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• AS - Dental Hygiene

Department Admin

Dean: Colleen Brickle, Dean of Health Sciences

Dean's Assistant: Linda Willaert

Dept Chair: Debra Sidd

Mission Statement

The mission of the Dental Hygiene Program at Normandale Community College is to prepare dental hygiene students in the provision of comprehensive dental hygiene care, while emphasizing ethics, social responsibility, and lifelong learning.

Normandale Community College offers the Associate in Science (A.S.) degree in Dental Hygiene as a two-year program located within the health sciences division.  The Dental Hygiene coursework requires four semesters to complete and begins each fall semester.  Graduates will be eligible to take the Dental Hygiene National Board Examination and Central Regional Clinical Licensure Examination. Upon successful completion of the National Board Exam and Central Regional Clinical Licensure Exam students will be qualified to take the Minnesota State Board of Dentistry Jurisprudence Examination for Dental Hygiene licensure in the state of Minnesota.

Following graduation and licensure requirements of the State Board of Dentistry, the dental hygienist becomes a primary healthcare professional, oral health educator and clinician who may choose to work in a variety of settings.

Contact Information

To obtain current information about the Health Science Information Sessions, please contact 952-487-8201 or visit our website at www.normandale.edu/visit/, click on Visit Normandale and then click on Health Science Information Sessions.

To make an appointment with the Health Science Admissions Representative Nancy Graves, call 952/487-8261.

Prospective transfer students wanting an initial transcript review may make an initial appointment with a, Health Science Admissions Representative at 952/487-8261

Current or returning NCC students may need to make an appointment with a Normandale Counselor at 952/487-8261.

Admission Process

1. Applicants who are new to Normandale must complete the Normandale general application form, include a $20 application fee and submit both to the Office of Admissions. Checks are made payable to Normandale Community College. Acceptance to the college does NOT imply acceptance to the Dental Hygiene Program. A SEPARATE Normandale Health Sciences Dental Hygiene Program application must be submitted to be considered for acceptance into the Dental Hygiene Program. 

2. When program application requirements are met, submit the completed Dental Hygiene Program Application to the Health Science Enrollment Manager, Betty Blazer, A2506.

3. You must complete the minimum requirements outlined below to be considered as a qualified applicant. The application deadline for the Dental Hygiene program is December 31st of each year and application must be postmarked no later than December 31st. If you completed credits in the fall semester, official transcripts with fall grades must be submitted to the Enrollment Manager, Betty Blazer, by January 15th to complete the application process.

Admission to the dental hygiene program is competitive. All applicants must meet the program application requirements with proven strength in science course work.

All applicants will be notified of their application of their application status for the dental hygiene program via US mail on or before April 30th of each year. Students who are not accepted into the dental hygiene program and have met the application requirements will be placed on an alternate list. Applicants who were not accepted into the program will need to reapply and meet the application requirements for the following year.

General Information

In addition to general fees and books, admitted dental hygiene students purchase uniforms, instruments, clinic supplies, software, and testbooks. Each student is required to purchase dental professional liability insurance which is included in course fees each fall. Spring semester of 2nd year of study students will be required to pay additional fees to take the National Board Exam. Central Regional Clinical Board Exam and State Jurisprudence examination.

Due to the nature of the dental hygiene profession, students will be participating in a learning environment that has the potential of exposure to blood borne pathogens. Students accepted into the program are provided with written policies and instruction on infection control protocol to reduce the risk of disease transmission. The program complies with all institutional, local, state and federal policies. Policies and procedures on the dental hygiene program's infection control protocol are available to applicants upon request. All students must complete the following prior to entry in fall semester of the first year of study and must be maintained throughout enrollment in the program.

Physical examination
Immunizations
Optical examination
Successful Background Study
HIPAA Training
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for the health care provider

Students entering the Dental Hygiene program are expected to meet the Technical Standards for Entry-Level Dental Hygiene Programs. These technical standards are required abilities for effective performance in this MnSCU Dental Hygiene education program. The standards are compatible with the scope of practice as defined by the Minnesota Board of Dentistry., The examples show how a standard may be applied in entry level Dental Hygiene education programs. The examples listed are for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to be a complete list of all tasks performed in a Dental Hygiene program. Reasonable accommodations to meet standards may be available for otherwise program qualified individuals with disabilities. Contact the college Office for Students with Disabilities for information if you need special accommodations.

For more program details see our Frequently Asked Questions section on the Normandale website www.nomandale.edu/academics