Our curriculum consists of two distinct areas:
Dental Hygiene Education
This component provides a theoretical and practical approach to educational methodologies and their application to dental hygiene academia. Emphasis is on curricular assessment, development, implementation and evaluation. Students will gain experience and understand the role and responsibilities of faculty in didactic, clinical, and laboratory course development through the utilization of instructional technology and applicable learning domains.
Dental Public Health
This component provides an in-depth focus on the overall health and oral health needs of diverse populations and ways to improve direct access of care. Emphasis is placed on the leadership roles of the dental hygienist responsible for administering and implementing dental public health programs. Students will gain experience and knowledge in program development, grant writing, research, and methodologies effective in improving oral health.
The University of Bridgeport – Fones School of Dental Hygiene has over 100 facilities currently utilized for the B.S. Degree in Dental Hygiene internship course requirement. New sites are added each year. The master’s degree program utilizes these facilities and accepts others as student interest and geographical locations increase.
The concentrated practicum is 75 hours and decided among the course instructor, student, and practicum site. The work activities of the students is structured based on student interest, relationship to the chosen area of specialization and decided learning outcomes. The practicum site facilitator and the course instructor decide on the appropriate evaluation mechanism for the student. Agreements are made between the practicum site and the Fones School of Dental Hygiene.