Northern Virginia Community College
Northern Virginia Community College

Revised 09/2026

DNH 245 - Dental Hygiene V (5 CR.)

Course Description

Exposes student to current advances in dentistry. Includes supervised clinical practice in the dental hygiene clinic and/or off-campus clinical rotations at various community facilities. Emphasis is placed on synthesis of knowledge from previous semesters, treatment of clients with moderate to advanced periodontal involvement and improving clinical speed while maintaining quality in preparation for practice. Lecture 1 hour per week. Clinical 12 hours per week. Total 13 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

This course addresses competency in all facets of the dental hygiene profession allowed by state law with a high standard requiring refinement of clinical techniques in conjunction with increased efficiency. This course involves an extension of the theoretical beliefs regarding oral hygiene and patient care in the clinic and ultimately in the dental hygiene profession. In addition, the course concentrates on broadening the student’s knowledge of current concepts in the practice of dental hygiene in preparation of national board and regional professional licensure examinations. 

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

Prerequisites: DNH 150, DNH 226, DNH 235, DNH 244 and PSY 200.

Course Objectives

Upon completing the course, the student will be able to:

  • Discuss the management of patients who are victims of family abuse.
  • Discuss the management of patients with substance abuse issues.
  • Identify the various dental specialties for the purposes of patient referral and employment.
  • Discuss Complementary and Alternative therapies for the dental patient.
  • Discuss factors involved in the presentation of patient case studies.
  • Discuss questions concerning case studies of all types of patients.
  • Identify test taking strategies for the question types utilized by the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination.

Major Topics to Be Included

  • Patient Case Studies
  • National Board Dental Hygiene Examination Preparation and Review
  • Professional Licensure Preparation and Review
  • Narrative Writing and CDT Coding
  • Family Abuse
  • Substance Abuse
  • Management of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Patient
  • Management of Patients with Cancer
  • Management of Patients with Cleft Lip and Palate