Welcome and thank you for considering Germain a community college for your journey to become an Allied dental professional. This information session is for the 2026 application period and includes information on both dental assisting and dental hygiene. Successful applicants will begin the program in January of 2027. This is a mandatory information session. The application password or access code will be provided at the end of this presentation. Be sure to watch this video in its entirety, and you are strongly encouraged to take notes along the way. I also recommend that you watch this information on a laptop or desktop, and then have your mobile phone or device available for QR code scanning.

We are excited to announce this year that the dental hygiene application includes the option to apply to admission for our expansion site at Piedmont, Virginia Community College and Eastern Shore Community College. Students may only choose one dental hygiene site to apply for. It should be noted that admission to these sites will be contingent on approval by Sascoc and the Commission on Dental Accreditation. Approval from these agencies are expected in the fall of 2026. Before we get started with the nuts and bolts of the application, it's important for students to know about our programs and the professional rules you are thinking about starting. There are many similarities and some distinct differences between dental hygienist and dental assistants. Both roles are equally important in the delivery of high quality oral health care.

This slide highlights the core responsibility shared by the dental, high dentist and dental assistants. They both focus on advocacy, prevention and assessment. First, both roles serve as advocates for high quality oral health care that includes involvement in professional organizations and staying engaged in the profession. It also means helping educate policymakers and stakeholders to improve access and standards of care. Second, a major focus is supporting patients in building healthy habits. Now, this goes beyond brushing and flossing. It includes tobacco cessation, nutritional counseling, and overall lifestyle choices that impact oral health. This is where we make long term impact through prevention.

Finally, both roles are responsible for assessing patient health status. This includes reviewing medical histories, taking vital signs, and exposing radiographs. We also collect both objective and subjective data through observation and clinical examination. And importantly, we conduct periodontal assessments to evaluate gum health and disease risk. Now, it's important to note that the assistant will assist the dental hygienist in conducting those periodontal assessments and taking proper readings. Together, these responsibilities positioned dental assistant and hygienist as essential providers in prevention, patient education and early detection.

Here we're focusing on the day to day clinical and professional skills, dental assistants and hygienist use to support patient care. A primary responsibility is patient education. We teach effective oral hygiene practices like brushing, flossing, and making healthier nutritional choices. The goal is to empower patients to maintain their own oral health. We also apply preventive treatments. This includes sealants and fluoride to protect teeth and reduce the risk of decay. Another key task is taking impressions. These are used to create study models that help with diagnosis and treatment planning. It is critical that both hygienist and assistant understand dental materials. We need to know how the behavior, how the materials behave, when to use them, and how they impact oral tissues. Finally, strong communication skills are essential. This includes interacting with patients, coordinating appointments, and managing office tasks like billing and supplies. Clear communication supports both patient care and efficient practice options. Together, these skills highlight the balance of clinical expertise, education, and communication required in both of these roles.

Now we're going to specifically start to key in on the responsibilities of the dental assistant within the clinical setting. A primary role is assisting the dentist during a wide variety of procedures. This includes chair side support instrument treats for and maintaining efficiency during treatment. Dental assistants also play a critical role in infection control. They help develop and follow protocols and are responsible for cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing instruments and equipment. This ensures a safe environment for both patients and the dental team. Equally important is supporting patient comfort. Dental assistants help patients feel at ease before, during and after treatment. This can significantly improve the overall patient experience.

Dental assistants provide clear post-treatment instructions. This includes guidance after procedures like fillings or surgery to promote healing and prevent complications. They also support office operations. This can include scheduling, patient records and other tasks that rely on computer systems to keep the practice running smoothly. Dental assistants can contribute to patient care across multiple specialties. This includes orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and oral surgery. Their role adapts depending on the type of care being delivered. So in addition to supporting efficiency, safety, and patient comfort, dental assistants also play a key role in patient education. Practice management and comprehensive care across specialties. Now let's shift our focus to the specific clinical duties of the dental hygienist. Dental hygienists assess patient's oral health and work closely with the dentist. Together, they use findings to develop comprehensive treatment plans. A key responsibility is removing plaque tartar and stains. This preventive care helps control disease and maintain oral health. Hygienist may also provide local anesthesia and nitrous oxide. This helps manage pain and anxiety, improving the patient experience. They document all care provided and continuously evaluate patient outcomes. This ensures continuity of care and supports clinical decision making. So while all assistance focus on supporting procedures and operations. Dental hygienist. Lead and prevention. Clinical care and ongoing patient management.

Here you can see our program goals. We want graduates that will demonstrate competency and ethics, value skills and knowledge of both the dental assisting and or dental hygiene practice. Our graduates will improve the oral health of the population, served through efficiency and efficacy of dental care in the private and public dental practices, associated industries and through community service. And finally, graduates will contribute to their respective Professions, as demonstrated by commitment to professional development and lifelong learning.

