Entitled How to Take Care of Your Child’s Teeth, this new resource educates and encourages parents to become partners in their child’s oral health. Caregivers are provided with practical advice on how to minimize the risk of early dental decay with information on nutrition and hygiene, including use of the “lift the lip” brushing technique. The CD also provides parents with tips on how to prepare for, and what to expect, during a child’s first dental visit.

This resource was developed by a task force of dental professionals and public health hygienists, and funded through a partnership with the provincial Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport.

The educational CD, along with a supporting tip sheet and poster available in multiple languages, can be accessed online at http://www.bcdental.org/Dental_Health/Default.aspx?id=56

Choosing the right post-secondary institution:

There are five colleges in Toronto and two in the Greater Toronto area which offer accredited programs in dental hygiene. George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology is a community college with several campuses in the city - their dental hygiene program runs on a campus just north of the downtown core. As a community college they receive government funding which allows them to subsidize tuition costs.

All of the other dental hygiene programs being run in Toronto and area come from private career colleges, such as Oxford College. Private Career colleges are not directly supported by governments, so the tuition is more expensive. Another major difference between a private college and a community college is that community colleges will run their programs over a two year period, while students in private colleges will complete their studies in 18 months (the amount of classroom and clinical time is the same, but community colleges typically don’t run classes during the summer months).

Choosing between the various private colleges can be difficult - differences between them over what they teach and the cost of tuition (and other costs, such as books and supplies) may not vary too much. It would be a good idea to visit the colleges you are considering to go to, so you can see for yourself what the colleges look like and perhaps talk with some of the current students.

Some points to consider:

1. How well are the college’s graduates doing on the National Dental Hygiene Certification Exam - you can see the latest results from the NDHCB website.

2. What can you learn about the colleges from other internet resources, like Facebook or chat groups?

3. Where is the location of the college? You will probably want to live close to the college, or, if commuting, how easy is it to get to by car or public transport.  You may want to take a look at the prices for room or condo rentals in these areas - use a website like Craigslist to see what is on the market.

4. How many dental chairs does the college have available? If it is less than the amount of students they accept in, it will mean that there will be times where you will not have access to the dental chair to do your clinical training.

5. Where will you be able to get the most clients from? For any student going through a dental hygiene program, one of the key challenges will be how you will be able to find people to sit in your dental chair and let you perform dental hygiene procedures on them. All of the colleges should have some support to assist you in finding members of the public, but it will be your responsibility to find clients, and this can often be difficult. Hopefully you have a lot of friends and family members who will agree to help you and are reliable enough to follow through on their promises. You may want to consider how close the college is to these people, to make it easier for them to come in and be your client, even on short notice.

These are just some of the factors that you might want to consider when choosing a dental hygiene program. The best advice we can give is to take a look at as many options as you can, and see which one is the best for your situation.

Mrs. Berg described her reaction to be named to this position as “slightly overwhelmed, but I am ready for the challenges the job may present from day to day. “

Matilda Berg has been a dental hygienist since 1985, and has earned Bachelor degrees from both York University and Redeemer University College. She started teaching at Oxford College in 2009 and was most recently the Clinic Lead.

Karen Young, Director of Oxford College, said, “We are very happy that Maltida is taking on this role. We feel confident that the program will continue its success under her direction.”

Oxford College has been teaching Dental Hygiene since 2004 and operates one of the largest programs of its kind in the country. Last year, the college ranked second in the number of students who successfully passed the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board (NDHCB) exams.

Phone: 416-439-8668
Toll-Free: 1-866-600-6604
Email: info@oxfordedu.ca

When the consultation is arranged, we ask you to complete the following items and bring them with you:

1. Admission Form, which you can download here

2. Proof Age, via driver’s liscense, passport or birth certificate

3. Transcript of OSSD or High School equivalent

4. Certification papers of any other post-secondary degrees or diplomas

5. Letter of Reference

6. A one-page essay entitled, “Why I wish to be a Dental Hygienist”

7. Two passport-size photos of yourself

8. Registration Fee of $150.00 (payable by cash, money order, debit card, Visa or Mastercard)

“Increasing numbers of people are seeing the strong, direct link between a college education and a meaningful career,” said Linda Franklin, president and CEO of Colleges Ontario. “People understand the importance of exploring their options in higher education and choosing the programs that best prepare them for their career goals. In many cases, those programs are offered at Ontario’s colleges.”

In total, 100,495 people have applied to Ontario college programs for this year.

Each year, about 40 per cent of applicants apply directly from high school. These applications increased by 8.6 per cent over last year. Non-direct applicants (people who do not apply directly from high school) increased by 20.2 per cent this year.

