Pictured | Alejandra Montoya-Rubalcava | Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene | Syracuse, Indiana (hometown)
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Mission

The mission of the Division of Dental Education Dental Hygiene Program is to be a leader in providing high quality education, clinical experiences, and interprofessional collaborative opportunities to undergraduate students for future roles as oral health professionals.  The program is committed to excellence in the theory and practice of dental hygiene and in the development of competent, socially sensitive, culturally diverse, and ethically responsible professionals.

Program Goals

At the completion of the dental hygiene program students will be able to:

1. Exhibit the highest level of professionalism.
2. Deliver high quality patient care by the use of sound judgment, critical thinking skills, and evidence based decision making.
3. Emphasize the role of the dental hygienist as a patient educator involved in community health engagement activities related to health promotion and disease prevention.

Program Objectives

To be able to fulfill the requirements of a Bachelor Degree in Dental Hygiene and promote the overall program goals, graduates of the Department in Dental Hygiene at IU South Bend will be able to:

1. Apply didactic information through patient care.
2. Demonstrate critical thinking through writing, speaking and listening.
3. Adhere to the ethical, legal and professional codes of conduct expected of the dental hygiene practitioner.
4. Evaluate the different career roles of the dental hygienist.
5. Assess, plan, implement, and evaluate oral health community events that provide solutions to access to care and health education.

Accreditation

The program in dental hygiene is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and has been granted the accreditation status of “approval without reporting requirements”. The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at (312) 440-4653 or at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611. The Commission’s web address is: coda.ada.org/en. 

Professional Licensure and Certification Disclosure

The Dental Hygiene BS Degree curriculum follows the rules of the American Dental Association’s Commission of Dental Accreditation (CODA) in preparing students for a degree in dental hygiene. This degree prepares the graduate to complete professional licensure examinations. Indiana University South Bend Entry-Level Dental Hygiene BS Degree curriculum satisfies the educational requirements for graduates to apply for licensure, as well as local anesthesia certification in the state of Indiana. The School has not made a determination as to the sufficiency of its program to satisfy professional licensing or certification requirements of any other state or jurisdiction. Students should consult the Board of Dental Examiners in their state to confirm if the degree from IU South Bend meets the criteria for professional licensure in their state.

Contact information for the Boards of Dental Examiners can be found at adha.org/licensure

The Student’s Responsibility

All universities establish academic requirements that must be met before a degree is conferred. These regulations concern such things as curricula and courses, the requirements for majors and minors, and university procedures and policies. Each student is individually responsible for fulfilling them. Advisors and faculty are available to advise students on how to meet these requirements. If the requirements have not been satisfied, the degree will be withheld pending satisfactory fulfillment. For this reason, it is important for each student to be knowledgeable of all of the requirements described in the IU South Bend Undergraduate Bulletin and the Program in Dental Hygiene Academic Handbook.

Students are expected to comply with the:

• Academic Regulations and Policies of Indiana University
• Professional Codes of Conduct of the American Dental Hygienists' Association
• Standards of Practice of the American Dental Hygienists' Association
• Components of Professional Behavior of the IUSB Dental Hygiene Program
• Dental Hygiene Program Handbook and Clinic Manual

Dental Hygiene

The IU South Bend campus offers the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene (BSDH), entry level for those new to the field. The Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene degree program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. The Dental Hygiene Program is an agency member of the American Dental Educator’s Association and the American Dental Association.

General Information

Dental Hygiene is the study of the art and science of preventive oral health care including the management of behavior to prevent oral disease and promote health.

The BSDH program strives to offer a creative curriculum for meeting the current and future oral health needs of society. The curriculum prepares a generalist in professional dental hygiene and serves as a basis for graduate study. The purpose of the bachelor’s program is to produce graduates who think critically, are culturally, ethically, and legally competent; are effective, politically aware, communicators and coordinators of community resources; and are competent providers of health care, professional role models, and responsible managers. The curriculum focuses on health and wellness as well as alterations in states of wellness and viewing persons as part of their environments.

Our students are the driving force behind our program and who make coming to work fun for each one of our faculty. IU South Bend Dental Hygiene program becomes family for each of our students. Hygiene school is like no other program. Classmates and faculty are in it together and will work as a team. Students will receive our faculty's undivided expert attention.