This slide highlights two shared program level learning outcomes for our students in both the Dental assisting and Dental hygiene programs. First, students at both programs will demonstrate how to prevent disease transmission. They do this by consistently applying proper aseptic and infection control techniques. Second, students will produce high quality dental radiographs. They follow a layer of principles which means as low as reasonably achievable, keeping radiation exposure as well as reasonably achievable while maintaining diagnostic quality. Together, these outcomes emphasize safety, precision, and accountability in clinical practice.

This slide outlines key program level outcomes specific to dental assisting students. Students learn to understand dental materials and instruments, how they are used, delivered, and their impact during procedures. They also develop the ability to critically evaluate patient data and assist in the assessment process. Finally, students recognize the dental assistance role in promoting oral health within the community. Our dental assisting students also learn the importance of administrative skills in the dental setting. This includes scheduling, records management, and overall office efficiency. These skills are. Some are essential to supporting both patient care and practice operations. Students demonstrate an understanding of professional ethics as defined by the American Dental Assistance Association. They also want to follow federal and state laws and regulations in dental practice. This ensures students graduate with the professionalism, integrity, and legal awareness required for safe and ethical care.

This slide highlights key program level outcomes for dental hygiene students. Students learn to understand, apply, and evaluate dental materials. This includes how materials are used and their effects on patient care. They also demonstrate the various roles of the dental hygienist in community and team based care. A strong emphasis is placed on effective communication with patients, peers, and other health care professionals. These outcomes build both clinical competence and collaborative patient centered skills. Students also gain an understanding of pharmaceuticals in dental hygiene, and this includes their purpose, delivery, and clinical implications. They also demonstrate knowledge of ethical principles outlined by the American Dental Hygienist Association, and they learn to comply with all federal and state regulations. Together, these outcomes ensure graduates are knowledgeable, ethical and prepared to deliver safe and effective patient care.

Students learn to effectively use hand, ultrasonic and laser instruments. These skills are applied during both preventive and therapeutic dental hygiene procedures. They also develop the ability to critically evaluate patient assessment data. This supports the development of accurate dental hygiene diagnoses and individualized treatment plans. Together, these outcomes emphasize clinical precision and strong critical thinking and patient care.

The dental hygiene program does have a formal articulation agreement with Old Dominion University for degree completion. The Dental Assisting Program courses will transfer to Germana Community College's Dental Hygiene program when completed within three years of admission and with a grade of C or better.

Both programs are accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Accreditation. A focus site visit is scheduled for the Dental Hygiene program on June 10th through the 11th of 2026, and we have another site visit scheduled for next year in September 28th through 30th of 2027, and that covers both programs dental assisting and dental hygiene. I'd like to please note that there is a slight typo on this slide. The June 10th through 11th, 2027 date for the focused site visit for dental hygiene should actually read. A focus site visit is scheduled for June 10th through the 11th, 2026.

Because of both of our programs are accredited, you have the right as a consumer of our program to submit third party comments. This slide explains what comments will be accepted, the time frame 60 days prior to each program site visit, and the address and phone number where you could submit comments. Again, all comments submitted must pertain to the code of standards relative to the particular program being reviewed, or policies and procedures used in the accreditation process.

Now, dental hygienist and dental assistants have very similar occupational objectives and settings that you can work in. So here you can see the different roles on the left side of the screen. Both dental assistants and dental hygienists can work as clinicians. They can work in the corporate world. Public health. They can work as researchers, educators, administrators and entrepreneurs. but they can also work in specific settings that you'll see here on the right side of the screen. So this includes things like private dental offices, schools and public health clinics, hospitals, macOS, federal and state institutions. They can work in nursing homes or senior care facilities, work with practice management companies. They can also serve as meeting planners or professional speakers and writers.

These are the essential dental assisting and dental hygiene functions. It is important that our students and graduates possess eye hand coordination, sufficient motor function, strength and endurance with both hands and arms, as well as being able to utilize digital fine motor skills to deliver patient care. Students must have the ability to tolerate frequent handwashing and or the use of disinfectants, including hand sanitizers. You must also be able to wear gloves. Students must have the ability to perform single or CPR in the management of a patient during an emergency. They must possess the physical capacity to participate in required laboratory, pre-clinical, and clinical experiences. That includes being able to lift and operate equipment with the necessary strength and dexterity. Students must possess the capacity to participate in administrative duties related to the dental assisting and dental hygiene profession. You must have the ability to utilize auditory and sensory perception sufficient to monitor and assess patient needs. Students must possess normal and correct or corrected visual ability and order to assess oral health conditions and perform clinical procedures on patients. Our students must be able to communicate in person and via electronic devices. By effective use of the English language, students must also comply with the Code of Ethics and Bylaws defined by the American Dental Assistance Association or the American Dental Hygienist Association, as well as statutes and regulations associated with the Commonwealth of Virginia's Dental Practice Act. Finally, in our program, students must be able to participate as a data student and commit at least 42 hours a week to the program. Let me just repeat that. Students must be able to participate as a full time student and commit at least 42 hours a week to the program. So this is a full time, uh, commitment. So despite the foregoing, a qualified person with a disability who can perform these essential functions with reasonable accommodation will be considered for admission along with other qualified Applicants.

