Dental Hygiene
School of Health Sciences
Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center, Rm. W209 · (570) 327-8007
Study abroad in Nicaragua, February 19-28, 2009
Penn College offers a short-term study abroad opportunity for dental hygiene students to work with a licensed Nicaraguan dentist to administer preventative care and dental education.
The dental hygienist is a licensed professional who provides preventive dental hygiene care to patients. The hygienist is required to have sound communication skills and a strong aptitude for fine motor skills. Pennsylvania College of Technology's Dental Hygiene programs prepare the graduate for licensure examinations, immediate employment and advanced education.
Graduates of Dental Hygiene programs generally obtain employment in:
- private dental offices
- health departments
- correctional facilities
- special needs centers
- heath maintenance organizations
- school districts
Penn College's Dental Hygiene department features an exceptionally equipped state-of-the-art dental hygiene clinic. Our Dental Hygiene majors maintain exceptional student-to-faculty ratios during clinical instruction. A variety of support services are available.
The Penn College Dental Hygiene graduate placement rate is 96 to 100%. The average annual salary of full-time dental hygienists in the state of Pennsylvania is $50,522. (source: RDH Salary & Benefits Survey, RDH, Jan. 2009)
Bachelor-Degree & Distance Learning Opportunities
Students have the option to be directly accepted into the Dental Hygiene bachelor's degree major after completing the associate's degree major. Licensed Dental Hygienists choosing the Health Policy & Administration concentration may be able to complete the required courses via distance education. [Distance Education Fact Sheet (PDF)]
Dental Hygiene News
100 Percent of Dental Hygiene Graduates Pass National Boards
June 2009
Dental Hygiene Alumni Gather for Program's 30th Anniversary
May 2009
Penn College's dental hygiene major celebrated its 30th anniversary Friday, three decades during which 939 bachelor's and associate degrees were awarded to 774 graduates – and the program's first instructor rose to become the institution's president. More than 130 alumni attended the daylong observance, which offered continuing education; lunch at Le Jeune Chef Restaurant; dessert and reminiscence with President Davie Jane Gilmour (whose memories included teaching oral anatomy in the geology lab during the program's earliest days); the opportunity for former classmates to pore, laugh and wince over yearbooks and old photographs; and a Hiawatha riverboat cruise. Representatives of nearly every class were on hand, from 10 members of the inaugural Class of 1979 (including one who traveled from Maine) to 2009 grad Kelly A. Braun, a commencement speaker earlier this month.Dental Hygiene Students, Instructor Return From Nicaragua
March 2009
Three students – Ann Marie Prosser, of Elizabethtown; Lauren Whitcraft, of Mountville; and Nadena M. Nykaza, of Jermyn – and one faculty member, Rhonda J. Seebold, spent a week (Feb. 20-27) in Managua, Nicaragua, working with students and parents of La Escuelita to educate them on proper dental hygiene and to perform basic dental care. Photos of the trip, during which the students tended to 112 children, were provided by Prosser and Seebold.‘Sealant Saturday’ Event at Penn College Serves 65 Children
February 2009
Sealant Saturday helps children.
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Students Provide Dental Care to Poor in Nicaragua
September 2008