Admission Policies

Predental Hygiene Program

Students are admitted as Health Sciences students while they are completing prerequisite courses for the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene. The student services staff of the Vera Z. Dwyer School of Health Sciences provides academic advising for all Dwyer College of Health Sciences students. Students can schedule an appointment with an advisor through the Student Appointment Scheduler (SAS) in One.IU.

After completing all prerequisite coursework, students will apply to the professional program. Enrollment in the professional program is competitive and interested students are encouraged to work with an advisor to assess their eligibility for admission and the competitive nature of the program admissions. 

Professional Program

One cohort of 20 students is admitted into the Dental Hygiene degree program each year to begin the course of study in the fall. Admission criteria is established by the adminstration and faculty of the Division of Dental Education. Applications and application materials are processed using multiple layers of review to ensure a fair and equitable opportunity for all students.

An application for admission to the Dental Hygiene degree program must be completed by February 1 for best consideration. Applications will be accepted after the February 1 deadline. Late applications will be reviewed after consideration of all applications meeting the February 1 due date. Matriculation of late applicants to the program will be decided pending available cohort positions. 

Each applicant is evaluated on the basis of academic preparation and record. In the competitive process, applicants are scored and ranked based on the following: 

• Application GPA
• Science GPA
• Application Module Completion
• Completion of an on-campus non-traditional interview
• Completion of General Education Coursework
• Note | GPA scores will be calculated by averaging all attempts of required coursework, including equivalent courses 

Criteria for Admission Eligibility

Students must

• Have an active offer of admission to IU South Bend the year of application. IU South Bend campus applications must be submitted to the IU South Bend Office of Admissions.
• Submit required dental hygiene application materials to the Dental Hygiene degree program prior to February 1.
• Complete all prerequisite courses or their equivalent, by the end of spring semester, with a grade of C or higher in each course, unless otherwise specified.
• Provide documentation from the dental offic of the completion of four hours of shadowing a dental hygienist.
• Complete four hours of shadowing a dental hygienist

Prerequisite Courses

All School of Applied Health Science clinical programs will accept courses counting toward the degree outside of the seven year time frame, except for required sciences. Program Directors may allow exemptions to students whose sciences have been completed over 7 years ago. Exemptions include, but are not limited to, work experience, prior license, and certifications and will be examined on a case-by-case basis.

• ENG-W 131
• PSY-P 103
• SOC-S 161
• SPCH-S 121
• CHEM-C102
• ANAT-A 210 or ANAT-P 261
• PHSL-P 130, PHSL-P 204, or PHSL-P 262

Standards for Admission

Admission to the BSDH Entry-level Dental Hygiene Program is open to qualified individuals and complies with all applicable state and federal non-discrimination laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Indiana Civil Rights Law. Indiana University South Bend Division of Dental Education will consider applicants who have met the minimal eligibility requirements for the program.

To be eligible for admission a student must minimally:

• Have an active offer of admission the year of application to the program to at Indiana University South Bend
• Minimum 2.0 GPA
• Demonstrate the defined essential abilities with or without reasonable accommodations
• Comply with all policies and procedures of the program, college, campus, and/or university, including compliant background check with IU Policy PS-01
• Provide proof of medical insurance
• Never been dismissed from previous health care program and/or have negative action on a certificate or licensure
• Completed the appropriate application process
• Completed all prerequisite courses by the end of spring semester the year of beginning the program
• Attend orientation event(s)

Academic Regulations

Students are expected to comply with the:

• Academic regulations and policies of Indiana University, Professional Codes of Conduct of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, Components of Professional Behavior of the IU South Bend Dental Hygiene degree program, the Vera Z. Dwyer School of Health Sciences Student Policy and Procedures Manual, and the Standards of Practice of the American Dental Hygienists' Association.
• Students admitted to the Dental Hygiene degree program should consult the program handbook and the clinic manual for updates and additional policies governing academic policies, procedures, and academic standing.

Background Check Considerations

According to Indiana University Policy PS-01 Programs Involving Children, all university academic appointees, staff, students, university volunteers, or other individuals who will work with children must have a criminal background check, which includes a sex offender registry check. Vera Z Dwyer School of Health Science Policy AS-07 Criminal Background Check Policy outlines additional requirements related to background checks of clinical students. The policy minimally requires two components: a background check at admission to the program that is compliant with Indiana University Policy PS-01 and an annual school Requirement to Disclose form.

Licensure Considerations for Criminal History

Admission to the IU South Bend Dental Hygiene Program and completion of the degree requirements does not guarantee licensure if you have a past criminal history. It is up to the student to determine if they would like to continue the degree knowing their situation.