The Dental Assisting Code of Ethics is a set of guiding principles and professional standards that dictate moral conduct, patient confidentiality, and safety. It ensures that dental assistants provide competent, unbiased care while maintaining patient dignity and strict legal scopes of practice. The code is primarily built upon 5 or 6 core ethical principles that are shared across dental professions. Those include those listed here. Beneficence, which is the act in acting in the best interest of the patient. Promoting patient welfare and providing high quality compassionate care. Non malfeasance is the duty to do no harm. This includes protecting patients and colleagues from workplace hazards and never acting long hair. Autonomy includes respecting the patient's dignity, privacy and right to make their own informed decisions regarding their health care and treatment options. Veracity is communicating truthfully and with integrity. This requires assistance to practice with their authorized scope of practice, and provide honest assessments without misleading qualifications. Justice is treating all individuals fairly and equitably, providing equal respect regardless of a patient's background, race, or financial status. We also have professional responsibilities that include things like confidentiality, which is maintaining strict privacy regarding all patient records and medical details, aligning with HIPAA standards and patient autonomy. We commit to continuous learning to stay updated on best practices, including infection control protocols and science based innovations. Dental assistants perform only the duties legally authorized by the assistant, state or regional licensing or certifying board, and we refuse to conceal incompetent or dangerous acts of others and report unsafe practices to protect the public.

Just like dental assisting, dental hygiene has a code of ethics as well. That's driven by very similar core values. Um, the principle of universal ality expects that the individual judges an action to be right or wrong in a given situation. Other people considering the action in the same situation would make the same judgment. The principle of complementarity recognizes the existence of an obligation to justice and basic human rights, and all relationships. It requires considering the values and perspectives of others before making decisions or taking actions affecting them. Ethics are the general standards of right and wrong that guide behavior within society as generally accepted actions. They can be judged by determining the extent to which they promote good and minimize harm. Ethics compels us to engage in health promotion and disease prevention activities. The principle of community expresses our concern for the bond between individuals, the community, and society in general. It leads us to preserve natural resources and inspires us to show concern for the global environment. And responsibility is central to the dental hygienist ethics. We recognize that there are guidelines for making ethical choices and accept responsibility for knowing and applying that. We accept the consequences of our actions, or the failure to act and are willing to make ethical choices and publicly affirm them.

And here you can see the core values and responsibilities. So on the left side of the screen are those core values very similar to what we saw in dental assisting. And to the right are the responsibilities. Who does dental hygienist have a responsibility to? And you can see it is to ourselves, uh, to our profession, to our family and friends, our patients and colleagues, employees and employers, the profession as a whole, community and society. And dental hygienist also have a responsibility to scientific investigation.

As we transition out of this, we're going to go ahead and look at the curriculum. And you can see that the dental assisting curriculum is a total of 38 credits. We have general education classes of student development, English composition, psychology and bio 145. The remaining credits are made up through the DNA course prefixes. And we'll talk about what these courses are.

In the dental hygiene program, this is a two year associate degree and is a total minimum of 70 credits. You can see there are a few more general ed classes rather than the bio. 145 they take bio 141, 142 and 150. If you are starting in dental assisting and wanting to matriculate to dental hygiene, I recommend you go to bio 141 sequence. There's also a humanities elective that is required for the dental hygiene students. And then you'll see we have DNA courses that will go over that make up the remainder of the curriculum.

When we look at scheduling, here are the courses laid out. So we do recommend prior to entry that you take the genetics. And then when you start in the spring you will have five classes your first semester, two classes your second semester, and then four classes your final semester. So DNA 103 is, um, our intro to Oral health. This teaches anatomy of the head and neck, the oral cavity, hard and soft tissues, as well as tooth morphology. It includes dental terminology, deciduous and permanent dentition, as well as pathology. DNA 108 dental science studies. Head and neck anatomy, tooth morphology. Pathologic conditions of the oral cavity, disease processes and microbiology. This course includes a three hour lab each week. General materials studies the materials utilized in the lab aspect of dentistry as support and treatment. Emphasis is placed on characteristics manipulation, economical control, storage, and delivery of materials. Chair side assisting. One is uh provides instruction on the principles of clinical chair side dental assisting, dental equipment use and maintenance, safety instrument identification, tray setup, spy procedures, and patient data collection. Emphasis on patient management during restorative procedures are included in this course. DNA 134. Radiology and practicum studies the techniques and devices used for protection from ionizing radiation. This teaches biological effects, cell sensitivity, and genetic effects of ionizing radiation. It includes practice of bisection and parallel techniques on mannequins. This does prepare employed dental staff to meet the Virginia Board of Dentistry regulations for certification and dental radiation safety. Hygiene. This course can be transferred to the Dental Hygiene Program. DNA 114 chair side of system two introduces the student to various dental specialties including oral surgery, orthodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, endodontics, and pediatric dentistry. It integrates and applies previous course contact from DNA 113 to operative dental procedures in the clinical setting.

