Academic Catalog

D H 326C: COMMUNITY DENTAL HEALTH III

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2026
Units: 2
Hours: 2 lecture, 1 laboratory per week (36 total per quarter)
Advisory: Not open to students with credit in D H 58C.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Non-GE
Transferable: CSU
Grade Type: Letter Grade Only
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Evaluate at least two alternative practice opportunities for dental hygienists and explain their potential impact on oral health disparities in a written response, assessed using a standardized rubric with clearly defined criteria for critical analysis, relevance, and equity. A score of 75% or higher will be considered passing.
  • Prepare a scientific poster or PowerPoint presentation on a community dental health topic and deliver a 5-10 minute presentation to an audience of peers. The presentation will be evaluated based on clarity, accuracy of information, visual appeal, and presentation skills using a standardized rubric. A score of 75% or higher will be considered passing.

Description

Third in the series of three courses in community dental health for dental hygiene students. This course focuses on the continued implementation of a community dental health program. Students will complete the implementation of their dental public health program interventions and evaluate the outcomes. Career pathways for dental hygienists will be explored, as well as avenues for sharing clinical and research findings in a variety of formats. Oral health literacy will be discussed. 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. Implement a community dental health program that addresses the diverse needs of the identified population.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate scientific information to peers and colleagues.
  3. Describe career options for registered dental hygienists, with a focus on opportunities that support equitable access to oral health care for all communities.
  4. Describe concepts of oral health literacy, including its importance, common barriers, and basic strategies for promoting understanding and effective communication in oral health care.
  5. Apply ethical and legal principles to all stages of community dental health intervention.

Course Content

  1. Program outcome
    1. Analysis of assessment data
      1. Reliability
      2. Validity
      3. Statistical tests for analysis
        1. Chi-square
        2. t-test
        3. Probability
    2. Conclusions based on data
      1. Types of data collected
        1. Categorical data
        2. Dichotomous data
        3. Discrete data
        4. Continuous data
      2. Analysis of goals and objectives
        1. Degree of behavior change
        2. Effectiveness of interventions
  2. Scientific communication
    1. Scientific communication formats
      1. Presentations at scientific conferences
      2. Round table discussion
      3. Scientific poster presentation
      4. Publication in a peer-reviewed journal
    2. Planning presentations
      1. Program guidelines
      2. Slide preparation
      3. Presentation of data
        1. Bar graph
        2. Pie chart
        3. Histogram
        4. Frequency polygon
        5. Time series line
        6. Scattergram
      4. Selection of graphics and images
      5. Citing resources
  3. Career options in dental hygiene
    1. Clinical practice
      1. Direct access models in the United States
        1. Registered Dental Hygienist in Alternative Practice
      2. Mid-level providers
        1. Dental Therapist
        2. Advanced Dental Therapist
        3. Other proposed models
    2. Dental hygiene educator
      1. Advanced education requirements
      2. Teaching methodology
    3. Researcher
      1. Dental hygiene research
    4. Business/corporate careers
      1. Product development
      2. Marketing
      3. Clinical educator for a company
    5. Public health
      1. County level
      2. State level
      3. Federal level
  4. Oral health literacy
    1. Introduction to oral health literacy
      1. Definition
      2. Important in public health outcomes
    2. Impact of oral health literacy
      1. Socioeconomic, cultural, and language barriers
      2. Consequences of low oral health literacy on health outcomes
    3. Key components
      1. Functional literacy
      2. Communicative literacy
      3. Critical literacy
    4. Assessing oral health literacy
      1. Tools and methods
    5. Strategies to improve oral health literacy
      1. Plan language principles
      2. Visual aids
      3. Teach-back method
      4. Role playing techniques
    6. Role of dental professionals
      1. Responsibilities in promoting oral health literacy
      2. Building trust and cultural competence
      3. Language barriers and use of interpreters
      4. Patient education
    7. Oral health literacy in public health programs
      1. Designing community programs
  5. Ethical and legal principles
    1. Ethical and legal principles related to publication of research
      1. Confidentiality
      2. Transparency
      3. Intellectual property
      4. Responsible publication

Lab Content

Students will fulfill field work (lab hour) requirements by engaging in various community outreach projects, including educating a diverse range of socioeconomic populations on oral health and related topics and participating in school-based dental screenings. Students will complete the implementation of their community dental health program for an identified population and analyze outcomes.

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

1. Materials to create visual aids, interactive games, and worksheets to provide oral health education in the community.
2. When taught as an online course, access to computer with email software and hardware; email address.

Method(s) of Evaluation

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

Written report on community dental health project: method of evaluation, statistical analysis of program data, conclusions of program outcomes
Presentation of completed community dental health project through an oral presentation or poster presentation

Method(s) of Instruction

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

Lecture
Discussion
Field work

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Beatty, Christine. Community Oral Health Practice for the Dental Hygienist, 5th ed.. 2022.

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

  1. Reading assignment: scientific journal article on mid-level providers in the delivery of oral health care.
  2. Writing assignment: reflection paper discussing community dental health program outcomes, including assessment data analysis and method of evaluation.
  3. Outside of class assignment: develop a scientific poster or oral presentation on the community dental health program and outcomes and present to peers and colleagues.

Discipline(s)

Dental Technology