Indiana Code 25-1-1.1-1 explains that a license may be denied, revoked, or suspended because an individual has been convicted of an offense. If you need to respond “yes” to being convicted of a crime you must submit with your licensure application a notarized affidavit of the incident (such as the date, where it occurred, what happened, the charge and the outcome of the incident) and any court documents. Based upon your response, you may be required to make a personal appearance before the Board. Please note that an appearance before the Board may delay your license or approval for a license.

Students with a past criminal history are recommended to contact the Board of Dentistry to discuss their situation to be proactive and to prevent any surprises. The program is three years of intensive study and time commitment. It is recommended that students work to gather the required requested documentation as soon as possible to make life easier after graduation.

Academic Policies

• Students must earn a grade of C or better in all required courses for the degree, including general education courses, and maintain a semester and overall GPA of at least 2.0. 
• Students must follow the Dental Hygiene course sequence as outlined in the IU South Bend Degree Map for the BSDH. Failure to follow the sequence can result in delayed/denied admission to the next course sequence, including out of clinical progression status.
• If a student does not successfully complete one of the DHYG specific program courses with a grade of C or better, the student will not be eligible to continue in the clinical practice course sequence and their status will be changed to out-of-progression. Out-of-progression status will result in program dismissal until the student is approved for reinstatement. Out-of-progression students must follow the policies and procedures regarding reinstatement in order to complete the program. Out-of-progression students will work with the Dental Hygiene Program Director to develop an individualized plan for success. 
• A student will be dismissed from the program if any two clinical, didactic, radiology courses or a combination of these courses are not completed with a grade of C or better. Withdrawing from a critical course is considered an unsuccessful completion of a course attempt. There are no options for reinstatement once dismissed due to multiple course failures.

Requirements for Good Standing

To be in good standing for the program, a student must continue to meet the standards for admission and the following:

• A passing grade for each course in which the student was enrolled, with at least a cumulative 2.0 grade point average, a semester GPA of 2.0, and no grade lower than a C (2.0).
• Demonstration of acceptable progress, in the judgment of the faculty, towards the requirements for the degree.
• Demonstrate professional development.
• Demonstration of acceptable retention and translation of previously demonstrated skills, competencies, and knowledge of concepts.
• Demonstration of safe practice including all aspects of the dental hygiene process of care and infection control.
• Meet minimum standards for all related policies including IU Policy PS-01.
• Acceptable ethical and professional behavior.

Failure to Demonstrate Professional Development

Multiple incidents unsafe practice, academic misconduct and/or unprofessional behavior by a student will constitute a pattern of unprofessionalism and indicate a student’s failure to demonstrate professional growth and, therefore, could be grounds for suspension or dismissal from the entry-level clinical dental hygiene program. When deciding whether to promote to the next semester or graduate a student with a history of unprofessionalism or lack of professional development, the Director, Admission, Progression, Graduation Committee and/or School of Applied Health Council (whichever is appropriate for the situation) must discuss the student’s professional growth. The appropriate committee can make a recommendation for suspension from the program, suspension in clinical progress, or dismissal based upon a student’s failure to demonstrate professional growth as documented by Notifications of Opportunities for Improvement, Success Plans, faculty and staff feedback, and/or multiple low clinical grades in professionalism.

Requirements for the Degree

The appropriate degree is conferred by Indiana University upon candidates who have successfully completed the following requirements:

• Complied with the policies, procedures, rules, and regulations of the Division of Dental Education, Vera Z. Dwyer School of Health Science, IU South Bend, and Indiana University South Bend
• Completed all required coursework and/or received documented approval for exemption or prior learning credit as appropriate, including:

• IU South Bend Campuswide General Education
• Biomedical sciences
• Social Sciences
• Major requirements (professional program requirements)
• Completed a minimum 120 semester credits
• A minimum 30 credit hours at the 300–or 400–level
• Earned a passing grade of C in all coursework
• Earned a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA
• Successfully completed all course, laboratory, and clinical requirements
• Demonstrated minimum levels of evidence for all competencies as stated
• Completed all program portfolio assignments and requirements
• Returned all assigned equipment and supplies
• Discharged all financial obligations to the university
• Behavior and ethics consistent with acceptable professional standards
• Been recommended by the faculty of the Division of Dental Education for the degree due to meeting all stated program outcomes.

