Dental hygienists remove hardened food particles from teeth and instruct patients on how to care for their teeth and gums. Students are introduced to dental hygiene through a combination of textbook instruction and hands-on training in a variety of courses. The components of human teeth, as well as how to clean them, are covered in hygiene classes. Students are also taught how to protect themselves from disease transmission and how to take oral radiographs in class.
A clinical periodontics course is one of the most popular dental hygiene courses. Students in this type of course learn about the symptoms of periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, and how bacteria causes inflammation of the gum tissues as well as bone resorption in periodontal patients. Pupils also learn how to recognize various oral pathological issues and how to clean a patient’s teeth properly with various scaling and root-planing instruments.
Oral anatomy and tooth morphology are also covered in dental hygiene classes. Students learn that each tooth has five surfaces and that these surfaces can change over time due to a variety of factors. Oral anatomy dental hygiene courses cover information about the various parts of a tooth, such as the crown and root, for example.
In addition, while in dental hygiene training programs, students go over infection control requirements extensively. They practice using personal protective equipment like masks, goggles, and gloves, as well as learning about the different ways diseases can spread in the dental office. Dental hygiene students also go over how to sterilize instruments and disinfect chairs and other equipment that is used by multiple patients. These types of dental hygiene courses must include information on common dental office diseases such as the hepatitis B virus.
Another academic requirement for dental hygiene students is the completion of a radiology course. Radiology dental hygiene courses teach students how to use various instruments to take dental radiographs of patients’ entire mouths. Students learn how an x-ray tubehead works and how to take proper safety precautions when taking radiographs of patients. For example, they go over the importance of a patient wearing a lead apron to protect themselves from unnecessary ionizing radiation, and they practice taking radiographs while standing behind a lead barrier.