Franklin said career-focused higher education is particularly important in this economy, when people are looking for education, training and retraining opportunities.

“About 90 per cent of college graduates find work within six months of graduation,” Franklin said. “This is a very attractive outcome in any economy, but particularly in the current one.”

Dental Hygiene, along with Paramedic or Practical Nursing, are the three of the most popular college programs in Ontario. Between 2000 and 2010 applications in these programs have risen by 32.8 per cent.

Many applicants are people seeking retraining through the Ontario government’s Second Career programs. Students in Second Career programs are funded separately from students and colleges are able to deliver programs to these students while continuing to serve high school graduates and other applicants.

However, Franklin said colleges do face pressure to find the capacity to address the huge demand in Ontario for college education.

“The popularity of our colleges speaks to their success, but also emphasizes the need to fund our colleges sufficiently to deliver the education our communities need,” Franklin said.

“We must partner with the government to fund enrolment growth so that all qualified applicants can get the education they need to find good jobs.”

Click here for more information about the Second Career program through Oxford College.

From the NPR show Morning Edition:

“You know, it depends on how much of the active agent is in that product,” says Francisco Ramos-Gomez, a pediatric dentist at U.C.L.A. “And how much you chew per day.”

Oral health experts say the popularity of sugar-free gums has been one step in the improvement of children’s oral health. Since consuming lots of sucrose — or table sugar — can lead to cavities, there’s a benefit simply in taking it out of gum.

Read or Listen to the full story on the NPR website

Written by Dr. Patricia M. Johnson, the article examines trends and changes in the dental hygiene profession in Canada, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and over another dozen countries in Europe and Asia. Some highlights about the article:

• Japan has the most dental hygienists in the world, with over 200 000.  The United States was in second place, with Korea and Canada coming in next.  Some of the countries surveyed have very few dental hygienists, such as Australia (which has 850 dental hygienists), Germany (120) and Austria (only 10).
• Most countries are seeing dramatic increases in the number of dental hygienists entering the profession. Canada has seen a 200% growth between 1987 and 2006, while Italy has seen its number of dental hygienists climb by over 2207%.
• Canada, South Africa and Latvia are the only three countries that have self-regulation, with most of the other countries in this survey being governed by a Dental Board (with Dentists) or through a government department. The profession is not regulated in Austria, Germany or New Zealand
• the employment trend in most countries was good or very good in 2006, except for Israel and Finland, where jobs were scarce
• annual wages varied from country to country. In Germany, wages could reach $120 000 a year, while in Denmark, Ireland and the UK it ranged between $60 and 70 000. Wages reportedly were the lowest for Latvia and Slovakia at less than $7000 annually.
• some of the most important issues for dental hygienists around the world include expanding the legal scope of dental hygiene practice, establishing university-level education in dental hygiene, improving the employment and career opportunities for dental hygienists, and improving public access to their services
• the author concludes “that dental hygiene continues to evolve both as a profession and an important part of the health care delivery system…on the one hand, there is improved access to and greater technical efficiency in the provision of essentila oral health services. On the other hand, the emergence of the dental-hygienist-as-primary-care-provider and as-entrepreneur necessitates new practice configurations, increased collaboration in the workplace, and more effective linkages between dental hygiene and other health groups.”

To read the full article, click here

Hometown: Corner Brook, Newfoundland

1. You came from Newfoundland to study at Oxford College. How has this transition been for you and your family?

The transition has been easier than I expected. Toronto has a lot to offer and its only temporary. So I know its not forever but you have to take advantage of all the events and places you may never see in Newfoundland. My family miss me but they have come to visit.

2. You have nearly finished all the courses in our dental hygiene program. For you, which was the most interesting?

The most interesting and challenging are the Clinic courses and the Periodontology courses, because this is a completely new field for me. I had no dental background before coming here, but I have learned so much.

3. You also just wrote the exam for the National Dental Examination Board of Canada, which is the test everyone must pass to become a dental hygienist in Canada. How did you find your experience?

The national board exam was a pleasant surprise - challenging but not too difficult.

4. Finally, you are planning to return to Newfoundland after you graduate. What do you expect your career prospects to be in that province?

Yes, for the time being I will be working in Newfoundland - the pay is excellent and there are jobs always available for dental hygienists. I may travel to work overseas too, after getting some experience at home.

• To prevent the development of oral cancer, or to detect it at the earliest possible stage.
• To achieve a greater cancer cure rate through more clinically effective treatment.
• To improve the early detection of local and regional recurrences.

Their website - http://www.orcanet.ca/ - contains a wide variety of information about detecting oral cancer, including articles, powerpoint presentations, clinical guidelines and a Q&A about oral cancer.