Ostrow School of Dentistry

Undergraduate Degree

Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene

The mission of the USC Department of Dental Hygiene is to educate and prepare dental hygiene leaders for careers in a diverse and changing health care environment. Implicit in this is a desire to provide a liberal education as well as outstanding clinical experiences. The baccalaureate dental hygiene program is a combination of dental and dental hygiene sciences, supporting sciences and general education.

The curriculum reflects the core values of the profession in private and public health settings. The program is committed to creating a humanistic, educational environment that will facilitate the development of responsible, ethical, oral health professionals who are sensitive to the patient needs and competent in the dental hygiene process of care.

Educational and clinical services provided by dental hygiene students include dental health education, patient assessment, disease prevention and non-surgical periodontal therapy for a diverse population of patients. The program strives to produce graduates who will advance the profession of dental hygiene and improve dental health care through evidence-based research and scholarly activities. Finally, graduates are competent in self-assessment and scientific methodology in preparation for lifelong learning.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Dental Hygiene requires two academic years of pre-dental hygiene courses followed by two additional years of enrollment in the dental hygiene program.

Admission

Admission to the school is granted through the Office of Dental Admissions and Student Affairs that receives and processes all applications, evaluates credentials and mails letters of acceptance to applicants who qualify for entrance. Because of the university’s selective admissions policy and limited enrollment, only those applicants are accepted who present evidence of intellectual promise and strong personal qualifications, including good moral character and sound health. Prior to enrollment, accepted students must provide evidence of sound health and meet the school’s health requirements. (Before registration, the Student Health Service form, signed by the applicant’s attending physician, must be filed with the Student Health Center.) Admission to the university in all cases is determined by the Office of Admissions at USC.

Application forms may be obtained by mail, online or in person from the Office of Dental Admissions and Student Affairs. A nonrefundable $25 fee must be sent with the completed dental hygiene application. An additional application fee must be submitted to the USC Undergraduate Admission Office.

Credentials for admission must include complete records of all previous college or university work. The student must request the registrar of each school attended to forward one official transcript of record directly to the Office of Dental Admissions and Student Affairs. These should include the program of studies in which the applicant is currently registered. The university does not initiate requests for these credentials.

Applications for the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene should be filed well in advance of February 1 of the year in which the student wishes to be admitted. The program begins in the fall. Applicants for admission are requested to file their applications before they have completed one full year of college predental work or pre-hygiene class.

Although students may transfer to USC at any time and begin prerequisite course work, the dental hygiene curriculum begins in the junior year. Admission to the university does not guarantee admission to the dental hygiene program.

Two applications are required, one for the USC Undergraduate Admission Office and one for the School of Dentistry. See the Undergraduate Education Admission section of this catalogue.

Admission Requirements

Between 30 and 40 students are admitted each year for the curriculum that leads to the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene.

The Committee on Admissions examines credentials and bases its decision on the objective evaluation of these factors: preprofessional training, evidence of scholarship and personal evaluation of the student.

Minimum entrance requirements include: graduation from an accredited secondary school and completion of the following courses which may be transferred in from another college or university or taken at USC prior to bring admitted to the dental hygiene program.

General Biology

One semester with lab is required.

Anatomy

One semester with lab is required.

General Chemistry with Lab

One year is required.

English Composition

One year is required. Must include course work equivalent to WRIT 140 and one semester of any transferable English course.

General Physiology Lab

One semester is required.

General Microbiology

One semester is required.

Nutrition

One semester is required.

Introduction to Sociology

One semester is required.

General Psychology

One semester is required.

Public Speaking

One semester is required.

General Education Requirements

The university’s general education program provides a coherent, integrated introduction to the breadth of knowledge you will need to consider yourself (and to be considered by other people) a generally well-educated person. This program requires six courses in different categories, plus writing and diversity requirements, which together comprise the USC Core. See The USC Core and the General Education Program for more information.

All dental hygiene students have to follow the university’s general education requirements.

There is no minimum number of transfer units you must complete before applying to admissions. No foreign course work will be accepted. Dental hygiene prerequisites and lower division general education categories must be completed or in progress by the time of application to the dental hygiene program. All prerequisite course work including required general education course work must be completed with a grade of “C” or better.

The following courses are not transferable: dental assisting, dental technology, secretarial science (typing, shorthand, etc.), or other technically or vocationally related courses.

All entrance requirements must be completed by June 15 preceding the September of admission, and complete final credentials must be on file in the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC Office of Admission and Student Affairs by July 15 preceding enrollment. Notification of acceptance will be sent by the Office of Admission and Student Affairs after May 1.

Orientation

Students who have been accepted into the program and who have reserved their place in the class by paying the appropriate tuition deposit will be forwarded orientation materials by July 15.

Orientation is traditionally scheduled during the week before the first week of classes. The purpose of the program is to acquaint incoming students with the School of Dentistry, its policies, programs, faculty and facilities. Incoming students receive financial counseling and purchase their initial equipment issue as part of orientation activities.

