Academic Catalog

D H 304: PRE-CLINICAL DENTAL HYGIENE

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2026
Units: 4
Hours: 1 lecture, 9 laboratory per week (120 total per quarter)
Advisory: Not open to students with credit in D H 54.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Non-GE
Transferable: CSU
Grade Type: Letter Grade Only
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Demonstrate proficiency in dental hygiene assessment procedures on a student partner--including review of health and dental history, vital signs, extraoral and intraoral examinations, periodontal and caries assessments, and occlusion classification--by achieving a minimum score of 75%.
  • Identify various dental hygiene assessment instruments, describe their proper use, and demonstrate correct adaptation and technique with explorers and periodontal probes, achieving a minimum proficiency score of 75%.

Description

This is the first course in the clinical series in the dental hygiene program. Students will begin to apply scientific principles in a clinical context with hands-on experience in the dental hygiene clinic. Students will acquire and refine clinical skills in patient assessment procedures, including disease transmission prevention, health history documentation, extra- and intraoral examinations, gingival evaluations, periodontal assessments, and caries detection. These techniques will be practiced in the pre-clinical setting, utilizing typodonts and peer classmates to ensure hands-on learning and skill development. Clinical performance, focused on the demonstration of skill acquisition and competency with assessment procedures, will be evaluated in the pre-clinic setting. Intended for students in the Dental Hygiene Baccalaureate Degree Program; enrollment is limited to students accepted in the program.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate appropriate infection control procedures for the dental setting, including prevention of cross contamination, disinfection of the operatory, and sterilization of instruments.
  2. Determine conditions that require special appointment planning, antibiotic premedication, medical consultation, and/or physician referral.
  3. Demonstrate the correct technique for taking and recording vital signs on a patient, including blood pressure, pulse, and respiration.
  4. Perform an extra- intraoral examination and identify conditions needing further investigation.
  5. Use appropriate terminology and descriptions in patient chart documentation.
  6. Evaluate the health of the gingiva according to its color, contour, consistency, and surface texture.
  7. Perform a comprehensive periodontal exam including probing, bleeding upon probing, recession, furcations, and mucogingival involvement.
  8. Demonstrate correct patient/operator positioning during instrumentation.
  9. Demonstrate proper use of the mouth mirror, probe, and explorer.
  10. Accurately record assessment data in a patient's chart according to clinic protocol, using appropriate dental terminology when communicating through oral and written means to faculty.
  11. Apply ethical and legal principles involved when performing dental hygiene assessment procedures.

