Dental
hygiene is a rapidly growing and increasingly dynamic allied health
profession for qualified persons who wish to participate as active
members of a health field. Service to mankind is the primary purpose of
health professions. The dental hygienist with a baccalaureate degree
accomplishes this objective through a variety of challenging and
rewarding opportunities.
There
is informal evidence that a nine-month dental hygiene program existed
at UMKC (then the Kansas City Western Dental College) in 1922-23, as
did a one-year program during the '30s. However, concrete documentation
indicates that the official program began in 1952.
The
program in dental hygiene is accredited by the Commission on Dental
Accreditation, a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council
on Post-Secondary Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.
The
student at UMKC can earn a bachelor of science degree in dental hygiene
in two ways. The first alternative offers an opportunity for the
student who has completed two academic years of liberal arts
pre-requisites at any accredited community/junior college, college or
university to matriculate into the entry level clinical dental hygiene
program. The second alternative provides for the licensed dental
hygienist with a certificate or associate degree an opportunity to earn
a baccalaureate degree (degree completion).
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