The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, offers a Bachelor of Science Degree
in Dental Hygiene. This program is fully accredited by the American Dental Association's
Commission on Dental Accreditation.
The UT dental hygiene program prepares students through didactic, laboratory, and
clinical experiences to work as licensed dental hygienists.
The UTHSC dental hygiene program is a 2 + 2 program:
*During the second year of the dental hygiene program, students are required to participate
in at least one week of a clinical rotation at a UTHSC facility in Union City. Housing
accommodations are provided as part of the rotation.
Curriculum
The patients treated by dental hygiene students in the dental hygiene clinics are
usually registered patients of the College of Dentistry who are receiving limited
or comprehensive dental care through the under-graduate and graduate dental education
programs. Most of our patients are recruited from the city of Memphis and the surrounding
tri-state area which has a population of well over one million.
The program maintains the College of Dentistry’s primary patient recall system and
provides regular ongoing preventative maintenance care in the dental hygiene clinic
to a patient base of over 2,700 individuals. In addition to the dental hygiene clinic,
students have scheduled clinical rotations to provide preventative services to patients
seen in dental specialty clinics. Approximately 60% of all student dental hygiene
clinical experiences are provided in UTHSC clinics.
- The dental hygiene program will ensure graduates are able to provide appropriate planned
education services through organized community efforts to promote health and disease.
- The dental hygiene program will produce professional oral healthcare providers who
competently deliver preventive, therapeutic, and educational oral health services
in accordance with the ADHA Code of Ethics.
- The dental hygiene program will provide graduates with the knowledge, values, and
skills to use evidence-based decision making to provide comprehensive oral healthcare
that will promote and achieve oral health.
- The dental hygiene program will inspire graduates to enhance their practice of dental
hygiene through professional activities and continuing education.
The campus is part of the largest health science center in the Mid-South, providing
great potential for access to diverse population groups. Formal agreements have been
reached between the university and several local clinics for student clinical rotations
outside the program’s primary on campus teaching clinic. Specific learning objectives
and experiences have been identified for such rotations.