Graduation Requirements

A student is eligible for the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene after attaining the qualitative and quantitative level expected in the dental hygiene curriculum. This specifically includes: no marks of “F,” “IN,” “ICW,” “IP” or “MG”; no conditions existing at the termination of the final trimester that would result in academic probation, clinical probation or academic disqualification. In addition, each student must have demonstrated the characteristics expected of a health professional and have fulfilled the financial and other obligations required for graduation.

In addition to meeting the academic requirements indicated above, students must have a completed administrative clearance form on file in the Office of Academic Affairs before a degree can be conferred. This administrative clearance indicates that the student has met financial and other obligations to the university and to the student’s patients.

Curriculum

Courses listed are required for completion of the degree. Course listings are current as of 2013–2014 and are subject to change without notice by action of the Ostrow School of Dentistry and the university.

Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene Curriculum

Required courses		Units
AMED 502	Emergency Medicine	2
AMED 524	Pain and Anxiety Control	2
ANAT 521	Head and Neck Anatomy	2
DBIO 310	Oral Biochemistry	2
DHIS 310	Basic Tissues and Histology and Embryology	2
DHYG 311ab	Fundamentals of Clinical Dental Hygiene Practice	3-3
DHYG 314L	Dental Morphology Laboratory	1
DHYG 316	Patient Education in Preventive Dental Care	1
DHYG 318	Dental Specialties	2
DHYG 320	Preventive Dental Therapy	2
DHYG 401	Introduction to Advanced Dental Hygiene	2
DHYG 410abc	Clinic: Dental Hygiene	2-7 each (3, 6, 6)
DHYG 412	Preventive Dental Care Programs	1
DHYG 414ab	Advanced Dental Hygiene	2-2
DHYG 422	Essentials of Dental Hygiene Practice	1
DHYG 424ab	Research Methods	1-1
DHYG 516ab	Community Oral Health	2-2
DIAG 415	Radiographic Techniques	1
DIAG 521	Principles of Oral Radiology	2
DMAT 316L	Dental Materials and Clinical Procedures	2
DPHR 410	Principles of Pharmacology	2
GSPD 504	Dental Treatment of the Geriatric and Special Patient	2
HBHV 310	Interactional Skills in Dental Hygiene	1
MBIO 310	Principles of Microbiology and Immunology	2
OCCL 310	Fundamentals of Dental Morphology	1
OMOD 506	Infection Control	1
PEDO 310	Principles of Dentistry for Children	1
PERI 310ab	Introduction to Periodontal Diseases	1-1
PERI 415	Basic Periodontal Therapy	1
PERI 504	Advanced Periodontics	1
PTHL 312abc	Medicine and Pathology	1-3-2

Minor in Craniofacial and Dental Technology

The Ostrow School of Dentistry, the Viterbi School of Engineering Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Department of Biological Sciences jointly offer the minor in craniofacial and dental technology. This minor is designed to prepare engineering, pre-dental, pre-medical and biological sciences undergraduates to enter the dental biotechnology industry as well as to introduce them to recent innovations in craniofacial sciences and therapeutics. The course work introduces students to concepts in craniofacial histology and embryology, head-and-neck anatomy, genetics, biochemistry and biotechnology as well as applications to dental diagnostics, imaging and dental therapies (dental implants, restorative dentistry, craniofacial genetics).

This minor requires 16 core units and a minimum of 4 units of electives. Students who have not fulfilled prerequisite requirements for core or elective courses will have to take additional units, depending on their major. In addition, students must take at least 16 units not used for their major or offered by their major department.

Please see a biomedical engineering, biological sciences or Ostrow School of Dentistry adviser for specific program requirements.

Core required courses, Upper division		Units
DENT 412	Fundamentals of Craniofacial and Dental Technology	3
DHIS 310	Basic Tissues and Histology and Embryology	2
BISC 320L	Molecular Biology	4
BISC 325*	Genetics	4
BME 410*	Introduction to Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering	3
Total core units:		16

Electives		units
Enroll in at least two courses from the following:
BISC 330L*	Biochemistry	4
BISC 403*	Advanced Molecular Biology	4
BISC 406L*	Biotechnology	4
BISC 410*	Applications of Molecular Biology to Medicine	4
BISC 435*	Advanced Biochemistry	4
BME 404*	Biomechanics	3
BME 416	Development and Regulation of Medical Products	3
BME 451*	Fundamentals of Biomedical Microdevices	3
DENT 221	Introduction to Dentistry	1
ENGR 305	Engineering Biology Matters	3
HP 340L	Health Behavior Statistical Methods	4
HP 350L	Health Behavior Research Methods	4
MASC 310	Materials Behavior and Processing	3
Total elective units:		4-8

*Prerequisite required

Progressive Degree Program in Public Health

The public health program admits a limited number of USC undergraduate students to pursue the MPH degree while completing a bachelor’s degree. Applicants to the program must have completed 64 units of course work and must submit their applications prior to completion of 96 units of course work. Applicants do not have to submit GRE scores, but are expected to have a minimum GPA of 3.5 at the time of application. The application for admission to a progressive degree program must be accompanied by an approved course plan proposal and letters of recommendation from two USC faculty members. The requirements for both the bachelor’s degree and the MPH degrees must be satisfied. For further details on progressive degree programs, see the Requirements for Graduation page.