Clinical Promotion  

Critical courses listed below may only be repeated once, including withdrawing from a course. Students are permitted to fail or withdraw from no more than two critical courses. Exceeding this limit will lead to the student's dismissal from the program (i.e. failure and/or withdrawal from the same course counts as two attempts and failure and/or withdrawal from separate courses counts are two attempts). In addition to the policy and procedure outlined in the college and school level policies, students enrolled in the dental hygiene program who earned a grade of less than a C or withdrew from a course with the prefix DHYG or DAE must complete the course successfully by the second attempt. After the second unsuccessful attempt students will be permanently dismissed from the dental hygiene program.

In addition to the general academic policies, students must meet the following requirements to be promoted through the clinical course sequences:

Student will be promoted to the DHYG-H 218 Fundamentals of Dental Hygiene preclinical course upon the successful completion of:

• CPR Certification no sooner than June 15
• DHYG-H 214 Oral Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology
• DHYG-H 321 Periodontics
• HSC-W 314
• MICR-M 250 Microbial Cell Biology (C– or higher); OR
  an equivalent microbiology course (C or higher)

Students will be promoted to the DHYG-H 219 Clinical Practice 1 upon successful completion of:

• DHYG-H 205 Medical and Dental Emergencies (1-2 cr.)
• DHYG-H 211 Head and Neck Anatomy (1-3 cr.)
• DHYG-H 217 Preventive Dentistry (1-3 cr.)
• DHYG-H 218 Fundamentals of Dental Hygiene 
• DHYG-H 303 Radiology
• DHYG-H 308 Dental Materials (1-3 cr.)

Students will be promoted to DHYG-H 301 Clinical Practice 2 upon successful completion of:

• DHYG-H 215 Pharmacology and Therapeutics–First Year
• DHYG-H 219 Clinical Practice 1
• DHYG-H 221 Clinical Dental Hygiene Procedures
• DHYG-H 304 Oral Pathology-2nd Year (1-3 cr.)

Students will be promoted to DHYG-H 302 Clinical Practice III upon successful completion of:

• DHYG-H 301 Clinical Practice II

Students will be promoted to DHYG-H 420 Advanced Clinical Procedures upon successful completion of:

• DHYG-H 250 Local Anesthesia and Pain Control
• DHYG-H 302 Clinical Practice 3
• DHYG-H 333 Management of the Special Needs Patient

Academic Dismissal from teh BSDH Entry-Level Program

Academic dismissal from the program is a function of the Dental Hygiene Program faculty in consultation with the appropriate administrators with regards to due process and legality. Students will be invited to meet with the Program Director to respond to a motion for their dismissal prior to action.

Dismissal may be recommended for any of the following reasons (although not limited to):

• Failure to comply with the policy on attendance.
• A failing grade in any required course in which the student is enrolled.
• Failing a critical course resulting in out of progression status that does not provide a part- time option for enrollment.
• Earning a semester grade point average below 2.0.
• Academic misconduct and /or lack of acceptable professional behavior and ethics.
• Lack of acceptable progress, in the judgment of the faculty and promotions committee, toward the requirements for the degree.
• Failure to demonstrate professional growth.

Withdrawal and Course Drop from the Dental Hygiene Program

Students who withdraw from the Dental Hygiene degree program and/or course once admitted into the clinical program can apply for reinstatement. Students who withdraw a second time are not readmitted or eligible for reinstatement. Students who are administratively withdrawn from the program are not eligible for reinstatement.

The student will be reinstated based on academic standing, potential for progress toward the degree, availability of resources to take on the additional student, and satisfactory completion of any conditions and/or faculty recommendations existing at the time of dismissal. Reinstatement depends on if there is the availability of at the time of clinical reentry.

Reinstatement to resume progression is dependent on space availability. In the event, multiple students are contenders for limited openings in the program, student overall GPA, program GPA, and programmatic success indicators will determine open position fulfillment. Program documentation and student submitted materials will be used to determine the reinstatement decision. Programmatic success indicators are the identified skills and abilities that relate to the essential abilities outlined for each program. If denied reinstatement the student may appeal according to the procedures outlined in the School of Applied Health Sciences Appeal Policy.

Attendance Policy

Due to the nature of courses, attendance and punctuality is mandatory. Students are expected to attend all lectures, discussion, lab, clinic, and other course or program related sessions, including IPE. Tardiness and absenteeism may result in dismissal from the program due to the need to meet minimum clock hours as established by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.