Per the Lone Star College-Kingwood Dental Hygiene program manual:

In order to graduate from the Lone Star College-Kingwood Dental Hygiene program, a
student must be competent in the following areas: explanation of each area is found in
italics and is indented.

1. Providing comprehensive dental hygiene care for the child, adolescent, adult,
geriatric, and special needs patient.

This competency is divided into 4 distinct areas, assessment, planning, implementation &
evaluation.
Assessment:

 Obtain, review and/or update and interpret an accurate medical history and vital
signs.
 Perform an extraoral/intraoral examination accurately noting both normal and
abnormal conditions present.
 Evaluate the periodontium and identify conditions that compromise periodontal
health and function and accurately records the results.
 Evaluate the dental history completing dental charting of existing conditions and
current oral hygiene habits.
 Identify the need for radiographs, obtain diagnostically correct radiographs and
distinguish normal from abnormal anatomical findings on the radiographs and
accurately records the results.
 Complete risk assessments including oral cancer, caries & periodontal disease.
Planning:

 Analyze and interpret data to formulate a dental hygiene treatment need related
to and congruent with the diagnosis of the dentist and other health professionals.
 Determine goals and establish expected outcomes related to the needs and desires
of the patient and the dental hygiene treatment need.
 Design a care plan with a sequence of educational, preventive and therapeutic
services and based on the dental hygiene treatment need.
 Obtain consultations and make referrals as appropriate and to the appropriate
professionals.
Implementation:

 Provide comprehensive dental hygiene care by applying basic and advanced

principles of dental hygiene.
 Educate patients to prevent and control risk factors that contribute to caries,
periodontal disease and other oral conditions.
 Utilize accepted infection control procedures.
  Apply basic and advanced principles of dental hygiene instrumentation to remove
deposits without trauma to hard or soft tissue.
 Control pain and anxiety through the use of accepted pharmacological and
behavioral techniques.

 Provide adjunct Dental Hygiene Services that can be legally performed in the
State of Texas.
Evaluation:

 Evaluate the outcomes of dental hygiene interventions using indices, instruments,

examination techniques, and patient self-report as specified in the patient goals.
 Compare actual outcomes to expected outcomes, reevaluating goals, diagnoses
and services when expected outcomes are not achieved.
 Evaluate a patient’s satisfaction with the oral health care received and the oral
health status achieved.

2. Providing dental hygiene care for all types of classifications of periodontal disease
including patients who exhibit moderate to severe periodontal disease.

 Recognize that periodontally involved patients have different and often more
complex oral healthcare needs.
 Determine a dental hygiene treatment need based on a full assessment of the oral
cavity.
o Plan effective dental hygiene care for the periodontally involved patient.
o Evaluate patient outcomes utilizing indices and make appropriate
referrals.

3. Effectively communicating and interacting with diverse population groups.

 Identify that different populations have different needs and perspectives of

needs.
 Communicate with a patient at that patient’s level of understanding,
tailoring instruction specifically to that patient’s needs.

 Respect cultural diversity, in a variety of settings using appropriate teaching

strategies.
 Effectively provide dental hygiene services in multiple settings.
4. Assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating community based oral health
programs including health promotion and disease prevention activities.

 Appreciate the evolving needs of all segments of society by conducting an

assessment of oral health needs, risk and available resources for a specific
population.
 Evaluate a population assessment, then plan and implement a dental health
promotion program appropriate for that population.
 Present educational information to diverse client populations, in a variety of
settings using appropriate teaching strategies.
 Evaluate an oral health education program and make recommendations for
revision.
 Utilize screening, education and referral to introduce consumers to the health
care system.

5. Providing appropriate life support measures for medical emergencies that may be
encountered in dental hygiene practice.

 Identify patients at risk for a medical emergency and assure that the
appropriate precautions are taken to minimize those risks.

 Manage medical emergencies in the dental environment.

6. Applying ethical, legal and regulatory concepts to the provision and/or support of
oral health care services.

 Demonstrate high standards of ethical and professional behavior reflected in the

delivery of dental hygiene care.
 Be knowledgeable of and adhere to state and federal laws concerning the practice
and delivery of dental hygiene care.
 Demonstrate sound professional judgment in all areas of dental hygiene care.
 Communicate effectively using verbal, non-verbal & written communication skills.

7. Applying self-assessment skills in preparation for life-long learning.

  Perform daily clinical feedback about the clinic/preclinic session including the
experience as well as any things that you, the student would do differently for a
more successful session.

8. Assessing, evaluating and applying current scientific literature to patient/client

care.

 Apply knowledge of research design and methodology to review research.

 Critically evaluate scientific literature to determine its usefulness to dental
hygiene practice and patient care.

 Utilize evidence based decision making for patient treatment need and care
planning.

9. Problem solving strategies related to comprehensive patient care and management

of patients.

 Identify factors useful in the motivation of patients/clients for

health promotion, disease prevention and/or health maintenance.
 Appreciate cultural diversity in patient care.
 Recognize and modify treatment for the special needs patient.