional affiliations
  • Discuss, demonstrate, and perform the responsibilities of the clinical/radiology assistant and the clinical receptionist.
  • Clinical/Radiology Assistant
    • Assist students preparing for patient seating
    • Monitor clinic to determine need for various patient-care delivery items
    • Monitor and perform scheduled CA/RA duties
    • Sterilize and disinfect clinical items
    • Inventory clinical items and restock as needed
    • Launder lab coats at the end of each clinical session
    • Process and place digital radiographs
      • Clinical Receptionist
        • Prepare reception area for patient arrival
        • Greet and document patient arrival
        • Assist receptionist with patient scheduling
        • Assist receptionist with collection of fees, preparation of receipts, and tallying of daily clinical production
        • Assist in preparing patient records and filing
        • Use computer software program for patient management

 

  • Clinical Responsibilities
    • Maintain asepsis for dental operatory
    • Demonstrate professionalism in working with peers, staff, faculty, and patients
    • Discuss and demonstrate proper clinical procedures for clinician and patient; complete all clinical requirements.
    • Maintain meticulous and detailed records of patients seen, and patient and auxiliary requirements. These records should include number of patient types, degrees of difficulty and medically compromised patient tallies.
    • Review, discuss, and demonstrate emergency and infection control policy including sharps sticks and handling hazardous materials protocols as determined by the CDC and OSHA in the clinical setting.
    • Refine skills in all areas relating to patient care. Incorporate adjunctive treatment into the dental hygiene care plan according to individual patient need.

 

  1. Quality Assurance

The student will be able to:

  • Describe current quality assurance practices in dentistry
  • Discuss various quality assurance mechanisms
  • Evaluate the suitability of the dental hygienist as the quality assurance manager

 

  1. Georgia Board of Dentistry Rules and Regulations

The student will be able to:

  • Describe the role of the State Board of Dentistry in enforcing the Dental Practice Act
  • Interpret and discuss from memory the Dental Laws of the State of Georgia
  • Prepare for the State of Georgia Dental Laws Jurisprudence Exam

 

Course    Competencies:

ü  Patient Case Evaluation

ü  Resumes

ü  Cover Letters

ü  Ethics

ü  Risk Management

ü  Interviews

ü  Quality Assurance

ü  Georgia Board of Dentistry Rules and Regulations

ü  Professionalism

  

Core Competencies:

C.1  Apply a professional code of ethics in all endeavors.

C.3  Provide dental hygiene care to promote patient/client health and wellness using critical thinking and problem solving in the provision of evidence-based practice.

C.9  Provide accurate, consistent, and complete documentation for assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation of dental hygiene services.

C.10  Provide care to all clients using an individualized approach that is humane, empathetic, and caring.

HP.2  Respect the goals, values, beliefs, and preferences of the patient or client while promoting optimal oral and general health.

HP.5  Evaluate factors that can be used to promote patient or client adherence to disease prevention or health maintenance strategies.

PC.1  Systematically collect, analyze, and record data on the general, oral, and psychosocial health status of a variety of patients or clients using methods consistent with medicolegal principles.

PC.2  Use critical decision-making skills to reach conclusions about the patient’s or client’s dental hygiene needs based on all available assessment data.

PC.3  Collaborate with the patient or client or other health professionals to formulate a comprehensive dental hygiene care plan that is patient-centered or client-centered and based on current scientific evidence.

PC.4  Provide specialized treatment that includes preventive and therapeutic services designed to achieve and maintain oral health.  Assist in achieving oral health goals formulated in collaboration with the patient/client.

PC.5  Evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented clinical, preventive, and educational services, and modify as needed.