DNA 190 is our coordinated internship. This supervises on the job training in selected businesses, industrial and service firms that are coordinated by the college. Moving into our last semester. We have dental office management. This exposes students to and provides practical experience and legal aspects of dental office management with regard to ethics, jurisprudence, appointment control, record systems, reception techniques, telephone techniques, accounts receivable and payable, payroll, insurance claims, inventory control, and professional conduct in the dental office. This course also has a two hour lab each week. Dental Therapeutics is the Dental Assistants pharmacology course. It exposes them to concepts and terminology related to pharmacology, pain control and dental medicinal agents. Emphasis is placed on the use of materials and patient treatment. DNA one 20 hour community health class studies topics related to community health issues, including identification of specific diseases, symptoms, causes, and effects. An emphasis is placed on the promotion of oral health in the community through patient education and oral home care techniques, dietary counseling, plaque control procedures, and application of medicinal agents.

Finally, we have DNA one for our externship and this is done during our final semester. Students are placed out into private practices 16 to 20 hours a week, and it exposes students to the fast pace of a dental practice while they perform support services within an established dental team.

As we look at dental hygiene, we have a couple slides to go over their scheduling since it is a two year program. But again, we recommend the gen as prior to entry. Not absolutely required, just recommended. Um, and it is a competitive admission. So having those done will strengthen your application. In the spring we have oral anatomy studies. That's D and H 111. And it studies the morphology and function of the oral structures with emphasis on the primary and permanent dentition, eruption sequence occlusion and intra arch relationships. DNA 115 is histology, head and neck anatomy. This presents a study of microscopic and macroscopic anatomy and physiology of the head and neck in oral tissues, and also includes embryological development and histologic components of the head, neck, teeth, and paradoxa. We have the radiography class, which is the same as the dental assisting radiography class. We have dental hygiene one, which introduces clinical knowledge and skills for the performance of dental hygiene services, basic skill components, lab mannequins, and client practice. Um, in the summer of your first year. If you have not taken bio 142 or bio 150, that would be the time that you take those. And then moving into the fall of your first year, which is a little bit backwards, I know, um, you're going to take DNA 142, which exposes you to things like instrument sharpening, time management, and client education techniques and methods. This provides supervised clinical practice in our dental hygiene clinic, with an emphasis on developing client treatment and instrument skills. You'll be in the clinic, uh, nine hours a week for this course. 120 is Management of Emergencies. It studies the various medical emergencies and techniques for managing those emergencies in the dental setting. Additional practical applications and simulations of emergencies are conducted to enhance basic knowledge from the one hour lecture component

DNA. H1 45 is general and oral pathology. This introduces general pathology with consideration of the common diseases affecting the human body. There's particular emphasis given to the study of pathological conditions of the mouth, teeth and their supporting structures. We have periodontics for the dental hygienist that's offered each fall. This introduces the theoretical and practical study of various concepts and methods used in describing, preventing and controlling periodontal disease. This presents etiology, microbiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of diseases. And lastly we have pharmacology. And this studies the chemical and therapeutic agents used in dentistry including their preparation, effectiveness and specific application.

As we look at the second year of the dental hygiene uh curriculum, we have three consecutive semesters to spring, summer and PA graduates would finish up in December of their second year. So Dental Hygiene three introduces dental health care for clients with special needs. It includes introduction to computer concepts and applications. It provides a supervised clinical practice in the Dental Hygiene Clinic, with emphasized emphasis on refining your client treatment skills and instrumentation skills, including oral radiographs. Uh, this class you are in clinic, um, about nine hours a week for DNA. 214 this is practical materials. This is the dental materials course, very similar to the dental materials course. Uh, for dental assisting that we've already described. Um, however, it is only a one hour lecture with a two hour lab. So, um, a little more of a tweak on how those, um, uh, materials have to be cared for by the hygienist. DNA 226 is our public health dental hygiene one. The studies and compares concepts and delivery of health care. Applying the public health delivery model. It utilizes epidemiologic methods, research and biostatistics as they are applied to oral health program planning, implementation and evaluation. This course also incorporates and applies current health issues and trends. DNA 2035 is management of dental pain and anxiety in the dental office, and this provides a study of anxiety and pain management techniques used in dental care. Students will understand the necessary theory to appropriately treat, plan and successfully administer topical anesthesia, local anaesthesia, and natural nitrous oxide. It includes the components of pain, pain control, topical local anaesthesia, and nitrous oxide oxygen analgesia.