Course Content

  1. Infection control and preparation for patient care
    1. Operation and maintenance of the dental unit
    2. Unit set up and disinfection
    3. Engineering and work practice controls
    4. Personal protective equipment
    5. Instrument processing
    6. Exposure control
    7. Disposal of waste and sharps
    8. Preventing cross contamination in the dental environment
  2. Application of personal/social history, medical history, dental history, vital signs in a clinical setting
    1. Communication techniques for information gathering
      1. Stress reduction protocols
      2. Cultural, language, and health literacy issues
      3. Open ended questions
    2. Risk assessment
      1. Physical status: ASA categories
      2. Blood glucose levels
      3. Medications
      4. Unstable medical conditions: hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease
    3. Dental history
      1. Chief complaint
      2. Dental concerns
      3. Existing dental conditions
      4. Radiographs
      5. Dietary habits, dental habits, and daily self-care
    4. Prescription and non-prescription medications
      1. Classification of medications
      2. Mechanism of action
      3. Special appointment planning and modifications to care due to medications
      4. Adverse effects
      5. Effects on dental treatment
      6. Prevention of allergic reactions or medical emergencies
  3. Demonstration of vitals signs in a clinical setting
    1. Pulse
    2. Respiration
    3. Blood pressure
    4. Normal ranges for adults and children
    5. ASA categories related to vital signs
    6. Factors that effect vital signs
    7. Correct technique of taking vitals signs
    8. Documenting vital signs
    9. Patient education and referral
  4. Application of extra/intraoral examination in a clinical setting
    1. Extra-oral structures
      1. Overall appraisal of the head and neck
      2. Eyes, ears, nose
      3. Sternocleidomastoid muscle
      4. Lymph nodes of the head and neck
      5. Salivary glands
      6. Thyroid gland
      7. Temporomandibular joint
    2. Intra-oral structures
      1. Lips and vermillion border
      2. Inspection of labial and buccal oral mucosa
      3. Hard palate, soft palate
      4. Oropharynx, tonsils
      5. Tongue: dorsal, ventral, lateral
      6. Floor of the mouth
      7. Salivary glands
    3. Extra/intraoral examination process
      1. Sequence
      2. Visual inspection
      3. Palpation techniques
    4. Terminology for describing and documenting atypical finds
      1. Macule
      2. Papule
      3. Patch
      4. Plaque
      5. Nodule
      6. Wheal
      7. Vesicle
      8. Bulla
      9. Pustule
      10. Ulcer
      11. Fissure
      12. Petechiae
    5. Descriptive terms the characteristics of soft tissue lesions
      1. Discrete
      2. Grouped
      3. Confluent
      4. Linear
      5. Leukoplakia
      6. Erythroplakia
      7. Erythroleukoplakia
    6. ABCD-T approach to formulating lesion descriptions
      1. A = anatomic location
      2. B = border: regular, irregular; margins: smooth, raised
      3. C = color: white, red, yellow, brown, blue, black
      4. D = dimension: measured with periodontal probe in millimeters
      5. T = type of lesion
  5. Clinical evaluation and description of the gingiva
    1. Descriptive terminology for gingival description
    2. Color of gingiva
    3. Surface texture of gingiva
    4. Contour of gingiva
    5. Consistency of gingiva
    6. Bleeding or exudate
  6. Clinical periodontal examination
    1. Process and terminology for periodontal examination
    2. Use of periodontal probe
      1. Types of periodontal probes
      2. Angulation and activation of probe
      3. Reading the probe
      4. Periodontal probing depths
      5. Clinical procedures for periodontal probing and documentation
    3. Bleeding, exudate or suppuration
      1. Significance of bleeding, exudate or suppuration
      2. Visual inspection and digital pressure
      3. Patient education, referral as needed
    4. Recession
      1. Landmarks for measuring recession
      2. Clinical attachment level calculations
      3. Patient education, referral as needed
    5. Furcation
      1. Use of Nabers probe
      2. Furcation classification criteria
      3. Patient education, referral as needed
    6. Mobility, fremitus
      1. Clinical techniques for determining mobility and fremitus
      2. Significance of mobility
      3. Patient education, referral as needed
  7. Instrumentation techniques for clinical assessments
    1. Clinician ergonomics and positioning for instrumentation
      1. Operator and patient positioning
      2. Neutral working posture
      3. Use of ergonomic equipment
      4. Fulcrums and grasp
      5. Body mechanics during instrumentation
      6. Ergonomic techniques in instrumentation zones
      7. Self-assessment and correction
      8. Stretching and wellness routines
      9. Assessment and evaluation
    2. Instrumentation fine motor skills
      1. Modified pen grasp
      2. Pivoting for tip adaptation
      3. Rolling for tip adaption
      4. Angulation between tooth surface and instruments
      5. Instrumentation stroke types
      6. Fulcrum techniques
    3. Use of mirror
      1. Reflection
      2. Retraction
      3. Translumination
    4. Use of explorer
      1. Tactile sensitivity and detection
      2. Adaptation of tip
      3. Assessment stroke
      4. Directional strokes
      5. Types of explorers for special situations
    5. Use of periodontal probe
      1. Calibration
      2. How to read
      3. Measuring instrument
      4. Walking stroke
      5. Correct pressure
    6. Use of Naber's probe
      1. Furcation evaluation
    7. Visual cues for a-traumatic instrumentation
  8. Sterilization and disinfection procedures
    1. Instrument transport and handling
    2. Cleaning and disinfection procedures
    3. Packaging, labeling, and sterilization processes
    4. Biologic monitoring of sterilization
    5. Operating equipment for disinfection and sterilization
  9. Legal and ethical considerations in dental hygiene assessment procedures in a clinical setting
    1. Compliance with infection control
    2. Patient confidentiality and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
    3. Informed consent
    4. Referrals to other health professionals
    5. Ethical principles considerations
      1. Beneficence
      2. Nonmaleficence
      3. Veracity
      4. Justice
      5. Autonomy

Lab Content

  1. Assessment skills on student partner patients
    1. Health and dental histories
    2. Vital signs
    3. Extraoral and intraoral examinations
    4. Gingival description
    5. Comprehensive periodontal assessments using appropriate instruments
    6. Correct operator positioning
    7. Ergonomics and infection control principles
  2. Case presentation, communication, and documentation in clinical environment

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

1. Dental hygiene clinic, student instrument kit, clinic gown, barriers for the dental unit.
2. Multimedia classroom and equipment for demonstrations, videos on assessment and instrumentation techniques.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Instrumentation evaluations
Clinical midterm
Clinical final
Professionalism
Written final exam

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture
Discussion
Cooperative learning exercises
Laboratory
Demonstration

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Bowen, D., and J. Pieren. Darby and Walsh Dental Hygiene Theory and Practice, 6th ed.. 2024.

Wynn, R., Meiler, T., and H. Crossley. Drug Information Handbook for Dentistry, 30th ed.. 2025.

Nield-Gehrig. Fundamentals of Periodontal Instrumentation, 9th ed.. 2025.

Chan, P., Leicht, J., and P. Staana. Foothill College Dental Hygiene Clinic Manual. 2025.

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Weekly reading assignments.
  2. Written reflection papers on community service, professional meetings, and observations.
  3. Clinical practice homework on typodont model.

Discipline(s)

Dental Technology