Dental Hygiene student with patient

Dental Hygiene

PROGRAM

What you’ll earn

Lane’s Dental Hygiene program will prepare you for state licensure throughout the United States and for a rewarding career in a high demand field.

Associate Degree

After you complete prerequisite classes and get accepted into the Lane’s Dental Hygiene program, you learn the training and skills to be ready for employment in a wide-variety of dental care settings, incorporating lecture with hands-on lab and clinical experiences, as well as preparation for national and state board exams.

2 years Full-time
$50,097 Full program

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

  • Infection Control and Safety
  • Dental Anatomy and Histology
  • Oral Biology, Roentgenology and Oral Pathology
  • Pharmacology and Local Anesthesia
  • Periodontology
  • Community Dental Health
  • Restorative Functions
  • Expanded Practice Functions

AFTER LANE

Graduates will receive an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Dental Hygiene. Graduation from this two-year program makes you eligible for state licensure throughout the United States, which is required in order to practice dental hygiene. Students begin taking national board examinations while enrolled in the second year of the Dental Hygiene program.

Lane has an articulation agreement with Oregon Institute of Technology, providing program graduates the opportunity to continue on to earn a bachelors of science degree in Dental Hygiene. Prerequisite coursework for this degree can be taken while completing general education requirements at Lane. If you’re interested in transferring, you should check the Oregon Institute of Technology’s Dental Hygiene Program for current transfer requirements, and work with your advisor to develop a transfer plan.

Lane’s Dental Hygiene program is fully accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and has been granted an accreditation status of "approval without reporting requirements".

What You'll Learn:

The first year of the program includes 6-14 hours per week of lab, pre-clinical and clinical instruction. The second year of the program includes 17-22 hours per week of clinical instruction. First year is listed above.

In your second year of the program, you’ll begin clinical courses and learn how to: 

  • Conduct initial dental assessment exams
  • Thoroughly review patient health history, contraindications for care and other health concerns
  • Conduct intra/extraoral exam, periodontal evaluation and develop treatment plans for patient dental needs
  • Remove plaque and tartar from teeth with hand and ultrasonic instrumentation techniques
  • Apply fluoride and sealants to prevent dental decay
  • Treat gingivitis and periodontitis and provide instructions for perio-maintenance
  • Classify periodontal disease and administer sonic and hand scaling techniques
  • Utilize diagnostic and panoramic x-rays and digital imaging
  • Take dental impressions
  • Assist dentists with restorative procedures like placement of fillings, local anesthetics and dental care techniques
  • Directly administer local anesthetics/nitrous oxide to patients and implement periodontal procedures, using Non-Surgical Periodontal Treatment strategies
  • Electronically document treatment plans and care performed on patients
  • Educate patients on proper brushing and flossing
  • Provide nutritional counseling for patients experiencing high-risk decay rates
  • Learn prevention of blood-borne diseases, and application of OSHA standards in the dental environment
  • Learn and practice Dental Hygiene Expanded Practice functions under Oregon state law
  • Develop skills in interpersonal communication and collaboration to effectively interact with diverse populations and age groups, health care providers, dental professionals and community groups
  • Apply principles of ethical reasoning, decision making, and professional responsibility
  • Learn restorative dentistry skills while providing dental fillings to children and adults in preparation for employment in busy dental practices

Experiential learning is an important aspect of the Dental Hygiene program. As a student, you’ll be able to participate in off-campus experiences with community clinics, school-based screenings, presentations for health fairs, treatment of specialty populations at distance clinical sites, and inter-professional collaboration and visitations to local specialty and general dentistry offices/clinics.

Dental Hygiene student in clinic with patient

State of the art facilities

As a Dental Hygiene student, you’ll use state-of-the-art dental equipment in our brand-new dental lab on Lane’s main campus, and gain experience and confidence at the college Dental Clinic on Willamette Street in Eugene. Some of the equipment you’ll use includes:

  • Ultrasonic and sonic instruments for periodontal care
  • Intraoral camera for visual documentation and teledentistry communication with community dental clinics
  • Eaglesoft electronic patient records management system; utilizing electronic record documentation to facilitate distance communication with dentists
  • Intraoral polishing with Prophy Jet equipment
  • Portable dentistry units to provide dental services to underserved populations.

Additional Information

Notice to students and prospective students:

This program and career includes exposure to bloodborne pathogens and infectious diseases. Training is included to protect both students and patients.

Faculty Spotlights

Dental Hygiene courses are limited to a maximum of 20 students. Your clinical lab courses will have a ratio of just one teacher to five students, to ensure you receive individual attention while developing your clinical skills. Dental Hygiene instructors get to know you, and they provide you with the personal attention required for mastering the clinical skills and helping you finish the program successfully. Our faculty have extensive clinical and teaching experience, and they bring those experiences to the classroom. Throughout your experience at Lane, you’ll never take a class with more than 40 students, and your class will always be taught by an instructor, not a grad student.

Michelle Cummins

Program Coordinator/Faculty Member

Cris Houser

Faculty Member

Jill Jones

Faculty Member

Ready to learn more?

Student working with an instructor

Talk one-on-one with a recruiter to learn more about what Lane has to offer you.

Building 1, Room 102
Lane Community College
4000 E. 30th Avenue
Eugene, OR 97405
M-W, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Th, 10:00 a.m. - 5 p.m.
F, 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.