In the summer, you only have one course your senior year, and that is DNA 244. Um. Dental hygiene four introduces advanced skills in the dental hygienist role in dental specialties. It includes supervised clinical practice in the dental hygiene clinic and or off campus clinical rotations at various community facilities. It emphasizes the treatment of clients demonstrating periodontal involvement, stressing application and correlation of knowledge and skills from the previous semesters. This is, um, two days a week of clinical 12 hours a week. 227 is the second part of, uh, the um, public health course. And this is where you actually are in kind of like a lab life setting. And the programs that you planned in the spring semester into 26 actually get carried out and implemented, um, in the community. Um, so it includes the development table, clinics, bulletin boards and volunteer service. Um, this, uh, course applies the concepts of public health programming, um, through student directed community projects.

That is, um, offered in your last semester. Also making up your last semester is doing 230 office practice in ethics. And then your final theory course, dental hygiene five. So the office practice in ethics course studies the principles of dental ethics and economics as they relate to the dental hygienist. There is, uh, study of jurisprudence and office procedures included in this course. And finally, dental hygiene five exposes students to current advances in dentistry. And it includes supervised clinical practice in the dental hygiene clinic, both um on and off campus rotations. Uh, the emphasis is placed on the synthesis of knowledge from your previous semesters. Treatment of clients with moderate to advanced periodontal involvement while improving your clinical speed and maintaining quality in preparation for practice.

So you decide this is what you want to do. Now might be a good time for you to take a break. We're about halfway through the presentation if you need a little moment. So if you decide that this is what you want to do. We have responsibilities for dental hygiene and dental assisting students that you need to be aware of. And so, um, we do prepare our students for high ethical standards in the health professions. Um, and the college does expect absolute academic integrity both in the classroom and the clinical practice. Students in our dental programs do incur a variety of expenses. Um, you have to pay for criminal background check. There are vaccinations and physical exams. You have to carry malpractice insurance. There are disposable supply kits, um, and instruments that you have to purchase. And you'll have to pay for your HSC exam and licensing exams. We will talk more details of that. Once you've been admitted into the program to cover the costs of those. Um, but roughly, um, anywhere from 1000 to $2500. So a thousand is a little bit closer to, um, for the dental assisting program at 2500 for the dental hygiene, because it is two years and there are some additional licensing exams. We do expect our students to comply with the dress code and maintain the malpractice insurance. Complete your learning experiences where we assigned you and provide your own transportation to those clinical assignments. Students are also responsible for any expenses incurred related to occupational injuries or accidents, and for any subsequent treatment that you may need. You are not an employee of Germanic Community College. If you are in a dental office, um, doing an externship, you're not an employee there usually. And so you do not, um, you're not covered under workman's comp, should you have an injury. So you are responsible. And for that reason we recommend that you carry health insurance. You have to comply with all clinical contract protocols that the college has, including immunization requirements, drug screening and background checks. Your CPR must remain current throughout the program and while you are enrolled with us.

Students may not take the responsibility of qualified staff. Um, you have to demonstrate professional behavior consistent with the standards associated with health care practitioners, and you will be required to take your board examinations, um, as part of our curriculum. And you must comply with all OSHA requirements with regards to universal precautions, Covid 19, and the use of respirators or N95 masks. So yes, I'm good with doing all that. You do have to be admitted to German at community college. So if you're listening to this and you are from one of our distant sites, either Piedmont or Eastern Shore, remember that you must also have a Germana Community College application on file as well. You must have a high school diploma or a GED. For dental hygiene, you must qualify for math 154 and for dental assisting. We have a minimum GPA requirement of 2.0 and for dental hygiene at a minimum GPA of 2.5. You need to have demonstrated competency in math and English as well. And that just means that you have completed at least MD ten. If you needed a mac and you are eligible to take English 111. Most of you will already have had that completed. Applicants must attend a dental program information session. And by you listening to this information session, you are meeting that criteria. So to apply to Germany you can scan the QR code. Um and you can apply here until we offer you admission into the program. You are um enrolled or should be program place in the Health Professions Preparation Career study certificate. Once you have been offered admissions and you accept your position in the program, the Admissions and Records office will turn, uh, move you over to the dental assisting or dental hygiene program.

Now there is a separate application to the dental programs. We use a software called um. DHS has both the dental assisting and dental hygiene uh, programs use this. Um, there are a few things that you need to know before you get started. First, it's highly recommended that you use a desktop or laptop to complete your application for this, um, for the dental applications. Features may not appear the same on your mobile device as they do on a desktop or laptop. You will need to create a username and password for DH CAS, and there is a nominal cost to the program, but finding joy is available. You need to have a copy of your high school transcripts. You'll need to have copies of your teeth test scores, and you will not be able to proceed with, uh, the application. Unless you have those two, uh, items when you're first creating your account. Okay. So why are we using this? Well, one, it helps us, um, with the application process and provides the school assistance. Um, it also reduces the number of scoring errors because it uses, um, algorithms and things like that. It allows you to apply for more than one program across the nation. And it serves as a central repository.

