Malaspina begins new Dental Hygiene Diploma program

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Vancouver Island dentists have reason to smile.

That’s because Malaspina University-College will begin offering a new Dental Hygiene Diploma program at the Nanaimo campus in September.

“This is excellent news for dentists and the general public,” said Nanaimo dentist Dr. Michael Rockwell. “This program will help alleviate a province-wide shortage of qualified dental hygienists, especially on Vancouver Island.”

Malaspina’s Dental Hygiene Diploma program is a two-year, full-time academic program that will admit 18 students per year. The program combines four semesters of academic study with practical, hands-on experience.

Dental hygienists focus mainly on the prevention of oral disease and promotion of optimal oral health. Hygienists normally perform activities such as scaling, polishing, and providing educational counseling to patients about oral health and hygiene.

“I’m relieved that Malaspina will begin training new dental hygienists,” said Rockwell, a member of a Dental Hygiene Community Consultation Committee that helped develop the new program. “For years, the dental profession has been struggling to provide adequate care for the upper Vancouver Island population simply because we haven’t had enough dental hygienists. I personally searched for two years to find a dental hygienist to work in my practice, and was forced to recruit from out-of-province.”

On-going recruitment issues have caused many dentists to give up trying to include dental hygienists as part of their dental team, said Rockwell.  “Not having a dental hygienist on staff compromises the level of care and service dentists can provide to the public,” he said. Malaspina’s new program will help address that problem by training more dental hygienists, who will hopefully seek employment on the Island.

Local periodontist Dr. Sandra Wood is also delighted that Malaspina is launching the new program.

“With an older population in our region, there’s a greater demand for treatment of periodontal disease,” said Wood. “Dental hygienists are an important part of the dental team in treating this disease, but qualified hygienists have been hard to find. That’s why Vancouver Island dentists are extremely supportive of Malaspina’s new initiative to train dental hygienists close to home.”

Right now, about 100 BC Dental Hygienists graduate each year from schools in Prince George, Vancouver and Victoria. Wages range between $30 and $45 per hour, although dental hygienists working in northern communities often earn more.

Laureen Styles, Dean of Malaspina's Faculty of Health & Human Services programs, said the new diploma program will complement Malaspina's 10-month Dental Assistant Certificate program, which began in 1970.

“With the Dental Hygiene Diploma program starting in September, there will be new opportunities for students in both programs to work and learn with one another,” said Styles. “This will contribute to their abilities to be effective team members when they graduate.”

Malaspina’s Dental Assistant program has “established a solid reputation in the dental profession and has consistently produced excellent graduates,” Rockwell added. “I have three Malaspina Dental Assistant graduates working in my practice right now,” he added.  “I fully expect that the new Dental Hygiene Diploma program will have the same high standards and produce top-quality employees.”

April 28 is the application deadline for the Dental Hygiene Diploma program. For details on how to apply, and information about pre-requisites, refer to Malaspina's website at www.viu.ca/dentalhygiene.