Program Overview

Introduction to the Dental Hygiene Bachelor Completion Program

The periodontics department offers a tailored Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene Completion program to licensed dental hygienists interested in elevating their education. This program is designed to advance the careers of dental hygienists, providing them with a wide range of opportunities, including dental management, teaching, marketing, sales, and research.

Program Learning Objectives

The program has the following learning objectives:

• Apply critical reasoning by solving problems and making decisions based on accepted evidence-based principles utilizing scientific literature for dental hygiene decision-making.
• Communicate professional knowledge verbally and in writing to patients, colleagues, and other professionals.
• Commit to self-assessment and life-long learning to impact health promotion and disease prevention for the populations we serve.

Program Outcomes

The program outcomes are guided by three primary objectives:

• Outcome 1: Critical Thinking to demonstrate proficiency in observation, analysis, and inference when problem-solving.
• Outcome 2: Communication to demonstrate competence in self-awareness, adaptability, empathy, and cognitive complexity when using verbal, written, or non-verbal communication through the delivery of multimodal methodologies that meet the needs of diverse populations.
• Outcome 3: Life-long learning to obtain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes relevant to ensuring the workforce has the required skills and talent to ensure the health and safety of the patients and communities we serve.

Academic Path

The academic path that students will follow during the course of this program includes courses in advanced periodontics, oral pathology, and clinical teaching. A sample study plan for the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene Completion program shows the normal semesters in which courses are scheduled to be taught.

Sample Plan of Study

A sample plan of study for the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene Completion program is available, outlining the typical course schedule for students.

University Overview

The University of Texas at San Antonio, through its Health Science Center, offers this program as part of its academic health center, which includes schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, health professions, graduate biomedical sciences, and public health. The clinical enterprise, UT Health San Antonio, conducts 2.5 million patient visits yearly, making it a comprehensive institution for healthcare education and practice.