If for some reason you have, um, difficulty and you, um, cannot afford to pay the $50 application fee for DHS task. Uh, there is, um, a fee assistance program that is outlined here on this slide. Um, so this was created to reduce the cost of applying to dental hygiene and dental assisting programs. Um, for students who demonstrate extreme financial a need. Um, the Financial Assistance Program is an independent program that's offered by the American Dental Education Association, and it is not affiliated with any government college or university scholarship grant or fellowship program. The amount of the fee assistance covers the initial application fee of $50, and allows applicants to apply the fee assistance to only one a DHS program. Applicants receiving fee assistance are responsible for the fee for additional programs. A DHHS eligibility for assistance is based on income or parental income is. The applicant is claimed as a dependent, as reported on the most recent federal income tax return. It's important to read all of the Fee Assistance program instructions and policies before you complete the application. Failing to follow instructions may result in a delay in processing request, missed deadlines, and disqualification for fee assistance. Applicants applying to the Fee Assistance Program should not submit their a DHHS application, while the Fee Assistance Program is under review. So to be eligible, an applicant's income must be less than 300% of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services poverty level guidelines, and this is based on the number of people in the household. Applicants must complete the steps on this slide to be considered for the a DHS fee assistance program. Applicants cannot submit their DHS applications until they are notified that they have been granted fee assistance. Fee assistance will be denied for applications submitted before a decision has been reached, a CAS will notify applicants through the application and by email. All fee waiver decisions are final.

Part of the application is the T's test. And so, um, what you're going to do is you're going to go to a t testing.com and create a username and password. If you're applying at Germana you're going to email LTC testing at Germanus Edu to schedule your exam. If you're at PVC you're going to go, uh, email testing at PBC whether you to coordinate. And if you're applying at Eastern Shore, you're going to contact Doctor Foxworthy at foxworthy@esx.edu. Now all students, regardless of the site you're applying to, if you choose to take the tease test remote. We use a system called Proctor. You just know that if you want to do it this way, there are a few requirements. Um, you need to do a dry run, so you need to be able to have at least two two times one for a dry run of the test and one for the actual test. But, um, you need a microphone, a webcam, a desktop or laptop, a school or government in a well-lit space, a blank piece of paper. And you need to have a certain internet speed of 0.092 to 0.244 Mbps. Um, so with the tease test, a score of 45% or better is needed on all four parts of the exam if you're only applying to their hygiene.

You should note that scores less than 17% will not earn any points on the application if you're applying to dental assisting.

Um, all of the schools have resources in the library that you can go to help prepare for the TES test. Um, and A-T testing also has some resources on their website. It's important that you get your, um, transcript from a T, and you can do that by logging into your 80 account after you have taken the test. So it should be noted that with the TES test, you can take it twice during one academic, um, uh, admission cycle. And you, um, if you decide to take it, you must wait. I believe it's either a week or a month. You can check with the testing center, but do not wait until the last minute to take your TES test.

So once you go into class, the next few slides are going to kind of show you what it looks like. So once you've created your account and cast, there's four quadrants and you'll be able to begin the application. The application has the four quadrants that you see on the slide here, and you need to complete each section in order to complete the application. Quadrants one through three are for all programs. And quadrant four where it says program materials is specific to Germanos application.

So quadrant one is where you submit, um, an agreement for each class to process your application and other demographic information on yourself.

Quadrant two is where you submit your academic history, including your high school and college information. You will need to submit official transcripts from Germana Romania and any other UN institution that you are using towards the application. There is a place in here to prompt you to make the request to get the official transcripts. I think they may use parchment or some other services, um, where it will come over. It is your responsibility, though, to make sure that those items come.

Quadrant three is where you can add experiences and resumes.

Quadrant four is where you'll get to the specific, um, applications for each of the programs you've selected to submit applications to. So in this, you can see that this student is only applying to one program, and that's German. But maybe I wanted to apply to VCU and maybe I wanted to apply to another program. You would see multiple program materials listed under here for purpose of this video. Like I said, I only selected Dromana. Um, again, if you had other programs from the, uh, add program tab at the top, you would find those applications listed here as well. So when we go into Germanus application it looks like this. So we are within quadrant four here. When you click on the program it's going to look like this. Notice that the application uh deadline uh circled here is August 28th. Uh, that is a few days earlier than previous years. And that is just because of how DHS has. But we opened June 1st, so you have almost three months to submit your materials. Uh, the first landing tab just really repeats the instructions for submitting the application, reminding you, um, to, uh, apply to, to me and, uh, and to make sure that you watch this information session. Uh, there are tabs, um, for the required questions that you need to answer, documents to submit, and prerequisite courses.

On the questions tab of the application, you will select which program and the site you are applying for. You may, uh, select the Dental Assisting program and one of the dental hygiene options. You may not apply to more than one dental hygiene option. If you select more than one dental hygiene option. Your application will be disqualified for review. If you are not a certified dental assistant or do not have experience. It's highly recommended that you start with the Dental Assisting program or select Dental Assisting plus one dental hygiene option. Please note that the dental assisting program is not distance to Piedmont or Eastern Shore. The Dental Hygiene program is our most competitive program, averaging about 60 applications for five spots in the program. On this page, you will enter your county of residence. Students who live in Germano Piedmont, Virginia Community College or Eastern Shore Service regions will receive the max points on their application for service region over students who don't live in the service region. Students who live in counties where there is another Allied dental program to serve their educational needs, will not receive any points on the application. It is here that you will also enter the information session code that will be provided at the end of this presentation. Finally, you will answer the essay question on this page as well. Your essay question is limited to 3500 characters or 575 words. Please use appropriate punctuation and grammar. Your essay should not appear as if you text it the essay on your phone. We'll talk a little bit more about the essay question here on this next question slide. So this the questions this year are actually four pronged. They are dental assisting. And dental hygiene professionals play a vital role in promoting oral health through clinical skill, critical thinking, ethical practice, and effective communication. Describe a situation in which a dental hygienist or dental assistant might use critical thinking and problem solving skills when working with a patient. Explain what these skills are essential in daily practice. Discuss the importance of effective communication in dentistry. Why is strong communication necessary for building trust, improving patient outcomes, and supporting the dental team? Define ethics in your own words. Provide an ethical behavior within the dental assisting or dental hygiene profession. Dental professionals are responsible for communicating a patient's oral health status. Explain how you would compassionately and professionally approach a patient who has unhealthy oral health conditions. Ensuring understanding while maintaining respect and empathy. So with, uh, four, basically four questions and a limit of 575 words, you have about 140 to 150, um, letters or not letters, words per uh, uh, question. So make sure that, you know, your concise. Um, use resources that are available to you. But please do not. Again, I'm going to repeat, do not use, uh, AI products to craft your, uh, essay questions. You may use AI to help you consolidate your questions since you are limited in words, but you may not use it to craft your answers. They should be your own thought processes. Because what we're looking for in these essay questions is that you have a thorough understanding of the question. You're able to address all aspects of the question. You're able to show that you have the ability to analyze, evaluate, compare, and or contrast issues and events. Your statements are richly supported with facts, examples, and details. You're able to write a well-developed essay that consistently demonstrates a logical and clear plan of organization. And finally, you should have a strong introduction and conclusion and a strong topic sentence for each answer. Again, utilizing things that you have learned throughout high school. And if you've had English 111 about how to write clearly and concisely.

Your, um, essays will be, uh, reviewed by, um, members of the faculty as well as members of the um admissions committee. And then you will get an average score. So typically we have about three individuals reviewing the applications.

All right. So as we move to the documents tab, this is where additional items such as your high school transcript teas test scores, your Danby CDA, the work experience forms, observation experience forms and volunteer and civic engagement forms are submitted. You will notice that there are three areas to submit each of the additional, yet optional forms. Um, this is just to accommodate students who may have multiple experiences. If your work experience is being submitted, please do not submit an observation form. The observation form is only for dental hygiene students who do not have dental assisting experience. Volunteer or civic engagement hours must be for this calendar year only and go up to August 28th of 2026. Any volunteer or civic engagement planned for after the application deadline, or things that happened back in 2025 and prior will not be considered.

It's also important that if you are using your work experience, that you include that in quadrant two. I believe it is.

On the last tab of the application, you will see the general education courses listed for the Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting program. You will be able to match courses from your official transcript to the courses that are listed. Um, Jermaine, as admissions and records team will verify the accuracy of your documents before making final offers of admission at the den for the dental hygiene program, the minimum test score is 45% in all four areas of the program. There is not a minimum score on the teeth test for Dental assisting program. Please note that you may only take the T's test two times during each application cycle. If you wish to retest, the testing center requires that you retake all four parts, but only your highest scores will be used in scoring for the Allied Dental program's application. While many uh softwares such as DHS call these prerequisites. Remember that our admissions is a competitive admissions process, and students who have been completed will earn points on their application. For students who are applying to dental assisting only. You may take bio 145 instead of Bill 141. However, if you think you will be going on to dental hygiene, we highly recommend that you take bio 141 and 142. Students may also substitute psych 230 for psych 200. And finally, a humanities elective is not required for the dental assisting program. So we'll go ahead and move on to the, um, competitive and selective missions. Uh, ranking and scoring. Just so you'll see how things are. Our tier one ranking is going to look at your GPA, residency and the service regions that we talked about answers to short essay questions and then your science TS and overall T scores. Next we're going to be looking at um, the most credits completed toward the program of study. So if you have an A in it there will be four points times the number of credits that classes. So for example, bio 145 is a three credit class and you got an A. You would end up with 12 points for that class. We'll be looking at formal dental assisting education. Obviously if you're applying to dental assisting this is not going to be a part of the formula because you're applying to a dental assistant education program. Um, your CDA credential is for the dental hygiene program only. Again, not part of, uh, the dental assisting application. Um, nor is work experience observation or volunteer and civic engagement. These last 2.2, three, four and five are only for the dental hygiene program. So if you have work experience, um, or observation uh, experience. So observation is up to 40 hours. We encourage you not only to observe dental hygiene, but to, uh, observe restorative dentistry as well. If you have work experience, you're going to get the most points. If you have five or more years of experience. You'll get the medium, uh, level of points with 2 to 4 years. And if you have less than two years, you're going to get the minimum, um, point value there. Uh, for your volunteer and civic engagement, there's four categories that you can earn or points in. So, um, up to 40 hours. Anything beyond that, it doesn't go any higher. So, um, 40 is the max 30 to 39. 20 to 29 and then 1 to 19.

Once you have uploaded and completed your application, um, and it's time to submit the application and pay. Um, you also have the ability to check your status in that fourth tab that you will see here if you do not submit your application and pay, your application will not be considered.

You also have the ability to check your status in this first fourth tab as I just mentioned. Since this is just a demo, you're going to see that it still says in progress, but once submitted it will say submitted or under review. Applicants will be notified by mid October of their accepted status. For students who are admitted to either program, there will be a mandatory new student orientation in early to mid November, and this allows for students adequate time to begin and complete their required program credentials, such as vaccinations and anything that you need to do prior to classes beginning in January of 2027.

Other facts that you should know is that with both programs at current working knowledge of basic computer use and principles that you had in high school from biology and chemistry are expected. Um, if you feel like you need any sort of help in those areas, you can take additional courses at any of our community colleges to correct those deficiencies.

Other things that you need to know, um, in the dental hygiene program, and if you go on to dental assistant to the Virginia Board of Dentistry, may deny any applicant for licensure if the applicant has committed a felony or misdemeanor. Um, so you want to make sure that you have clean background check. So that's not an issue. As I mentioned before. Um, you are not an employee of Jamaica or the clinics that we placed you in to do your, your clinicals. So the college is not responsible for any health care expenses that might occur as a result of an occupational injury or hazard. So it's very important that you cover and carry your own health insurance.

And Germany does comply with all recommendations and requirements issued by the centers for Disease Control and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Um, if you would like to see any copies of these policies, just let me know and we can, um, get that for you. It will be included in the orientation for students who are admitted. So, um, these programs serve as a great launchpad to move on to additional careers in dentistry, if you are interested. Um, so, dental assistant to the dental therapist, you can even go on to be a dentist. Um, but there are great opportunities just with your CDA or your RDA.

I'm going to spend just, uh, one slide here talking about the dental assistant, too, because we do encourage all of our students to go on. Um, for this, the dental assistant, too, is someone who can perform under the direction of a dentist, uh, reversible into oral procedure. So this includes things like placing amalgam restorations, placing composite restorations, doing final impressions. Um, it includes, uh, cementing permanent crowns after the doctor has evaluated and adjusted them. Uh, people who are dental assistants to, um, actually become registered with the Board of dentistry. Um, and we offer a career study certificate in the expanded functions dental assisting. Now disregard these other two. Um, they are a little bit older, but again, you can go on and get an additional career study certificate.

Um, if you have questions during the application process about submitting your application, um, do not contact the college. Uh, I'm just going to be honest with you. Everything is facilitated through, um, the Dutch task portal. They do have a help center that includes an email. There's a phone number here listed. Um, and the time that you can access them, um, you can also, uh, access them through the drop down menu, um, by your name when you actually log into the CAS system. So again, here's a QR code for you as well. They are amazing.

Some other important contact. Um, our academic health care academic advisor is, um, Miss Stephanie Thompson. Um, her contact information is listed here on the slide, and she loves for you to, um, create appointments with her through navigate. That seems to be the best way. Um, so there is her information again for you. And then finally, my information. I am your last stop for questions. Um, start with DHS, uh, for anything application related. And then if you have questions about curriculum advising, that sort of thing, um, you're going to contact, uh, Miss Stephanie. So here's where you finally get what you've been waiting for. It is the application password or access code. And it is. I'm going to go slow here. The application access code for 2026 is JCPS Dental Program. Now it is a little tricky. So listen closely. Its capital G GE. Capital C, capital C. Capital D. The number three. Lowercase n, as in Nancy.

T as in Tom. Lowercase the at sign.

Lowercase l.

The word program. All lowercase. There are no spaces. This is all one phrase, again with no spaces. So it will end up saying GCC dental program. I'm gonna repeat it one more time. G, c, c d. All capitalized. Germanic community College dental g c c d all capitalized.

The number three.

Lowercase in as in Nancy.

Lowercase t as in Tom. The at sign. Lowercase l p r o g r a m all lowercase g c c. Dental program. Thank you so much! If you have any additional questions or concerns, again start with DHHS Miss Thompson for academics. And finally, if you can't get any, um, relief, you can call or email me. Just know I'm on a limited schedule this summer. Thank you so much and we look forward to your applications.